Open: Sunday, 20 April 2025, 1834 MST Temperature: 84°F

Session: 2090 Conditions: Mostly clear

Equipment:
12" f/8 LX600 w/StarLock
2" 24mm UWA eyepiece
2" 50mm eyepiece
2" 30mm eyepiece

Camera:
iPhone 15 Pro Max

1844 MST: LX600 ON, StarLock OFF, High Precision OFF.

Viewed Jupiter, 102X. No moons were yet visible in the bright sky.

1849-1930 MST: Relaxed on the observatory patio bench to watch the stars come out.

1859 MST: Sunset.

1931 MST: Viewed Jupiter and the four Galilean Moons, 102X.

1933 MST: High Precision ON.

Slewed to M65 (galaxy), part of the Leo Triplet of Galaxies. It was not yet visible in the bright twilight sky.

1936 MST: High Precision OFF.

1944 MST: M65 and M66 galaxies were now faintly visible in the twilight sky, 102X and 49X. NGC3628 (Sarah's Galaxy) was not yet visible.

Attached the LiDAR Cover on the iPhone 15 Pro Max and mounted the iPhone on the 2" 50mm eyepiece using the 3-axis adapter.

2000 MST: StarLock ON.

Took this StarLock autoguided afocal 49X image of the Leo Triplet of Galaxies using the Camera app (Night Mode, 30 seconds, 1X lens).

Mouseover or tap on image for labels

2008 MST: StarLock OFF.

Viewed all three galaxies in the Leo Triplet, 49X and 81X.

2013 MST: Wi-Fi ON.

Used SkySafari 7 Pro on the iPhone 15 Pro Max to GOTO Asteroid 13 Egeria, Mag. +12.0. After several minutes I was not able to positively identify the faint asteroid in the faint star field.

2045 MST: Wi-Fi OFF.

2047 MST: LX600 OFF.

2057 MST: Took a Sky Quality reading and reported the result to Globe at Night.

Close: Sunday, 20 April 2025, 2102 MST Temperature: 59°F

Session Length: 2h 28m Conditions: Clear, SQM 21.01

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Here's a short article I wrote for the Friends of Oracle State Park for International Dark Sky Week 2025.

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