observation log

Hi guys i was out earlier with my new binos and managed to get a few glimpses of venus jupiter the moon and mars and i also made my first 4 observation log entries (ever) in those entries i include the usual date time equipment sky condition difficultys and note about the observation itself but i ask simply how much should be included in a log as you may be spending more time writing than looking and appreciating especially if you were to log the amount that some other astronomers on the internet do?

Just wondering if anyone else has any thoughts on the matter.

Thanks,

Brendan.

I usually just make a short list of what I have seen, and a couple of comments about each object, and then write it up later as a diary, noting sky conditions, where the observations were carried out, who else was there, equipment used, unusual incidents, particularly interesting observations, new objects seen etc etc.

I find this much easier to read back later.

I showed one of my diaries to EPK a year or so ago, and he was all "Oh yes, that was a great night" and "I remember seeing that"

Here's one from last week, the site referred to is an old quarry on the Antrim coast road near Glenarm;


When we met at the Halfway House, the skies very very clear, with Jupiter, Venus and Mars all in view. But by the time we got to the site, the clouds has come in.

After waiting half an hour, some decided to go home, but Jonathan and I decided to give it another while, as we knew Brian was on his way, and we weren't in any particular hurry to go anywhere else.

Shortly after Brian arrived, the skies suddenly started to clear, and within five minutes, there wasn't a cloud to be seen. Leo was riding high in the south, and Ursa Major dominated the eastern view. So we got out the scopes, and I was delighted to find that my Orion dob had retained almost perfect collimation from last time. A couple of minor tweaks and we were away.
Mars was the obvious first target and we all concentrated on that. I got a fairly good view in the 8mm Hyperion, and added the 28mm ring for more magnification. The polar cap was clearly visible and there were a couple of areas of darker markings. These were mainly in the equatorial area. We all has a look at the view in each others scopes, and the view was broadly similar in each (2 x 10" dobs and an 8" LX200). Jonathan let us use his new Delos 6mm in each of our scopes. This excellent eyepiece really sharpened the view, as compared to the Hyperion, in my Orion.
I then moved on to the Leo triplet, and just managed to frame all three in the 17mm Hyperion. I've been thinking recently of buying a new wide angle 2" eyepice, so took the opportunity to borrow Brian's 28mm William Optics UWA. This eyepiece framed the Triplet really well, with plenty of dark space all around. Another excellent eyepiece.

After about 45 minutes, the clouds came in again for another while, but we decided to wait it out, and eventually the skies cleared again. Jonathan and I had both noticed that Melotte 111, the hugh star cluster in Coma, had been clearly visible with the naked eye earlier, so I turned to that and quickly found the galaxy NGC4565. The view wasn't great to be honest, so I moved on to M101. This was not very well seen, and the big spiral arm was not visible. One curious thing was a little blinking light, quite bright, passing through the view. It blinked every five seconds or so, and was moving quite slowly. Jonathan saw it as well, and I can only think that it must have been a piece of junk orbiting around the Earth. It was definitely too slow for a satellite, and too tiny to be an airplane.

M51 was next, and again the view was ok. The spiral arms were just about visible. All in all, the transparency on the night was not very good, and none of the galaxies viewed were very satisfactory.

Jonathan eventually left around midnight, and Brian and I left about half an hour later, after another period of cloud, which didn't look as if it was going to break. It was great to get out again and see some stuff, although the views were not great on the night. The site itself is good, plenty of space and not a light to be seen, except for those from passing cars. But these can only be seen for a brief instant as they pass the entrance to the site. I think Brian and Jonathan were impressed enough to want to go back again, rather than suffer the light pollution of Killylane. For an extra 20 minutes drive, it is well worthwhile.
« Last Edit: Feb 25, 2012, 10:46am by stevie »

Hi Brendan,

I guess there are no hard and fast rules, it depends on what you want to achieve. If you are a "serious" observer and want to contribute observations to an organisation such as the American Association of Variable Star Observers, you will need to follow their guidelines. If, like me, you are a "recreational" observer you will probably find that a method of logging your observations will gradually evolve.

For what it's worth, my method relies on the use of astronomical planning software. I use "AstroPlanner" to compile lists of targets, to control the scope and to record my observations. It's convenient because it keeps track of the equipment, location, time, etc. and it can keep thousands of log entries neat and tidy, and readily accessible and searchable. The big drawback is that a computer is required, though written notes could be typed into the programme later.

As regards the descriptions, some nights I just jot a few brief comments, on other occasions I'm in the mood for slightly longer more waffly entries (e.g. for M38: "Rich irregular cluster. The pi shape is reminiscent of a figure with arms and legs outstretched, but with no head!"). The main reasons I keep a log are (i) to force me to observe more carefully and thoroughly (ii) to keep track of what can be seen using particular scopes and at various locations, and (iii) to keep a record of my impressions of the hundreds of objects that I check out each year. Each observer will have his/her own reasons for keeping a log and will adapt it accordingly.

Your message highlights another issue too. Browsing though some of the early posts on the forum, I was struck by how many really nice observing reports were posted in the past, e.g. by "lunartic" and "jeyjey" and how few there are now. I don't know if there are many observers around the country who keep logs, but, like me, don't share them on this forum? Should we be posting more reports? Would they be of any interest to the other members? For example, Aubrey ("flt158") has incited a flurry of interest in red stars here recently, I'd love to see others who are interested posting their own observations in the Stars section of this forum.

I think you've asked a very thought-provoking question Brendan and I'm looking forward to seeing lots more responses.

Mike