Friday, 8 December 2023, was cloudy. Saturday, 9 December, I attended the Ugly Sweater Star Party at Oracle State Park, our local DarkSky International (formerly the International Dark-Sky Association) "International Dark Sky Park". A wildfire broke out a few miles west of Oracle on a very windy Sunday afternoon, 10 December.

Due to quick work by local firefighters, it was 100% contained before sunset. Clouds came in about sunset and the winds continued.

Open: Thursday, 14 December 2023, 1711 MST Temperature: 70°F

Session: 1934 Conditions: Clear

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

Camera:
iPhone 15 Pro Max
D850 DSLR

1716 MST: LX600 ON, StarLock OFF, High Precision OFF.

1719 MST: Sunset.

Viewed the crescent Moon low in the southwestern sky, 102X.

Prepared the D850 DSLR for imaging Barnard Objects (dark nebulae) later.

1730 MST: Relaxed on the observatory patio bench.

1743 MST: Back at the 12" telescope I took this handheld iPhone 15 Pro Max afocal 102X image of the Moon using NightCap Camera (ISO 55, 1/260sec, 1X lens).

I then went back outside of the observatory and relaxed on the bench for a few minutes.

1800 MST: I took this handheld iPhone photo of the southwestern sky, the crescent Moon with Earthshine, and a Yucca plant. The photograph was taken with the Camera app (5X).

1801 MST: I returned to the observatory. Viewed Saturn and two moons, 102X. Viewed Jupiter and 3 moons, 102X.

SYNCed the telescope on Deneb, mounted the D850 DSLR at prime focus + focal reducer, focused on Deneb, and locked the 12" mirror.

1826 MST: High Precision ON.

Slewed to B171.

1829 MST: StarLock ON.

I waited a few minutes for the sky to get darker.

1830 MST: Saw a nice Geminids Meteor Shower meteor low in the eastern sky, moving south.

I then began imaging Barnard Objects, StarLock autoguided, prime focus + focal reducer, 2 minutes, ISO 3200.

1906 MST: StarLock OFF.

1912 MST: Viewed Jupiter again, 102X. All four Galilean Moons were visible.

1913 MST: LX600 OFF.

I mounted the iPhone on a tabletop tripod using the Levenhuk Smartphone Adapter. For comparison purposes I took an image of the Summer Triangle and the Milky Way using two apps.

Camera app (Night Mode, 30 seconds, 1X lens)


Nocturne app (automatic mode, about 2 minutes exposure, 1X lens)

1931 MST: Saw a probable Geminids meteor in the western sky. It was a long meteor.

1950 MST: Took a Sky Quality reading.

Close: Thursday, 14 December 2023, 1952 MST Temperature: 47°F

Session Length: 2h 41m Conditions: Clear, SQM 20.94

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