Saturday, 22 January 2022, was cloudy, with some occasional light rain beginning mid-day (0.13"). The sky cleared on Monday, 24 January. I removed the Dome Cover in anticipation of opening the observatory.

Open: Monday, 24 January 2022, 1812 MST Temperature: 63°F

Session: 1713 Conditions: Clear

Equipment:
12" f/8 LX600 w/StarLock
2" 24mm UWA eyepiece

Camera:
D7200 DSLR

1817 MST: LX600 ON, StarLock OFF, High Precision OFF.

Viewed Jupiter, 102X.

Viewed M42 (Orion Nebula), 102X. No nebulosity visible against twilight sky, but the Trapezium stars were nice.

Prepared the D7200 DSLR for imaging. Mounted it piggyback on the 12" LX600 telescope using the ScopeStuff Camera Adapter and a ballhead. Then began waiting for twilight to end (1914 MST).

Saw several probably SpaceX StarLink satellites cross the constellation of Orion.

1846 MST: StarLock ON.

1903 MST: The Zodiacal Light was visible in the western sky.

1914 MST: Began imaging Orion. Did several StarLock autoguided, f/4.5, 5 minutes, ISO 1600, exposures. The top photo is a merge of 5 images at a focal length of 35mm for an effective exposure of 25 minutes. A satellite ruined the 6th image. NGC2237 (Rosette Nebula), NGC2024 (Flame Nebula), IC434 (Horsehead Nebula), NGC1977 (Running Man Nebula), and M42/43 (Orion Nebula) and all visible. The bottom photo is a single exposure, f/5.6, focal length 140mm, and shows the Flame, Horsehead, Running Man, and Orion Nebulae. Satellites ruined the other five images I took at this focal length.

Mouseover or tap on image for labels

2027 MST: StarLock OFF.

Viewed M42 (Orion Nebula), NGC1977 (Running Man Nebula), IC434 (saw nebulosity but couldn't make out the Horsehead), and NGC2024 (Flame Nebula), 102X.

2040 MST: LX600 OFF.

2048 MST: Took a Sky Quality reading and reported the result to Globe at Night.

Close: Monday, 24 January 2022, 2053 MST Temperature: 46°F

Session Length: 2h 41m Conditions: Clear, SQM 20.98

---

Comments are welcome using Email. Twitter users can use the button below to tweet this report to their followers. Thanks.

Tweet

---

Previous report

Cassiopeia Observatory Home Page