Hi Coen & All,
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coen
I am still having fun getting the hang of estimating sizes of objects in the eyepiece - need to work on it a bit more.
Les, out of curiosity, and sorry if it has been addressed previously elsewhere on the forum, do you keep your observing entries electronically?
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Yep, the sizes, seperations etc can be tricky and really all you can do is a good guesstimate. Nearly all my observations of pairs are with the old 25cm any my 31cm which was mounted on a German equatorial. So, it was fairly easy to estimate the PA to within 10 degrees just by watching diurnal motion with the drive switched off and using the Dec slow motion. Separation is quite another thing and the best you can do (without a micrometer of some sort) is a good, honest estimate. Then note the colours you can see (if any) and the mags difference (if any).
As for an observing log, yes I keep mine electronically on a laptop and there are four backups made every month. One on the home P.C, one on a thumb-drive and another on C.D that is in the safe at my work. Yes I know I'm "retentive" in that respect but to me it is now more valuable than much of the equipment -- equipment can mostly be replaced.
I went over from hard-copy to electronic a bit over 4 years ago when I had a few months off due to a work-injury. I needed something to do so I bit the bullet, bought the software and typed in all it.
At that stage I had six lever-arch files full of paper with three entries per page -- cross-referenced and indexed. It was getting to the point that I couldn't take my log observing with me because it just wouldn't fit in the vehicle with the 'scope, books, guides etc etc. It took nearly three months to type in (worth every minute) and has obviously grown a little bigger since then! I am currently thinking about changing-over from one software to another (won't name names) that I think is better but not sure yet.
The one I'm thinking of changing to has said they will convert my log to their format as part of buying (if I go that way).
I'd encourage anyone observing to keep a log of some sort -- however you do it is up to you. It is great to look back on!
Best,
Les D