Open: Saturday, 24 December 2022, 1742 MST Temperature: 64°F

Session: 1816 Conditions: Clear

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

Camera:
D850 DSLR

1748 MST: LX600 ON, StarLock OFF, High Precision OFF.

Viewed the crescent Moon, 102X. It was low and behind a tree.

Viewed Venus and then Mercury, 102X. Both were low in the southwestern sky.

1807 MST: Moon with Earthshine, Mercury, and Venus. D850 DSLR photo (f/16, 1/4sec, ISO 1600, FL 155mm).

Mouseover or tap on image for labels

Viewed Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars, 102X.

Mounted the D850 DSLR at prime focus for these images of the Moon low and through a tree (ISO 1600, 1/60sec and 1 second, ISO 1600, respectively).

1830 MST: Breezes came up.

Focused on the star Deneb and locked the 12" mirror.

1839 MST: High Precision ON.

Slewed to NGC247 (galaxy) to begin imaging more Herschel 400 Catalog objects.

1841 MST: StarLock ON.

Took the following StarLock autoguided images (various exposures of 1, 2, and 5 minutes, ISO 1600 and ISO 3200).

NGC247 (galaxy)


NGC253 (Sculptor Galaxy)


NGC278 (galaxy)


NGC288 (globular cluster)


NGC381 (open cluster)


NGC436 (open cluster)


NGC457 (open cluster)


NGC404 (Mirach's Ghost, galaxy)


NGC488 (galaxy)

I have now observed and photographed 62 objects in the Herschel 400 Catalog.

2040 MST: LX600 OFF.

2047 MST: Took a Sky Quality reading and reported the result to Globe at Night.

Close: Saturday, 24 December 2022, 2052 MST Temperature: 50°F

Session Length: 3h 10m Conditions: Clear, breezy, SQM 20.97

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