Monday, 28 March 2022, was cloudy. With rain in the forecast I put the Dome Cover ON. Tuesday, 29 March, was rainy with a thundershower in the afternoon, total rain 0.26". Wednesday, 30 March, the sky partly cleared by sunset, but the wind became stronger. I decided to open the observatory in case the wind calmed down by the end of Astronomical Twilight (2005 MST).

Open: Wednesday, 30 March 2022, 1833 MST Temperature: 67°F

Session: 1741 Conditions: Mostly clear, breezy

Equipment:
12" f/8 LX600 w/StarLock
2" 24mm UWA eyepiece
2" 30mm eyepiece

Camera:
iPhone 13 Pro Max

Dome Cover OFF.

1845 MST: Sunset.

Relaxed on the observatory patio bench.

1935 MST: Took this handheld iPhone 13 Pro Max of Cassiopeia Observatory and the constellation of Cassiopeia (upper left corner) using the Camera app (Night Mode, 3 seconds, 1X lens).

1940 MST: Back in the observatory.

1943 MST: LX600 ON, StarLock OFF.

Viewed M105 (galaxy), 102X and 81X. Viewed M108 (galaxy), 81X. Then viewed M97 (Owl Nebula), 81X.

Mounted the iPhone 13 Pro Max on the 2" 30mm eyepiece using the Phone Skope smartphone adapter.

1958 MST: StarLock ON.

Began taking StarLock autoguided images with the iPhone, afocal 81X, NightCap Camera (Long Exposure, Light Boost, ISO 32000, 1sec, 1 minute, 1X lens).

M97 (Owl Nebula)


M108 (galaxy)

M105 (galaxy)

Mouseover or tap on image for labels

Then took this StarLock autoguided image of M40 (double star) with the iPhone, afocal 81X, NightCap Camera (Long Exposure, Light Boost, ISO 8000, 1sec, 1 minute, 1X lens).

M40 (double star)

2019 MST: StarLock OFF, High Precision OFF.

Viewed M49 (galaxy), 81X and 102X. It was too low in the eastern sky for imaging.

2030 MST: LX600 OFF.

2035 MST: Took a Sky Quality reading and reported the result to Globe at Night.

Close: Wednesday, 30 March 2022, 2042 MST Temperature: 53°F

Session Length: 2h 09m Conditions: Mostly clear, SQM 20.97

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I have updated my Phone Skope smartphone adapter review with new information about the iPhone LiDAR issue that I discovered in 2021.

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