Writing a Better Observing Report

WRITING YOUR OBSERVING REPORT

I am a huge fan of keeping track of what I have observed.
I try and keep a log of some sort of what I have seen.
But I am at the point I NEED to make better reports.
Pretty..
Nice..
and other such is just not good enough anymore.
Below are some of the items that I have come up with in writing a better report.

Magnitude

I usually use a scale of:
But, I am learning to figure out the magnitude but comparing to nearby objects

  • Very Dim,
  • Dim,
  • Slightly bright,
  • Moderately bright,
  • Bright,
  • Very bright

This is just something that I use. You can come up with something of your own.

Open Star Clusters

  • What is the size of the cluster?
  • Can you estimate the number of stars?
  • Are the stars of equal brightness?
  • Or are most of them dim with a sprinkle of brighter stars etc.
  • Is there a pattern?
  • Are there any doubles or triples?
  • Is it loosely scattered or densely packed?
  • Are there any colorful stars?

Globular Clusters

  • Size?
  • Bight or dim?
  • Symmetrical (round) other features?
  • How close to the core can stars be resolved?
  • Dense core?
  • Dust or dark lanes?
  • Gradual brightening to core or a distinct core with halo of faint stars?

Planetary Nebula

  • Size?
  • Shape?
  • Color?
  • Features? (ringed, bi-polar, central star)

Galaxies

  • Size
  • Shape, N-S-E-W orientation if elongated?
  • The three main features of a galaxy are generally referred to as
  • nucleus, a core and a disk
  • Magnitude, is it bright or dim?
  • The three main features of a galaxy are generally referred to as nucleus, a core and a disk, How do they relate to each other?

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