Open: Sunday, 28 April 2024, 1850 MST Temperature: 83°F

Session: 1958 Conditions: Clear

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

Camera:
iPhone 15 Pro Max
D850 DSLR

1858 MST: After opening the observatory I relaxed on the observatory patio bench.

1907 MST: Sunset.

1908 MST: LX600 ON, StarLock OFF, High Precision OFF.

Viewed Jupiter, very low in the western sky and behind a tree, 102X.

1923 MST: Slewed to M42 (Orion Nebula). The nebula was not yet visible in the bright twilight sky, but the Trapezium star cluster was visible, 102X.

1925 MST: Back to the bench while waiting for the sky to get darker.

1941 MST: Saw a tumbling satellite in a polar orbit. According to Heavens-Above, it was the Okean 1 rocket booster. Took this short handheld video using the iPhone 15 Pro Max (5X lens, then 2X lens).

Click to view video

1945 MST: Viewed M42, 102X. Some nebulosity was visible in the twilight sky.

I then prepared the D850 DSLR for imaging.

1952 MST: Relaxed some more on the bench.

1959 MST: Saw two satellites passing through the constellation of Boötes. Took this handheld iPhone video (2X lens). The bright star near the center is Arcturus. The bright satellite at the lower right is the Chinese space station Tiangong. The satellite at the upper left is the Russian Cosmos 2360.

Click to view video

2005 MST: I went back inside the observatory. Viewed M42 (Orion Nebula), 102X. More nebulosity was now visible in the darker sky. However, M42 was low in the sky.

2010 MST: High Precision ON.

Viewed NGC3621 (galaxy), 102X. Supernova 2024ggi was still visible.

2017 MST: I noticed that the Zodiacal Light was visible in the western sky.

Mounted the D850 DSLR at prime focus, focused on the star Minkar, and locked the primary mirror.

2024 MST: StarLock ON.

Took this StarLock autoguided prime focus image of NGC3621 with supernova 2024ggi, 2 minutes, ISO 3200.

Mouseover or tap on image for pointer to supernova

2042 MST: Observatory Wi-Fi ON.

Used SkySafari 7 Pro on the iPhone to GOTO Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3).

Took this StarLock autoguided prime focus image of the comet, 1 minute, ISO 5000.

2052 MST: StarLock OFF, Wi-Fi OFF.

Viewed Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, 102X. The coma and a short tail were visible.

2101 MST: LX600 OFF.

2108 MST: Took a Sky Quality reading and reported the result to Globe at Night.

Close: Sunday, 28 April 2024, 2112 MST Temperature: 61°F

Session Length: 2h 22m Conditions: Clear, SQM 20.97

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