Open: Thursday, 3 August 2023, 1817 MST Temperature: 90°F

Session: 1912 Conditions: Clear, breezy

Equipment:
12" f/8 LX600 w/StarLock
2" 24mm UWA eyepiece
2" 2X Powermate
1.25" Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector
1.25" 15mm eyepiece
2" 30mm eyepiece

Camera:
D850 DSLR
iPhone 13 Pro Max

1821 MST: LX600 ON, StarLock OFF, High Precision OFF.

Viewed Venus, 102X.

Mounted the D850 DSLR at prime focus + 2X Powermate + Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector (ADC).

Full frame image of Venus (1/500sec, ISO 400).

Stack of 1848 video frames (1080p, 60fps, 1/800sec, ISO 400)

Viewed Venus, 163X + ADC.

1850 MST: Relaxed on the observatory patio bench.

1903 MST: Last look at Venus, 102X, behind tree.

1924 MST: Sunset. Calm now.

2000 MST: Back inside the observatory. High Precision ON. Viewed M51 (Whirlpool Galaxy), 81X. Then began waiting for the sky to get darker.

2031 MST: iPhone 13 Pro Max photo (Night Mode, 3 seconds, 1X lens, handheld) of the constellation of Cassiopeia and Cassiopeia Observatory. The constellation shows a "W", which of course, stands for "Weasner".

2045 MST: StarLock ON.

Took the following iPhone images using NightCap Camera (Long Exposure, Light Boost, ISO 32000, 1sec, 1 minute, 1X lens).

M51 (Whirlpool Galaxy), afocal 81X


M20 (Trifid Nebula), afocal 81X


M22 (globular cluster), afocal 163X

2115 MST: StarLock OFF.

The eastern sky was brightening from the rising waning gibbous Moon.

Began observing some Herschel 400 objects, 102X.
Galaxies: NGC6118, NGC6207, and NGC6217.
Globular clusters: NGC6144, NGC6171 (M107), NGC6229, NGC6235, NGC6284, NGC6287, NGC6293, NGC6304, NGC6316, NGC6342, NGC6355, and NGC6356.
Planetary nebula: NGC6369.

Ended observing when the moonlit sky became too bright.

Current Herschel 400 Project summary:

2157 MST: LX600 OFF.

Close: Thursday, 3 August 2023, 2210 MST Temperature: 79°F

Session Length: 3h 53m Conditions: Mostly clear

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