Open: Thursday, 21 May 2026, 1823 MST Temperature: 76°F

Session: 2137 Conditions: Clear, breezy

Equipment:
12" f/8 LX600 w/StarLock
2" 24mm UWA eyepiece
2" 5.5mm 100° eyepiece
1.25" 26mm eyepiece
1.25" 40mm eyepiece

Camera:
iPhone 15 Pro Max

1833 MST: LX600 ON, StarLock OFF, High Precision OFF.

Viewed the planet Venus, 102X and 443X. The gibbous phase was nice at 443X.

Took this handheld iPhone 15 Pro Max afocal 443X image of Venus using the Camera app (1X lens).

Viewed the planet Jupiter, 443X and 94X. The equatorial clouds bands were visible in the bright sky before sunset.

Viewed the Moon, 94X and 61X.

1849 MST: Relaxed on the observatory patio bench.

1922 MST: Sunset.

1925 MST: Took these handheld iPhone photos of the Moon using the Camera app with the 1X, 2X, and 5X lens, respectively, to show the image scale with the various focal lengths.

Attached the LiDAR Cover on the iPhone and mounted the phone on the 1.25" 40mm eyepiece using the 3-axis adapter.

Took this iPhone afocal 94X image of the Moon using the Camera app (1X lens). Compare the image scale to the previous images.

Then did some lunar observing, 443X. The craters Posidonius, Theophilus, and Piccolomini were especially nice.

Mounted the iPhone with LiDAR Cover on the 2" 5.5mm eyepiece using the 3-axis adapter. Took these images using the Camera app (1X lens). Compare the image scale to the previous Moon images.

Crater Posidonius


Crater Theophilus


Crater Piccolomini

Viewed Jupiter, 443X. The four Galilean Moons were in the same field-of-view as the planet, making for a nice highly magnified sight. Then viewed Jupiter and the moons, 102X.

1956 MST: LX600 OFF.

Close: Thursday, 21 May 2026, 2005 MST Temperature: 71°F

Session Length: 1h 42m Conditions: Clear, calm

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