How do you log your observations? (very long)

Jeez! Am I supposed to making a list of everything I look at through my
'scope? That sounds a bit too much like serious work for me!

HI Davoud:

It _can_ be. I don't and never have logged _every_ observation. But I do note a
significant number of them, if only with date/time, object observed and a brief
description. Believe me, once you get into the habit, it's not a chore. It's
fun and helps you see more. By concentrating on an object to adequately record
what you're seeing, either in prose or in a drawing, you'll notice far more
details than you would if you took a quick look and moved on to the next
object. Also, you'll come to treasure that logbook and will often find it very
useful years down the road: "Was I ever able to see the Horsehead? What did it
look like?"

My only regret when it comes to logging is that one of my exwives threw out my
60s - 70s logs (I do have everything from the 80s on). ;-)






Peace,
Rod Mollise
Author of _Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope_
Like SCTs and MCTs?
Check-out sct-user, the mailing list for CAT fanciers!
Goto http://members.aol.com/RMOLLISE/index.html

Rod Mollise wrote:
I use the sketchbook to draw objects even now, but I no longer take notes with
pencil and pen. I take them using a Sony Pressman, a mini-cassette recorder. I
then transcribe my notes into Deepsky 2003's logbook on the computer. That
solves all my logging requirements/organizing requirements. I like SkyTools 2's
logbook very much, too, but a plus for Deepsky is that you can scan-in your
drawings and append them to your logbook "pages."

Hey Rod -- you can do that in SkyTools 2 too. I don't know where people
got the idea you can't. The only difference is that the scans are
"attached" directly to the object rather than through the log book.
Personally, I think that makes more sense. Either way it amounts to the
same thing.


--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)

SkyTools Software for the Observer:
http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html

Skyhound Observing Pages:
http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html

To reply remove spleen

Rod Mollise wrote:
I use the sketchbook to draw objects even now, but I no longer take notes with
pencil and pen. I take them using a Sony Pressman, a mini-cassette recorder. I
then transcribe my notes into Deepsky 2003's logbook on the computer. That
solves all my logging requirements/organizing requirements. I like SkyTools 2's
logbook very much, too, but a plus for Deepsky is that you can scan-in your
drawings and append them to your logbook "pages."

Hey Rod -- you can do that in SkyTools 2 too. I don't know where people
got the idea you can't. The only difference is that the scans are
"attached" directly to the object rather than through the log book.
Personally, I think that makes more sense. Either way it amounts to the
same thing.


--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)

SkyTools Software for the Observer:
http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html

Skyhound Observing Pages:
http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html

To reply remove spleen

Hey Rod -- you can do that in SkyTools 2 too. I don't know where people
got the idea you can't.

HI Greg:

Cool...I hadn't noticed that feature before, and just _assumed_ this wasn't
something ST did. That's what I get for assuming! ;-)

Peace,
Rod Mollise
Author of _Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope_
Like SCTs and MCTs?
Check-out sct-user, the mailing list for CAT fanciers!
Goto http://members.aol.com/RMOLLISE/index.html

Hey Rod -- you can do that in SkyTools 2 too. I don't know where people
got the idea you can't.

HI Greg:

Cool...I hadn't noticed that feature before, and just _assumed_ this wasn't
something ST did. That's what I get for assuming! ;-)

Peace,
Rod Mollise
Author of _Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope_
Like SCTs and MCTs?
Check-out sct-user, the mailing list for CAT fanciers!
Goto http://members.aol.com/RMOLLISE/index.html

Larry Stedman wrote:
How do you ORGANIZE your log?

My log is strictly chronological. It's done on computer, so if I'm
interested in past observations, I just do a grep (text search) in my
log directory and go from there.

The other, considerably more complex matter, and one of personal style
no doubt, is how involved the log should be--and what format to do it
in!

I do have my own method, but I'm afraid it won't work very well for
most people. I jot down a list of what I've observed, remember everything
I've seen, and after I go in, I simply write down a narrative of all the
stuff I've memorized. My memory for this is pretty good for a few hours
or days (provided no second session intervenes), so as long as I do it
reasonably soon, it's all there. Sometimes, I have to jot a few notes
down in my Palm, but that's pretty rare.

Brian Tung
The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/
Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/
The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/
My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.txt

Larry Stedman wrote:
How do you ORGANIZE your log?

My log is strictly chronological. It's done on computer, so if I'm
interested in past observations, I just do a grep (text search) in my
log directory and go from there.

The other, considerably more complex matter, and one of personal style
no doubt, is how involved the log should be--and what format to do it
in!

I do have my own method, but I'm afraid it won't work very well for
most people. I jot down a list of what I've observed, remember everything
I've seen, and after I go in, I simply write down a narrative of all the
stuff I've memorized. My memory for this is pretty good for a few hours
or days (provided no second session intervenes), so as long as I do it
reasonably soon, it's all there. Sometimes, I have to jot a few notes
down in my Palm, but that's pretty rare.

Brian Tung
The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/
Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/
The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/
My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.txt

Larry Stedman wrote in message ...

How do you ORGANIZE your log?

Unlike some other people here, I find it rather unsatisfying to observe
things and *not* have a permanent record. For instance, last night,
toward the end of my session, I was looking at M81 and noticed some
condensations in its halo that I had never seen before. But by then
I was tired and my hands were cold and I just couldn't bring myself
to sketch or record them. So next time I observe M81, I will have to
start from scratch -- no way am I going to remember where those
condensations were. On the other hand, I *will* remember their
existence even without a formal record, and it will inspire me
to spend some effort on this particular galaxy -- one that I have
never really come to grips with.

These days I mostly record stuff on a digital voice recorder --
except last night, when I had forgotten to take mine. It saves
precious time under the dark sky at the expense of less-precious
time transcribing the results during the day, and also helps a
lot with the cold-hand problem.

Then I transcribe it onto a computer, where I keep it organized
with the aid of various tools I have hacked together. I find it
essential to have the stuff organized both by observing session
*and* by object, and I'm certainly not about to create my own
index by hand.

I still haven't quite figured out how to deal with my sketches.
Scanning them and recording them electronically sounds promising;
maybe that will inspire me to buy a scanner at long last.

Now if only I could figure out how to make sketches without
getting cold hands -- and without blinding myself with my
red flashlight. I also wish that my sketching skills were
better. Yes, they improve with practice, but *very* slowly.
This is one area, I think, where innate ability counts
for a lot.

- Tony Flanders

Larry Stedman wrote in message ...

How do you ORGANIZE your log?

Unlike some other people here, I find it rather unsatisfying to observe
things and *not* have a permanent record. For instance, last night,
toward the end of my session, I was looking at M81 and noticed some
condensations in its halo that I had never seen before. But by then
I was tired and my hands were cold and I just couldn't bring myself
to sketch or record them. So next time I observe M81, I will have to
start from scratch -- no way am I going to remember where those
condensations were. On the other hand, I *will* remember their
existence even without a formal record, and it will inspire me
to spend some effort on this particular galaxy -- one that I have
never really come to grips with.

These days I mostly record stuff on a digital voice recorder --
except last night, when I had forgotten to take mine. It saves
precious time under the dark sky at the expense of less-precious
time transcribing the results during the day, and also helps a
lot with the cold-hand problem.

Then I transcribe it onto a computer, where I keep it organized
with the aid of various tools I have hacked together. I find it
essential to have the stuff organized both by observing session
*and* by object, and I'm certainly not about to create my own
index by hand.

I still haven't quite figured out how to deal with my sketches.
Scanning them and recording them electronically sounds promising;
maybe that will inspire me to buy a scanner at long last.

Now if only I could figure out how to make sketches without
getting cold hands -- and without blinding myself with my
red flashlight. I also wish that my sketching skills were
better. Yes, they improve with practice, but *very* slowly.
This is one area, I think, where innate ability counts
for a lot.

- Tony Flanders

Brian Tung wrote:
I do have my own method, but I'm afraid it won't work very well for
most people. I jot down a list of what I've observed, remember everything
I've seen, and after I go in, I simply write down a narrative of all the
stuff I've memorized. My memory for this is pretty good for a few hours
or days (provided no second session intervenes), so as long as I do it
reasonably soon, it's all there. Sometimes, I have to jot a few notes
down in my Palm, but that's pretty rare.

That's actually pretty close to how I've done it in the past few years.
Better yet--I find that writing my observations up in an observing
report (to be shared with an audience) is a great way to motivate the
actual writing. Then I copy the relevant sections of the observing
report to my logs. The result is a much better narrative: something
more interesting than the original jumble of notes taken at the eyepiece.


--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)

SkyTools Software for the Observer:
http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html

Skyhound Observing Pages:
http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html

To reply remove spleen