Keep a notebook!

[cotterless45]

Yo, I keep a 6"x8" ring bound notebook for observations and drawings. After 2 year I've managed just over 50 pages and 52 Messiers. It's a great way to keep a record , not only for reference magnifications etc., but to show others what is possible.

At star parties folk are quite amazed, it really is worthwhile keeping a simple record.

I put a few pages on my album, afraid we're old school! Nice.

Nick.

[Beulah]

Thanks for the reminder. When I am out observing in the rare clear nights we have round here I'm usually too wired to keep records. Got to try harder next time.

[richbyers]

done this since the beginning, i keep a record of each session, and at the end state targets for next session...i also state weather, location, time, time spent viewing, and reasons if it has to end early, then i mark down any highlights such as newly bagged luner or messiers, or comets, and add them to a seperate notebook which is the log for them

heres another tip---- BUY A WHITE BOARD- i use these for equations and studying, however they are great to plan sessions on, perhaps im just a visual learner

[cotterless45]

It always amazes me that folk don't some result of longa hours in the cold and dark. Looking back a year later is instructive. Without some note, I'd feel as if I had nothing to show!

As we don't get much time I prefer visual to going the astrophotography way.

Usually I do a rough sketch at the scope, then a better one in the book, remembering the details, nice.

Nick.

[richbyers]

i have wanted to start sketching, my notes being purely text, have you any tips? i look at the astro now mag sketching section but the skills are beyond me

rich

[Mike73]

Rich I asked the same question a while ago, take a look at this thread.

http://stargazerslounge.com/imaging-sketches-unconventional/179606-what-do-i-need-start-sketching.html

[richbyers]

cheers, will do

rich

[Beulah]

My main issue is light exposure - I would need a red light source to make those notes and want to try and maintain good dark adaption. Need to dim the red LED torch a little...

Creating a record afterwards would be useless as I am cold and want to go to bed!

There, that's my excuses out of the way. Time to pull that dusty sketchbook off the shelf I bought two years ago with the intent of recording observations...

There has been some extremely memorable sights I have had at the telescope and although I can still remember them clearly, there are other elements that are forgotten.

[Mike73]

Another problem l have found with making notes/sketches is having a red LED which is too bright that just reflects light off the white paper. l found my head torch was the worst thing so I'm now I'm using a book light like the one in this thread.

http://stargazerslounge.com/astro-lounge/184325-led-mod-flight-cases.html

[Rattler]

I started with a log but the last few sessions I haven't. I need to catch up and carry on with it.

[RikM]

I have a little A5 spiral bound book that I use as an observing log book. I use spiral bound cartridge paper pads for sketching. I have keep a more or less complete record of my observing, with notes on sky and weather conditions, which objects I could see (or couldn't see) what equipment I used etc. It seems like a chore at the time, but looking back, it allows me to see how far I've progressed over just the past couple of years really.

[Double Kick Drum]

My main issue is light exposure - I would need a red light source to make those notes and want to try and maintain good dark adaption. Need to dim the red LED torch a little...

Creating a record afterwards would be useless as I am cold and want to go to bed!

There, that's my excuses out of the way. Time to pull that dusty sketchbook off the shelf I bought two years ago with the intent of recording observations...

There has been some extremely memorable sights I have had at the telescope and although I can still remember them clearly, there are other elements that are forgotten.

Due to the dark my notes tend to be in hieroglyphs at the moment and merely enough to transpose on to this forum as a record. One day I will write it up properly with the odd sketch but for now.... $>> 9.5 ;-)

[MrTreyLynch]

I write down everything for research later

[Marki]

I try to write up a few notes as soon as I get back in, otherwise I'll forget the next day. Usually just a few lines of text to note seeing conditions etc., and quick sketches (phase of Venus, which moons of Jupiter I can see - that sort of thing). I also note different ep/barlow/filter combos, camera settings and so on, so I can see what seems to work best for my various scopes.

[scandal]

I use an old A4 size diary so the date is noted, all I have to do is note the time. I record what I see and any info regarding them... I sketch on a piece of paper then draw it properly in my record as soon as I go indoors.

[Qualia]

My main issue is light exposure - I would need a red light source to make those notes and want to try and maintain good dark adaption.

Another problem l have found with making notes/sketches is having a red LED which is too bright that just reflects light off the white paper.

Being a keenish cyclist, I have found no problem whipping the little LED safety lights from my bike and using them for sketching and note taking. They have just the right balance - for me - of being able to see what you're doing but not messing up night vision. The type I use can be found here: http://www.cateye.com/en/products/detail/TL-LD130-R/moreinfo/

[Mr Moff]

I keep notes as well,mostly of what I've seen and which eyepiece gave the best view.Also I go through books and keep notes and dates on anything exciting coming up.

When I've had a good long session I normally can't sleep because I'm still fired up and excited,so I always do notes after rather than while I'm observing.

Danny.

PS I like the white board idea.

[WaveSoarer]

As a research scientist I always keep a note book of all the work I do and I prefer something that can be scribbled in with sketches and the odd photo pritt sticked in. I must be a bit old school as we're being persuaded to move to a computerised system. I'm resisting this though as a book doesn't become incompatible and doesn't require any software upgrades. Still, although I have stacks of A4 hard-back note books for the day job I haven't been all that good about keeping my astronomy notes in a presentable form. All I've done, so far at least, is keep records and sketches on post-it notes which I've attached to the relevant pages of "Turn Left at Orion". I must do something about it before the dark clear nights come back.

[Mike73]

All I've done, so far at least, is keep records and sketches on post-it notes which I've attached to the relevant pages of "Turn Left at Orion". I must do something about it before the dark clear nights come back.

I did the same and although it made sense at the time it soon became a right mess!

I've only got notes going back to when I started in January but even after 6 months most of them seem really vague or I have to read them back a few times to understand them. Poor handwriting under dim red lights was never going to be a good combo!

Looking at a sketch is 10 times better than notes for me, just takes longer to do.

[Siriusmeg]

in my notebook I keep notes of targets for an evening's observing, with sketches of the relevant bits of sky - drawing it out first seems to help me get a strong visual on it particularly as I'm still finding my way around the sky, especially at this time of year. Then during a night's observing I will make notes next to a sketch e.g. ep used, colour variation in target, position of moons of Saturn etc. Then later that evening or (more likely) next day I can use these to write up in more detail - and I can look up which of Saturn's moons I was actually looking at if I have sketch of where I saw them. As I get into a 2nd year of observing, I guess it will be useful to look back at targets seen at a particular time and whether my observing skills have progressed at all

[Pete Presland]

a notebook is something that i had never thought about untill i started imaging.i am pretty heavy handed at best and my drawing ability is err... fairly awfull.i do wish that over the last 25-30 years of on/off astronomy i had made some notes to look back on though.

[jflowers]

Love the WB idea for the planned viewing. Really need to be a little more disciplined with observing (not to the point where its not fun), notes and sketches of the decent views of the night must be very useful later on.

[TractionMan]

Well, I 've only had a couple of sessions since I got my scope, but I want to keep a record on my (so far limited) observations. Don't really like to move my eye away from the EP once I've found something interesting so using a notebook might not work that well for me. So I thought I'd use my old, cheap Olympus voice recorder with voice activation, the next time I'm out. Ok I hate the sound of my own voice, but I only have to listen to it until I'm done writing my personal observation reports afterwards. Silly idea?

[dharma66]

No, sounds like a great idea! No need for red lights, and no need to take your eyes from the eyepiece. You can speak as you are actually looking at the object, and that has the potential to give much more accurate note taking.

In fact, I might just nick your idea!

[Stargazer51N]

I keep simple notes of each session (when, where, equipment, conditions, what I saw) in a notebook. I try different combinations of eyepiece / barlow / filter and write down results of what works best (I find this useful to refer back to when planning future sessions). I have the long/lat of observing locations I use written in the front so it's easy to update the goto. I sometimes do very simple sketches to remind me what I've seen or to use to try and identify an object I've stumbled upon (back in the warm using Stellarium or reference books.

On cloudy nights It's good to look back through my notes from time to time to remind myself just how rewarding a hobby this can be