Stargazing logs?

[BoilerNebula]

Just wondering how many of you keep a log of your stargazing? I have never really been a person who kept a journal or anything. I can see how it would help keep track of what you observed. Let me know what think of them, pros and cons. Thanks!

[atmenterprises]

I keep a log when I have the dob out. I also have a silver Sharpie that I use to write the object and date I first saw it on the OTA and with whom I saw it. I know that kills any resale value, but I don't plan on selling it!

[BoilerNebula]

I keep a log when I have the dob out. I also have a silver Sharpie that I use to write the object and date I first saw it on the OTA and with whom I saw it. I know that kills any resale value, but I don't plan on selling it!

It probably gives it a personal feel!

[atmenterprises]

If nothing else it's "decorated"!

[Rockrae78]

I keep a journal... I note the conditions, and the journey I took in terms of star hopping etc. I also list the equipment tried and used for different ojbects. I find it helps when I want to go back and look at something again! I also sketch some of the more unusual or more impressive sights I've seen!

Sometimes, if I'm not sure that what I've seen, is actually the object I was looking for, I can compare the sketch to what I can see on Stellarium...

I'd recommend taking notes of some kind, even if you only take notes on the Messier or Caldwell objects you've seen. I like the idea of noting this on the scope... I'd kind of like to do this now! Sort of like the old country stickers you used to get for your suitcase... It's like a kind of map of what the scope has seen! Cool!

[Eastridge]

Just a simple notebook with date, what object, what mag / EP and comments. Helps to look back and see how views are evolving. Noting conditions seems like a good idea but I don't feel experienced enough yet to really know how they are.

[Rockrae78]

The type of conditions I note aren't really that detailed... Usually, it's just how clear/ dark the sky is, how much light pollution (extremely useful when going to different sites), and the phase of the moon. I've only been at this since July, and most of the sessions I've had have been since October, but already, it's becoming apparent to me how each of these things affect a session.

More recently, I've been including notes on whether or not it was windy (I never realised how wind really does affect your sessions because I'm normally somewhere sheltered, but I've been trying to find new sites and some are rather exposed!), and how humid it is. The humidity one is also proving to be rather useful - I don't have any kind of dew shields or anything for my scope, so now I'm starting to see how quickly my scope can fog up, or how quickly eyepieces can become affected etc. I get the information on humidity and wind from the met office website so not really anything technical.

[BoilerNebula]

I keep a journal... I note the conditions, and the journey I took in terms of star hopping etc. I also list the equipment tried and used for different ojbects. I find it helps when I want to go back and look at something again! I also sketch some of the more unusual or more impressive sights I've seen!

Sometimes, if I'm not sure that what I've seen, is actually the object I was looking for, I can compare the sketch to what I can see on Stellarium...

I'd recommend taking notes of some kind, even if you only take notes on the Messier or Caldwell objects you've seen. I like the idea of noting this on the scope... I'd kind of like to do this now! Sort of like the old country stickers you used to get for your suitcase... It's like a kind of map of what the scope has seen! Cool!

Thank you. How is useful is Stellarium?

[r3i]

Like a few others I note down my musings within a blog, which in my case is hosted using Drupal on a NAS box - there was a similar thread to this here: http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/159494-keeping-a-journal-of-observations/

[Rockrae78]

Thank you. How is useful is Stellarium?

Very! From reading over threads on this forum, it would seem that lots of people do use it on a regular basis. I use it to help me identify things in the sky, to help me plan my sessions (it's very good for learning to starhop), and to look for things when the weather isn't on our side!

I would highly recommend it!

[BoilerNebula]

Very! From reading over threads on this forum, it would seem that lots of people do use it on a regular basis. I use it to help me identify things in the sky, to help me plan my sessions (it's very good for learning to starhop), and to look for things when the weather isn't on our side!

I would highly recommend it!

Just downloaded it and it seems very nice. Thanks!

[cantab]

I usually take notes. They're not remotely neat or organised, I just note down the date (as eg 17th-18th December to avoid ambiguity) and time I was observing for, what I looked for, and what it looked like if I found it. If I only intend to look at bright favourite objects and not chase any new DSOs then I tend not to bother with the notebook.

[BinocularSky]

I have produced a log sheet for binocular observations, which anyone is welcome to adapt for whatever purposes s/he wishes. For 'pooter-based logging, etc, I like Astroplanner (I run the Windows version under Linux with Wine)

[S.A.M]

I take notes every time I am out, nice to know what I have looked at so hopefully I do not go back to the same object too many times? Each month I normally put a viewing log in our society's magazine, http://wasnet.co.uk/NWAS/Dec12.pdf, see page 16 for my report about my recent trip to Oz to view the latest total solar eclipse. It might get some poeple outside to view an object I have looked at in the past, it is possilbe that have never heard about this object, an example is NGC 457, the Owl Nebula, does it really look like an Owl?

Peter

[VigdisVZ]

I just started a Google Docs spreadsheet where I note the following:

Date, location, notes, conditions, object, what I thought of it and lastly if it was scope visually, scope camera or binos.

I also color code the object green if its a first, and yellow for a revisit and pink for photography.

[Mike73]

I have a couple ways to log everything I observe.

Everything I see I sketch and add a report to my blog. Its great for others to see and read my observations but its also a very handy reference for myself for when I revisit objects.

Astroplanner is a great program which I'd completely recommend to anyone who wants to get organised with there planning and logging of objects. It took me a while to get used to it but it really is an excellent program.

[BinocularSky]

an example is NGC 457, the Owl Nebula, does it really look like an Owl?

Nah, it's a stickman, with big bug-eyes, raising his arms and calling, "Hey, guys, look at me, I'm over here!"

[acey]

If you're viewing a large number of DSOs and want to make a concise description of each, then a very good system is the one invented by William Herschel and used by the observers who contributed to Dreyer's NGC. A full list is here - http://obs.nineplanets.org/ngc.html.

A downside is that it was invented in the 18th century so doesn't exactly equate with modern English - for example it seems odd now that pF ("pretty faint") is the next step down from pB ("pretty bright"). But if you view a lot of NGC objects then it's useful to compare your own observations with how the discoverers saw them, and they all used this notation.

[Matt Scunthorpe]

I use to take notes and do little sketches until we got into winter. Now my hands get too cold to do anything useful. I had to warm my fingers up using the central heating outlet the other night, must of looked a right wierdo lol, as its a full arms length up the wall. Im sure no more weird that how i look anyway

[Matt Scunthorpe]

Thank you. How is useful is Stellarium?

Oh and downloading Stellarium should be top of your to-do list! I sometimes just explore it on a cloudy night, almost feels like the real thing lol.

[Ganymede12]

I keep lots of logs...

Seriously though, I do keep a journal of observations. I use it to make small sketches which I can do quite comfortably in my garden but when I was up Blaenavon in the cold I found that it was very hard to sketch or write!

[acey]

I use to take notes and do little sketches until we got into winter. Now my hands get too cold to do anything useful. I had to warm my fingers up using the central heating outlet the other night, must of looked a right wierdo lol, as its a full arms length up the wall. Im sure no more weird that how i look anyway

Yes, writing notes is a problem because gloves are essential - for me at least - when doing astronomy at virtually any time of year. Thick ski-type gloves are no use - I've found the best approach is to use several layers of thin ones. In the coldest weather I start with a pair (or two) of thin disposable latex gloves, then one or two thin "glove liners" (silk or wool), then a pair or leather gloves or, in the very coldest weather, waterproof "thinsulate" ones. I can still write, turn the pages of a book, change filters etc, and my hands stay warm.

[RikM]

I do try and write up notes and sketches but I have been a bit lazy lately. I normally use a hard back spiral wound notebook and then stick in pages from my sketch pad.

[cyborg421]

If you've got Skysafari, then you can record notes on the observing lists and put a slider across to say you've observed an object.

Simon

[stem1989]

I use a journal but its only brief about 3 lines an entry,

Day, Time, Conditions, Location, What was observed, just helps me when I come to looking over images and forgetting when they were taken and where.