After being closed for one week due to the Cody Fire in Oracle, Oracle State Park, our International Dark Sky Park, re-opened on Wednesday, 28 May 2025. The sky was cloudy and with potentially heavy rain the forecasts, Thursday morning, 29 May, I put the Dome Cover ON. Sunday night, 1 June, the rain arrived (0.23"). Due to various conditions I did not open the observatory for an extended period of time.

On Saturday, 14 June, I attended a Star Party at Oracle State Park. My report is here.

Monday night, 16 June, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. I took the following photographs using the iPhone 15 Pro Max Camera app in Night Mode (3 seconds).

1933 MST: Sunset.

203600 MST: Launch.

204045 MST: 2nd Stage Rocket Plume (1X lens)


204100 MST: 2nd Stage Rocket Plume, 1st Stage exhaust (5X lens)


204158 MST: 2nd Stage Rocket Plume, 1st Stage exhaust (2X lens)


204238 MST: 2nd Stage Rocket Plume, 1st Stage exhaust (1X lens)


204307 MST: 2nd Stage Rocket Plume, 1st Stage entry burn (1X lens)


204314 MST: 2nd Stage Rocket Plume, 1st Stage entry burn (1X lens)


204323 MST: 1st Stage entry burn (5X lens)


204341 MST: 2nd Stage Rocket Plume (1X lens)

I then began looking for the newly discovered Nova V462 Lup in the constellation of Lupus. It was reported as Mag. +6.4. I could not see it naked eye. This iPhone 15 Pro Max photograph (Night Mode, 10 seconds, 1X lens) shows the nova.

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