About my "observing reports"
Introduction
As I mentioned on my homepage, at the core of this site you will find a new and growing collection of visual observing reports. The reports are on different categories of deepsky objects: single stars, optical doubles, binary stars, multiple stars, variable stars and all kinds of starclusters.
I have two major interests in stars and starclusters. One is I love to observe these wonderful objects visually which, I hope, is reflected in my sketches and detailed descriptions of the observations. The other is, I am fascinated by stellar evolution, the live of stars. I like to understand what I'm observing. I try to achieve this by gathering facts and reading as much information as possible from a large variety of resources like books, magazines, astronomical software and of course the Internet.
The result can be found in my "observing reports" which are presented on StarObserver.eu. These reports are more than just brief descriptions of the observed deepsky objects. They are detailed reports, complete with sketches, images, diagrams, charts, bibliography and lots of data and facts.
However, and I can't emphasize this enough, in the end this website is nothing but the result of my hobby, amateur astronomy. It is my own personal astronomical observing log, my way of documenting the stars and starclusters I have observed, nothing more and nothing less.
The main purpose of going online with my observing log, is that it enables me to have access to my logbook, wherever I am, whenever I want to. If by sharing my observing log over the Internet inspires some of you to pick up the observation of stars and starclusters as well, I would be more than pleased. Stars and starclusters deserve to be observed. They are fascinating objects. Even when you have to observe them from a light- or air polluted observing site, they still can be very rewarding. And don't forget to read a little about the objects you observe!
The observing reports
In this article I would like to explain how to "read" my reports. As you probably have noticed, all my observing reports consist of five major components:
1. Title and basic data about the object observed
2. The sketch
3. Details about the sketch
4. Observing report
5. Notes
1. Title and basic data about the object observed
In the title you find the name(s) of the object observed. In most cases this will be the name(s) by which the object is most commonly known. When it's a deepsky object, this can be the object's Messier number, NGC number, IC number or a catalogue number from any other deepsky catalogue. For a single, double or multiple star, I use the catalogue number(s) from the Bayer, Flamsteed, Struve and other star catalogs. For variable stars I use the variable star designation.
As I mentioned on my homepage, at the core of this site you will find a new and growing collection of visual observing reports. The reports are on different categories of deepsky objects: single stars, optical doubles, binary stars, multiple stars, variable stars and all kinds of starclusters.
I have two major interests in stars and starclusters. One is I love to observe these wonderful objects visually which, I hope, is reflected in my sketches and detailed descriptions of the observations. The other is, I am fascinated by stellar evolution, the live of stars. I like to understand what I'm observing. I try to achieve this by gathering facts and reading as much information as possible from a large variety of resources like books, magazines, astronomical software and of course the Internet.
The result can be found in my "observing reports" which are presented on StarObserver.eu. These reports are more than just brief descriptions of the observed deepsky objects. They are detailed reports, complete with sketches, images, diagrams, charts, bibliography and lots of data and facts.
However, and I can't emphasize this enough, in the end this website is nothing but the result of my hobby, amateur astronomy. It is my own personal astronomical observing log, my way of documenting the stars and starclusters I have observed, nothing more and nothing less.
The main purpose of going online with my observing log, is that it enables me to have access to my logbook, wherever I am, whenever I want to. If by sharing my observing log over the Internet inspires some of you to pick up the observation of stars and starclusters as well, I would be more than pleased. Stars and starclusters deserve to be observed. They are fascinating objects. Even when you have to observe them from a light- or air polluted observing site, they still can be very rewarding. And don't forget to read a little about the objects you observe!
The observing reports
In this article I would like to explain how to "read" my reports. As you probably have noticed, all my observing reports consist of five major components:
1. Title and basic data about the object observed
2. The sketch
3. Details about the sketch
4. Observing report
5. Notes
1. Title and basic data about the object observed
In the title you find the name(s) of the object observed. In most cases this will be the name(s) by which the object is most commonly known. When it's a deepsky object, this can be the object's Messier number, NGC number, IC number or a catalogue number from any other deepsky catalogue. For a single, double or multiple star, I use the catalogue number(s) from the Bayer, Flamsteed, Struve and other star catalogs. For variable stars I use the variable star designation.
Open cluster data
For open clusters I list the following data:
• Constellation
• RA / DEC (coordinates in right angle / declination)
• Diameter in ' (arc minutes)
• Magnitude
• Number of stars
• Brightest star magnitude
• Distance in parsecs
All the data come from the book "Star Clusters" by Archinal and Hynes.
Star data
For stars I list the following data (depending on the number of stars described):
• Constellation
• RA / DEC (coordinates in right angle / declination)
• Magnitude
• Separation (in arc seconds)
• Position angle (in degrees, starting north, going south over east)
• Spectral Class
• Colour
Most data is from Voyager, Astroplanner or the Sky Catalogue 2000. If possible everything is crosschecked with the database from Simbad, the WDS catalogue and/or the AAVSO database.
The sketch is made at the telescope using a clipboard, a dim red light, a lead pencil and white paper. After the observing session the sketch is scanned and processed using image processing software. Several steps are taken to create the final sketch:
I create the final sketch this way only with on purpose: I want a souvenir from my observation of an object, that comes as close as possible to what I've seen at the eyepiece. There's nothing scientific about the sketches, nor do I try to gain perfection. As I said earlier, this is just my hobby and this is the way I like to file my personal impressions I get from observing at the eyepiece.
• adjusting the size of the sketch;
• rotating the sketch into the right direction;
• duplicating the stars on a new overlying layer, exactly matching the original sketch;
• using different size brushes to create the different magnitudes of the stars;
• adding star colour, star glow and sometimes diffraction spikes;
• adding the "StarObserver.eu" credit line;
• save it in different sizes for printing on paper and for using on the Web.
3. Details about the sketch
• Date/Time
The local date / time that the sketch was made, most of the time UT +1.
• Observing location
In most cases this is Landgraaf, my own backyard.
• Seeing / Transparency
I use the AAAA (The American Association of Amateur Astronomers) scales.
• Date/Time
The local date / time that the sketch was made, most of the time UT +1.
• Observing location
In most cases this is Landgraaf, my own backyard.
• Seeing / Transparency
I use the AAAA (The American Association of Amateur Astronomers) scales.
SEEING TABLE
TRANSPARENCY TABLE
• Telescope
The instrument that was used for observing and sketching the object. This can be a telescope, but also a binocular in combination with the Sky Window. For details on the instrument used, please go to the equipment pages.
• Eye-piece
The eyepiece used while making the sketch. This is also "the optimum" eyepiece for observing this object. When using binoculars with fixed lenses, there is no eyepiece.
• Magnification and Field of view
Here you find two figures, separated by a backslash. The first figure is the magnification which I achieved with the Telescope/Eyepiece combination. The second is the true field of view in arc minutes.
The instrument that was used for observing and sketching the object. This can be a telescope, but also a binocular in combination with the Sky Window. For details on the instrument used, please go to the equipment pages.
• Eye-piece
The eyepiece used while making the sketch. This is also "the optimum" eyepiece for observing this object. When using binoculars with fixed lenses, there is no eyepiece.
• Magnification and Field of view
Here you find two figures, separated by a backslash. The first figure is the magnification which I achieved with the Telescope/Eyepiece combination. The second is the true field of view in arc minutes.
4. Observing report
Under this header you find the actual observing report. My observing reports are basically created at the eyepiece by answering questions from a "question-form" during the actual observation. I use my iPod as a voice recorder to register my report. Indoors I transfer the notes from the iPod into iTunes. From iTunes I then replay the spoken notes and write my observing report.
5. Notes
In this section you will find some interesting facts, images, finder charts etc. if available. I use a wide range of resources to gather background information on the object observed: books, websites, atlases, software etc. For a detailed overview of these resources, follow this link. Sometimes I also add a Hertzsprung-Russell or Colour-Magnitude Diagram which I create with Microsoft-Excel (Mac version).
