Had 0.9" rain overnight Tuesday, 31 August, to early Wednesday morning, 1 September 2021. Cloudy skies continued until Thursday, 2 September.

Open: Thursday, 2 September 2021, 1829 MST Temperature: 88°F

Session: 1658 Conditions: Mostly clear

Equipment:
12" f/8 LX600 w/StarLock
2" 24mm UWA eyepiece
Focal Reducer
2" UHC Filter
2" 4X Powermate

Camera:
D850 DSLR

Upon arrival at the observatory I removed the Dome Cover. I then relaxed on the observatory patio bench for a few minutes while waiting for the Sun to set.

1848 MST: sunset.

1850 MST: LX600 ON, StarLock OFF, High Precision OFF.

Viewed the planets Venus, then Mercury, 102X. Both planets were near half phase.

Returned to the bench for awhile.

1914 MST: viewed the planet Saturn, 102X. Two moons were visible.

Then prepared the D850 DSLR for Deep Sky Object (DSO) imaging.

Relaxed on the bench. I enjoyed watching the stars come out. Humidity was pretty high at 53%. My logbook paper was getting slightly damp.

2000 MST: back inside the observatory. Mounted the D850 DSLR at prime focus + focal reducer + UHC filter, focused on the star Antares, and locked the 12" primary mirror.

2009 MST: StarLock ON.

Imaged these two nebulae, StarLock autoguided, 5 minutes, ISO 12800, White Balance 5560K. Images slightly cropped.

NGC6357 (Lobster Nebula)


NGC6334 (Cat's Paw Nebula)

2031 MST: Wi-Fi ON.

Used SkySafari 6 Pro to GOTO the next imaging target. Took this StarLock autoguided image (Black-and-White), 5 minutes, ISO 12800, WB 5560K.

Barnard 92 (dark nebula)

2041 MST: StarLock OFF, Wi-Fi OFF.

Viewed Barnard 92 (dark nebula), 102X. Nice view.

Viewed Saturn and three of its moons, 102X.

Mounted the D850 DSLR at prime focus + 4X Powermate. Imaged Saturn (1/20sec, ISO 1600, WB Auto, cropped) and Jupiter (1/125sec, ISO 1600, WB Auto, cropped). The Great Red Spot is visible at the lower left of Jupiter's disk.

2106 MST: clouds were increasing from the southwest.

Viewed Jupiter and four moons, 102X.

Then viewed the following DSOs, 102X: M8 (Lagoon Nebula), M16 (Eagle Nebula), M17 (Swan Nebula), and M20 (Trifid Nebula).

2117 MST: LX600 OFF.

2125 MST: took a Sky Quality reading and reported the result to Globe at Night. While outside of the observatory I noticed that the observatory walls were very wet with dew.

Close: Thursday, 2 September 2021, 2134 MST Temperature: 70°F, Humidity 70%

Session Length: 3h 05m Conditions: Mostly clear, SQM 20.90

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My SkyShed POD Dome Cover review has been posted.

Important announcement: American Astronomical Society (AAS) Journals Will Switch to Open Access.

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