Thursday, 22 October 2020, was cloudy with some smoke from California and Arizona wildfires still visible. Rain is in the forecast for Sunday so maybe the atmosphere will finally get a cleansing.

As I recently mentioned I had decided to permanently provide electricity to the Meade Stella Wi-Fi Adapter whose battery would no longer charge. Thursday morning I relocated its power cord to a permanent position. Now I just flip a switch and power it on to control the LX600 telescope from my iPhone using Wi-Fi.

Clouds (and smoke and wind) increased Thursday afternoon, but quickly decreased as sunset approached.

Open: Thursday, 22 October 2020, 1946 MST Temperature: 71°F

Session: 1545 Conditions: Clear

Equipment:
12" f/8 LX600 w/StarLock
2" 24mm UWA eyepiece
2" 4X Powermate

Camera:
D850 DSLR

1949 MST: LX600 ON, StarLock OFF, High Precision OFF.

Moon, Saturn, and Jupiter made a nice triangle in the southwestern sky.

1953 MST: Moon, Saturn, and Jupiter, D850 DSLR (f/5.6, 1/20sec, ISO 200, FL 300mm).

Mouseover or tap on image for labels

Viewed the near First Quarter Moon, 102X.

Viewed Jupiter and 4 moons, 102X. Then Saturn, 102X and 406X. Returned to the Moon and viewed it, 406X. Nice sights.

Mounted the D850 DSLR at prime focus + focal reducer for this image (1/320sec, ISO 200).

Added the 4X Powermate for this image of the craters Aristoteles and Eudoxus at center (1/250sec, ISO 5000).

2030 MST: viewed Mars, 102X and 406X.

Viewed Saturn, Moon, and Jupiter, 12x50 binoculars. The Moon and Saturn were visible in the same 4.6° field-of-view (FOV). Jupiter was just beyond the FOV.

2039 MST: LX600 OFF.

Close: Thursday, 22 October 2020, 2048 MST Temperature: 69°F

Session Length: 1h 02m Conditions: Clear, breezy

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