8 April 2026 was the 2nd anniversary of the Total Solar Eclipse in 2024 that I viewed from my hometown in Indiana.

Click or tap on image for larger version

To celebrate I wore my Seymour Eclipse shirt at the observatory.

Click An Awesome Total Solar Eclipse Experience April 2024 to read my reports of all the fun I had in my hometown for the eclipse.

Open: Wednesday, 8 April 2026, 1803 MST Temperature: 95°F

Session: 2125 Conditions: Mostly clear

Equipment:
12" f/8 LX600 w/StarLock
2" 24mm UWA eyepiece
1.25" 26mm eyepiece

Camera:
D850 DSLR
iPhone 15 Pro Max

1818 MST: LX600 ON, StarLock OFF, High Precision OFF.

Viewed Venus, 102X and 94X. Slight gibbous phase visible.

Prepared the D850 DSLR camera for imaging.

1824 MST: Relaxed on the observatory patio bench.

1850 MST: Sunset.

1851 MST: Dome OFF.

1943 MST: After watching the stars come out as I relaxed on the bench I returned to the 12" telescope. Viewed Jupiter and the four Galilean Moons, 94X.

Mounted the D850 camera at prime focus, focused on the star Regulus, and locked the telescope mirror.

1956 MST: Wi-Fi ON.

Used SkySafari 7 Pro on the iPhone 15 Pro Max to GOTO Palomar 4 (globular cluster).

2000 MST: StarLock ON.

Autoguiding was erratic again this session, but I was able to get this StarLock autoguided, prime focus image, 3 minutes, ISO 8000, of Palomar 4 (globular cluster).

This image, 47 seconds, ISO 8000, shows where Laevens 1 (globular cluster) is located. I was not able to get a longer exposure with better pointing due to the autoguiding errors. Will try again on a future session.

2105 MST: Wi-Fi OFF.

As part of my 2nd anniversary celebration of the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse in my hometown, I viewed NGC3628 (Sarah's Galaxy), 94X. I had a school classmate named Sarah. I mention her in my autobiography Finding my Way to the Stars.

I attached the LiDAR Cover on the iPhone and mounted the phone on the 26mm eyepiece. Took this StarLock autoguided afocal 94X image of NGC3628 (Sarah's Galaxy).

2129 MST: StarLock OFF.

Viewed M104 (Sombrero Galaxy), 94X and 102X.

2137 MST: LX600 OFF.

2144 MST: Dome ON.

2149 MST: Took a Sky Quality reading and reported the result to Globe at Night.

Close: Wednesday, 8 April 2026, 2153 MST Temperature: 66°F

Session Length: 3h 50m Conditions: Clear, SQM 20.89

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