Open: Thursday, 2 June 2022, 1904 MST Temperature: 86°F

Session: 1776 Conditions: Clear

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

Camera:
D850 DSLR

Prepared the D850 DSLR for Moon imaging.

1929 MST: Sunset.

1931 MST: LX600 ON, StarLock OFF, High Precision OFF.

Updated the two-line element (TLE) for the International Space Station (ISS) using the AutoStar II.

Then viewed the Moon, 102X.

Checked the alignments of the two finderscopes on the 12" telescope. No adjustments needed.

1948 MST: Mounted the D850 DSLR at prime focus + focal reducer.

2011 MST: Began imaging the Moon, prime focus + focal reducer, D850 DSLR (1/500sec and 1 second, respectively, ISO 800).

I then mounted the D850 DSLR at prime focus for the upcoming excellent pass of the ISS. Focused on the Moon and locked the 12" primary mirror.

2023 MST: Dome OFF.

2030 MST: Everything was ready for the ISS pass, which would begin at 2033 MST. The space station would rise behind some trees. It would not be visible from the telescope for the first half of the pass due to the observatory dome. But I hoped to catch it at the Zenith when the space station would appear the largest.

I did a video recording (2160p, 30 fps, 1/2500sec, ISO 1600) during the pass. Unfortunately, I was not able to get the ISS in the camera field-of-view until well after mid-pass. And tracking was not too good, resulting in some blurring of the image. Here are images of the ISS from four of the video frames.

2048 MST: Dome ON.

2049 MST: LX600 OFF.

Close: Thursday, 2 June 2022, 2058 MST Temperature: 74°F

Session Length: 1h 54m Conditions: Clear

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