Saturday, 2 March 2024, was clear. I had planned to do a photography dry run that afternoon in preparation for the 8 April Total Solar Eclipse, but it was too windy and stayed that way that night. Winds continued on Sunday, 3 March, but they were less strong. I decided to open the observatory that night since the forecasts were for more wind and increasing cloud cover for the next few nights.

Open: Sunday, 3 March 2024, 1809 MST Temperature: 70°F

Session: 1945 Conditions: Mostly clear, windy

Equipment:
12" f/8 LX600 w/StarLock
2" 24mm UWA eyepiece
2" 30mm eyepiece
12x50 binoculars

Camera:
iPhone 15 Pro Max

1819 MST: Relaxed on the observatory patio bench while waiting for the wind to calm down.

1822 MST: Sunset.

1842 MST: Calmer now. Went back inside the observatory.

1844 MST: LX600 ON, StarLock OFF, High Precision OFF.

Viewed Jupiter and the four Galilean Moons, 102X.

1850 MST: Wi-Fi ON.

Used SkySafari Pro 7 on the iPhone 15 Pro Max to GOTO Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks.

1858 MST: The comet was now visible, 102X. The coma was faintly visible in the eyepiece in the twilight sky.

1907 MST: This photo shows the telescope pointed at Comet Pons-Brooks to indicate how low in the northwestern sky the comet was. The photo was taken with the iPhone Camera app (Night Mode, 3 seconds, 0.5X lens).

Attached the LiDAR Cover on the iPhone and mounted the iPhone on the 2" 30mm eyepiece using the Accuview 3-Axis Smartphone Adapter.

1923 MST: StarLock ON.

This is a StarLock autoguided image of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, iPhone afocal 81X, taken with NightCap Camera (Long Exposure, Light Boost, ISO 50000, 1sec, 1 minute, 1X lens). The tail is visible.

1931 MST: StarLock OFF.

Clouds were rapidly increasing.

1935 MST: Wi-Fi OFF.

Viewed Comet Pons-Brooks, 81X and 102X. A short tail was now visible in the darker sky.

1938 MST: Viewed the comet, 12x50 binoculars. No tail was seen. Then viewed the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), 12x50 binoculars.

1941 MST: LX600 OFF.

Close: Sunday, 3 March 2024, 1949 MST Temperature: 53°F

Session Length: 1h 40m Conditions: Mostly cloudy, breezy

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