Late Tuesday afternoon, 9 July 2024, nearby Monsoon Season thunderstorms popped up, bringing strong wind and clouds to Oracle. Most of the day Wednesday, 10 July, the sky was clear. That changed when I went to the observatory to prepare for the night's excellent pass of the International Space Station (ISS).

Open: Wednesday, 10 July 2024, 1852 MST Temperature: 96°F

Session: 1995 Conditions: Mostly cloudy

Camera:
iPhone 15 Pro Max

Upon arrival at the observatory I decided to not open the observatory dome as the sky was mostly cloudy. I had planned to do another iPhone video recording test of the ISS as seen in the 12" telescope, but the clouds made the prospect of even seeing the ISS doubtful.

1858 MST: Relaxed on the observatory patio bench to monitor the clouds.

1859 MST: Clouds over Cassiopeia Observatory.

1925 MST: Clouds at the Zenith over Cassiopeia Observatory as sunset approached.

1930 MST: At this time I had originally planned to use the star Arcturus and the Moon to focus the telescope and adjust the exposure on the iPhone. But clouds would have been it difficult to get the telescope and camera properly configured in time for the pass that would begin at 2006 MST.

1932 MST: The ISS pass trajectory across the sky was still mostly cloudy.

1935 MST: Raindrops!!

1937 MST: Sunset.

I decided to mount the iPhone 15 Pro Max on a camera tripod and use the NightCap Camera app in ISS mode to capture the ISS pass over Cassiopeia Observatory.

2009 MST: This is a 4+ minute exposure (ISO 64, 1 second, 0.5X lens) of the ISS.

Although the sky was clearing after the ISS pass, there were still clouds in parts of the sky. I ended the session to wait for a better night of observing.

Close: Wednesday, 10 July 2024, 2022 MST Temperature: 92°F

Session Length: 1h 30m Conditions: Mostly clear

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