Clouds arrived four hours ahead of schedule on Sunday, 5 February 2023. But they made for a nice sunset.

Monday, 6 February, also had clouds. Tuesday, 7 February, was clear.

Open: Tuesday, 7 February 2023, 1814 MST Temperature: 45°F

Session: 1831 Conditions: Clear

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

Camera:
iPhone 13 Pro Max
D850 DSLR

1823 MST: Dome OFF.

1824 MST: LX600 ON, StarLock OFF, High Precision OFF.

Took this selfie of me inside Cassiopeia Observatory.

Viewed Venus, Jupiter, and Mars, 102X.

SYNCed on the star Capella. Prepared the D850 DSLR for imaging.

1840 MST: Observatory Wi-Fi ON.

Used SkySafari 7 Pro on the iPhone 13 Pro Max to GOTO Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF). Viewed the comet, 102X, in the still bright twilight sky. A faint coma was visible.

1851 MST: Viewed the comet, 12x50 binoculars. Dust tail obvious.

1902 MST: Viewed the comet, 102X. Nice view of the comet's short dust tail.

Mounted the D850 DSLR at prime focus + focal reducer, focused on Capella, and locked the 12" mirror. Used the iPhone to GOTO the comet's position near the Zenith.

1912 MST: StarLock ON.

Did StarLock autoguided test exposures at 15, 20, 25, and 30 seconds, ISO 12800. Decided to use 20 seconds to reduce effect of the comet's motion. Seeing and autoguiding were not very good this night and this was the only good image of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) I was able to get.

1931 MST: StarLock OFF.

Viewed the comet, 102X.

1939 MST: LX600 OFF.

1946 MST: Dome ON. Wi-Fi OFF.

Close: Tuesday, 7 February 2023, 1952 MST Temperature: 43°F

Session Length: 1h 38m Conditions: Clear

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