Open: Friday, 27 January 2023, 1813 MST Temperature: 63°F

Session: 1825 Conditions: Mostly clear

Equipment:
12" f/8 LX600 w/StarLock
2" 24mm UWA eyepiece
2" 14mm 100° eyepiece
Focal Reducer

Camera:
iPhone 13 Pro Max
D850 DSLR

1816 MST: Chad Tolly arrived for a visit.

1819 MST: LX600 ON, StarLock OFF, High Precision OFF.

I viewed Venus, Jupiter, and Mars, 174X.

I viewed the Moon, 102X and 174X.

1849 MST: Viewed Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), 12x50 binoculars.

1915 MST: Viewed Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) using the naked eye. The Moon-lit sky made seeing the faint comet difficult.

1921 MST: Took this handheld iPhone 13 Pro Max afocal 102X photo of the Moon using the iOS app NightCap Camera (ISO 34, 1/2500sec, 1X lens).

1927 MST: Wi-Fi ON.

Used SkySafari 7 Pro on the iPhone to GOTO Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), low in the northern sky. We viewed the comet, 102X. The coma and dust tail were visible.

I then mounted the D850 DSLR with a 70-300mm lens on a camera tripod. Took these photos.

1952 MST: Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) and StarLink satellites
f/5.6, 8 seconds, ISO 6400, FL 300mm


1953 MST: Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)
f/5.6, 6 seconds, ISO 6400, FL 300mm

Mounted the D850 DSLR at prime focus + focal reducer, focused on the star Kochab, and locked the 12" primary mirror. Used SkySafari 7 Pro on the iPhone to GOTO the comet.

2013 MST: StarLock ON.

Took nine images of the comet.

2029 MST: StarLock OFF, Wi-Fi OFF.

2030 MST: Chad left.

I unmounted the camera. I then noticed that I had forgotten to remove the focusing mask from the telescope! Argh!

Remounted the camera at prime focus + focal reducer, focused on Kochab, locked the mirror, AND removed the mask. Turned the Wi-Fi ON, used the iPhone to GOTO the comet.

2039 MST: StarLock ON.

2040 MST: Took this StarLock autoguided image, 20 seconds, ISO 12800, cropped. The ion tail is faintly visible at 4 o'clock from the comet's head.

2048 MST: StarLock OFF, Wi-Fi OFF.

Viewed the comet, 102X.

2054 MST: LX600 OFF.

Close: Friday, 27 January 2023, 2102 MST Temperature: 40°F

Session Length: 2h 49m Conditions: Clear

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