Open: Sunday, 17 April 2022, 1819 MST Temperature: 93°F

Session: 1752 Conditions: Clear

Equipment:
12" f/8 LX600 w/StarLock
2" 24mm UWA eyepiece
1.25" 15mm eyepiece

Camera:
iPhone 13 Pro Max

When I entered the observatory I saw that I had a visitor to the observatory. This praying mantis was on a shelf.

I then set up some old speakers that I had purchased in 1984 in the observatory. The speakers I had received in 2005 and had been using in the observatory since 2009 did not provide good volume for my iPod Touch that I bought earlier this year. (The iPod Touch replaced my iPod Classic that was a retirement gift from Northrop Grumman in 2007). The 1984 speakers, which are AC powered, are louder, but the audio quality is not very good and one speaker is louder than the other one. I will be looking for new speakers for the observatory.

1838-1919 MST: Relaxed on the observatory patio bench.

1856 MST: Sunset.

1920 MST: LX600 ON, StarLock OFF.

Viewed the Trapezium stars in M42 (the Great Nebula in Orion), 102X and 163X.

1926-1940 MST: Relaxed on the bench to watch the stars come out, always an enjoyable experience.

Viewed M42 (Orion Nebula), 163X. Some nebulosity was visible in the twilight sky.

Then viewed M53 (globular cluster), 163X.

I prepared the iPhone 13 Pro Max for afocal imaging of M53 for my iPhone Messier Catalog Astrophotography album. I attached my LiDAR cover and mounted the iPhone on the 1.25" 15mm eyepiece using the Levenhuk adapter.

1954 MST: StarLock ON.

M53 (globular cluster), iPhone 13 Pro Max, afocal 163X, taken with the iOS app NightCap Camera (Long Exposure, ISO 32000, 1sec, 1 minute, 1X lens).

2001 MST: StarLock OFF.

Viewed M53 (globular cluster), 102X.

2007 MST: The eastern sky was beginning to brighten from the rising waning gibbous Moon.

Viewed M100 (galaxy), M104 (Sombrero Galaxy), M106 (galaxy), and M109 (galaxy), 102X.

2016 MST: LX600 OFF.

Close: Sunday, 17 April 2022, 2026 MST Temperature: 67°F

Session Length: 2h 07m Conditions: Clear

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