How do you record observations?

[Marvin Jenkins]

My entire Astro journey in one little book. Admittedly I only started in Autumn 2018 and whole observing sessions were covered by just a few lines.

I consider this little, quite worn book my most treasured possession. Far more than my scope and mount.

In the last year I have taken to planning a session on paper, then as it is happening I record it orally on the voice recorder of my phone. This is especially effective when doing lunar observations as sometimes there is so much to describe it is better to just run off at the mouth.

I am not one for spread sheets and horrendous organisation, but I do use a highlight pen for planets, comets, galaxies and NGC’s so I can flick through and see if I have observed them in the past.

I include all observations by date and time no matter how short or even without equipment! Naked eye observations of Mercury being the latest. It is all astronomy after all.

Marvin

[JeremyS]

With variable stars it’s quite easy via an Excel s/sheet, albeit not very romantic. Can upload to variable star database from that, too 

Edited May 21, 2021 by JeremyS

[Jiggy 67]

I’m with you @SuburbanMak I love observing, but I love recording just as much. It doesn’t matter how you do it, but I love the next day when I sit down at the computer and I transfer my handwritten log notes from the night before into SkySafari and onto a spreadsheet (if I have one for that observing list). It’s not only great fun but  if I’m reading an observing report on here for example, I can go straight to SkySafari, search the object and all my observations are there….it’s all part of the hobby imo 

[mikemarotta]

I keep a notebook. I am on my second. This one has both lined and graph pages. I sketch, often to scale, or just record in narrative.

[wookie1965]

I do keep notes but not to a great extent date object mostly what I have seen and which scope but I really should add what eyepiece I used. I should look up the objects and write interesting facts down. 

[mikemarotta]

On 04/05/2021 at 01:59, RobertI said:

I do have an old micro-tape recorder that I sometimes whisper into for reference, ...

It is a bit of a problem reading in the dark. I will plan out an observing session and I can usually follow my notes. But the other night, I just wanted to squeeze in a reminder and I wrote it in red ink. Oh... So, I went over it in black. But it occurred to me that if I used my cellphone for a note keeper, I could record those little reminders. It's a thought. Thanks.

[Starwatcher2001]

So many approaches and all of them right for the individual.

My method is to plan my observing by constellation in a Word document: target, mag, separation etc, interesting facts about the object, the odd screenshot and notes from my last observation. Outside I use Skysafari to navigate.

Like Rob, use a small dictaphone which lets me ramble on whilst looking through the eyepiece. It also helps preserve night vision. I then write my notes up later, again in Word and add new observations to a spreadsheet. It's funny how listening to my voice notes brings back a memory of what I've seen, this seems to be more powerful to me than just writing things down.

 

 

[Wiu-Wiu]

nice ideas! So cool to see so many approaches! 
 

I use paper notes in the field, rewritten on rainy days to scan, put on my website, and classify in a binder. 
all my observations and sketches are logged digitally in Deepskylog . Very handy to doublecheck or even plan ahead.

 

 

[Gonariu]

I draw a drawing of what I observe in a notebook. In addition, I add the date and time, the instrument used and some other notes such as "veiled sky", "strong wind" and so on. I never figured out how to evaluate seeing and honestly never tried…. I do this job for my observations of the Sun and Mars, with Jupiter I am only now able to see more (I thought that in a telescope one could see who knows what ...) but also the last time I looked at it with a achromatic Vixen 102M a few days ago, out of laziness I did not make any drawings. As a math and physics teacher I recycle my observations of the Sun from when I was a boy to show them to my students who are interested (and getting kids interested in what is taught today is not easy!).

[7170]

@RobertI I never managed to find any software that did quite what I wanted when it came to double star observations/measurements so ended up writing my own.

In other cases I just use a spreadsheet. But have intentions of making something I can host on a raspberry pi and access through a browser, the only issue is writing a fits file viewer in javascript will be a pain...

[lunator]

I use an A4 sketchpad. I add 5cm diameter circle to draw within.

I note the day, time, seeing and transparency at the top of the page.

I note the scope and magnification. Draw a sketch and add notes.

I transfer the main data to a spreadsheet.

Cheers

Ian

 

[wookie1965]

17 hours ago, lunator said:

I use an A4 sketchpad. I add 5cm diameter circle to draw within.

I note the day, time, seeing and transparency at the top of the page.

I note the scope and magnification. Draw a sketch and add notes.

I transfer the main data to a spreadsheet.

Cheers

Ian

 

Hi when you say seeing and transparency where do you get those numbers from please.  I think they are on the Clear outside app but if you have another resource that would be most helpful thanks.

Paul

[mikemarotta]

18 hours ago, lunator said:

I use an A4 sketchpad. I add 5cm diameter circle to draw within. ... Cheers, Ian

Well, you do a bit more than that! I visited your website and was greatly impressed with your photographs of doubles. You have an array of nice work on display.

Best Regards,

Mike M.

[mikemarotta]

On 08/08/2021 at 11:21, Gonariu said:

...   with a achromatic Vixen 102M a few days ago, out of laziness I did not make any drawings. As a math and physics teacher ... 

I do not always make drawings. I will at least enter verbal notes, but every now and then, I just go out to view and enjoy. I will lie back in a chaise longue and use a binocular or just enjoy the sky naked eye. 

I try to apply all of the math and physics that I can to my observing. I work as a technical writer, usually in information systems. However, I am on a project now in optics and lasers. That provides some context to my hobby time observing at night.

Best Regards,

Mike M.

[Jiggy 67]

2 hours ago, wookie1965 said:

Hi when you say seeing and transparency where do you get those numbers from please.  I think they are on the Clear outside app but if you have another resource that would be most helpful thanks.

Paul

If you have SkySafari, when you create an observation (to record an observation of an object) there is a drop down menu for recording the seeing. 

[Zermelo]

2 hours ago, wookie1965 said:

Hi when you say seeing and transparency where do you get those numbers from please.  I think they are on the Clear outside app but if you have another resource that would be most helpful thanks.

Paul

I use values from web sites and my own estimates.

I refresh the web pages for Clear Outside,   MeteoBlue  and  Metcheck just before I go out.
When I write up the session, I note the CO values for the moon phase, temperature, relative humidity, air pressure, and wind speed/direction.
I also take the seeing values, jet stream speed and RH (again) from MeteoBlue, and the transparency, seeing and "Astroindex" (plus wind/temp again) from MetCheck. It's surprising how often the values between different sites are wildly different. If there's a significant difference between the values at start and end of session, I'll record a range (this is most often for temperature and RH).

During the session I'll usually make my own assessment for seeing (Pickering) and transparency (Astroleague), and perhaps make a note if I think the wind seems very different from the web site data. I record everything in SkySafari, but I do it all as free-format text in the "session" entity. The app does allow you to record the seeing (on a I to V scale), limiting magnitude and sky quality(mpsa) against each individual observation within a session, but these would usually be the same for all observations in that session and I haven't been convinced of the need.

[Gonariu]

7 hours ago, mikemarotta said:

Non faccio sempre disegni. Almeno inserirò note verbali, ma ogni tanto esco solo per vedere e divertirmi. Mi sdraierò su una chaise longue e userò un binocolo o semplicemente mi godrò il cielo a occhio nudo. 

You're right, after all astronomy is a hobby for us and not a job. I recognize that it is not always important to do in the sense of producing but also to look with a telescope or binoculars to make pure relaxing contemplative observations!
I also offer you my best regards and happy holidays.

Agostino Zoroddu alias Gonariu.

[lunator]

On 10/08/2021 at 10:30, wookie1965 said:

Hi when you say seeing and transparency where do you get those numbers from please.  I think they are on the Clear outside app but if you have another resource that would be most helpful thanks.

Paul

Hi Paul

Transparency is fairly easy. i know what I can see naked eye from my location on an excellent night (About mag 5.5) and this would score 1/5. This is very rare :). 

It is quite obvious when there is high cloud or haze about and once you can only see mag 3 stars you are well into a 4/5 transparency. I rarely try viewing anything other than the moon on these types of nights.

Seeing is slightly trickier as it can vary quite quickly.

You neeed to have a cooled scope and look at a de-focussed star. I use the alignment star when starting the EQ6. At high magnification you can see the atmospheric movements. Some nights it is obvious that there are "waves and wobbles" of air.This means that seeing will be 4 or 5/5. Other nights it can be very still and seeing will be 1 or 2 out of 5. 

As I do double star observing I can see if the seeing is changing. Even on nights of 3-4 out of 5 you can get moments of excellent seeing.

cheers

Ian

[wookie1965]

3 minutes ago, lunator said:

Hi Paul

Transparency is fairly easy. i know what I can see naked eye from my location on an excellent night (About mag 5.5) and this would score 1/5. This is very rare :). 

It is quite obvious when there is high cloud or haze about and once you can only see mag 3 stars you are well into a 4/5 transparency. I rarely try viewing anything other than the moon on these types of nights.

Seeing is slightly trickier as it can vary quite quickly.

You neeed to have a cooled scope and look at a de-focussed star. I use the alignment star when starting the EQ6. At high magnification you can see the atmospheric movements. Some nights it is obvious that there are "waves and wobbles" of air.This means that seeing will be 4 or 5/5. Other nights it can be very still and seeing will be 1 or 2 out of 5. 

As I do double star observing I can see if the seeing i changing. Even on nights of 3-4 out of 5 you can get moments of excellent seeing.

cheers

Ian

Ian, 

     Thank you for that I too look at double stars and can see over a few nights how some tight ones I can get yet on other occasions I cannot. 

I must learn now various mag stars so I can compare you would think after 10 yrs with a scope and 30 odd years with binoculars before that I would know by now. 

Most of the time even with high cloud with double and multiple star's it doesn't matter you can still go for them that's why I like doing it not all about deep sky and galaxies. 

Thank you for your input really appreciate it.