Saturday, 22 February 2025, I attended a star party at Oracle State Park, our local International Dark Sky Park. My report is here.

Open: Sunday, 23 February 2025, 1808 MST Temperature: 82°F

Session: 2074 Conditions: Clear

Equipment:
12" f/8 LX600 w/StarLock
2" 24mm UWA eyepiece
2" 9mm 100° eyepiece

Camera:
iPhone 15 Pro Max
D850 DSLR

SYNCed observatory clock to WWV time signals.

1815 MST: Sunset.

1816 MST: LX600 ON, StarLock OFF, High Precision OFF.

Tried to observe Mercury, low in the western sky. It was not yet visible in the bright twilight sky.

Prepared the D850 DSLR for imaging.

1825 MST: Relaxed on the observatory patio bench.

1838 MST: Back in the observatory, I viewed Mercury, 102X. A small disk was visible.

Viewed Venus, 102X and 271X. A nice crescent phase was visible.

Attached the LiDAR Cover on the iPhone 15 Pro Max and mounted the iPhone on the 2" 9mm eyepiece using the 3-axis adapter. This is a stack of 2519 video frames taken with the Final Cut Camera app (1080p, 240fps, 1/2000sec, ISO 100, 10 seconds).

Viewed Mars, 102X and 271X. The North Polar Cap was visible.

1858 MST: High Precision ON.

Slewed the telescope to M82 (Cigar Galaxy). It was not visible in the still bright twilight sky. Mounted the D850 DSLR camera at prime focus.

1905 MST: Relaxed on the observatory patio bench while waiting for Astronomical Twilight to end.

1924 MST: Back in the observatory, I prepared to begin imaging M82 (Cigar Galaxy). Focused on the star Dubhe, locked the telescope primary mirror, and slewed to M82.

1930 MST: StarLock ON.

After doing one framing test exposure and centering the Cigar Galaxy, I took 15 StarLock autoguided exposures (1 minute, ISO 5000) of M82. Unfortunately, seeing was not good and only 9 images were good enough for stacking. This is a stack of those 9 images for an effective exposure of 9 minutes.

1952 MST: StarLock OFF.

Viewed M82 (Cigar Galaxy), 102X. Viewed M81 (Bode's Galaxy), 102X. Then viewed M81 and M82, both in the same field-of-view, 102X.

2003 MST: LX600 OFF.

2010 MST: Took a Sky Quality reading and reported the result to Globe at Night. The reading (and Sky Quality) was negatively impacted by some unshielded, bright white lights at a neighboring home.

Close: Sunday, 23 February 2025, 2018 MST Temperature: 57°F

Session Length: 2h 10m Conditions: Clear, SQM 20.70

This is an iPhone photo (short exposure) of the neighbor's lights. The lights were casting shadows on the observatory. The third photo shows good outdoor lighting at Oracle State Park, our local International Dark Sky Park. Unlike the neighbor's lights, the red lights at the Park provide safety and security, and do not impact the natural nocturnal environment that humans and wildlife depend on for good health.

---

Comments are welcome using Email. Please read the Email Etiquette guidance.

---

Previous report

Cassiopeia Observatory Home Page