Open: Saturday, 9 May 2026, 1843 MST Temperature: 83°F

Session: 2133 Conditions: Clear

Equipment:
12" f/8 LX600 w/StarLock
2" 24mm UWA eyepiece
2" 14mm 100° eyepiece
2" 9mm 100° eyepiece
12x50 binoculars

Camera:
iPhone 15 Pro Max

1848 MST: LX600 ON, StarLock OFF, High Precision OFF.

Viewed Venus, 102X and 174X.

Viewed Jupiter, 174X. The Great Red Spot was visible, although it is more a Pale Pink Spot currently and has been for several years.

1857 MST: Relaxed on the observatory patio bench.

1915 MST: Sunset.

1945 MST: Viewed Jupiter, 12x50 binoculars. Three of the four Galilean Moons were visible in the binoculars.

2009 MST: Saying goodbye to Orion, low in the western sky. iPhone 15 Pro Max photo taken with the Camera app (Night Mode, 3 seconds, 1X lens, handheld).

While relaxing on the bench to enjoy being out under the stars, I used the 12x50 binoculars to observe M13 (the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules).

2028 MST: Back in the observatory.

Viewed M13, 174X and 271X. Both magnifications provided nice views.

Attached the LiDAR Cover on the iPhone and mounted the iPhone on the 2" 9mm eyepiece using a 3-axis smartphone adapter.

2050 MST: StarLock ON.

Took this StarLock autoguided afocal 271X image of M13 (the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules) using the iPhone Camera app (Night Mode, 30 seconds, 1X lens).

2103 MST: StarLock OFF.

Viewed Omega Centauri (globular cluster), 102X. It was too low in the southeastern sky with the view through tree limbs.

2109 MST: LX600 OFF.

2118 MST: Took a Sky Quality reading and reported the result to Globe at Night.

Close: Saturday, 9 May 2026, 2122 MST Temperature: 73°F

Session Length: 2h 39m Conditions: Clear, SQM 20.98

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