The “Astrophotographer’s Log Book” is an effective and convenient way to record your imaging sessions offering an aid to the enjoyment of astronomy and astrophotography now and in the years to come.
The “Astrophotographer’s Log Book” is the brainchild of Mike Shipman and arose from the need to record and organize the data from astrophotography sessions in an efficient and consistent way for repeatability and posterity. As he notes, “Existing log books or journals were no different than the blank pages I was already using. They were just blank books with stars and planets on the cover. And, observing/visual logbooks didn’t contain the right data fields. In my own blank-page journal, I found I was missing data and some information wasn’t always written in the same place on each page, and I was looking back at other pages to copy the previous page format, etc., making it time consuming to enter and relocate consistent data.”
The “Astrophotographer’s Log Book” offers sections for 25 imaging sessions, and each session has four dedicated pages to the data from the individual session: equipment used, location, environmental conditions, exposure plan used, and observing notes.
An appendix includes a checklist reminder and planning considerations, seeing and transparency scales, a note about ethical astrophotography, a page of common formulas and unit conversions, and a handy equipment data sheet for the particulars of your telescope(s), guide camera(s), and imaging camera(s) you’re likely to reference for making calculations and filling in the session data fields.
The Table of Contents is blank, with page numbers, to let you fill in the target and session number for easy reference later and in the upcoming companion book “The Astrophotographer’s Log Book Session Index” (to keep track of multiple sessions on single targets across multiple log books). The Index will be available soon, is 8.5″ x 11″ (22.5cm x 28cm) and will also be useful for any set of log book/journal set up you may have, and will index from 200 to over 5,000 sessions.
The Astrophotographer’s Log Book is hand made by Shipman and, at 6″ x 9″ (15cm x 23cm), is sized to fit easily into your astrophotography gear bag and on your imaging table. The front and back covers are laminated 2mm book board for protection against humid nights and provide a solid writing surface on your imaging table or your lap.
The thick covers also make it sturdy and durable under the varied conditions you might experience, whether at home or at a remote dark site. A built-in bookmark makes it easy to locate where you left off. The front and back covers are designed by the author. The end papers (the inside of the front and back covers) are also handmade by Shipman and each set is unique. The Log Book is wire-bound and opens completely flat (12″ wide (30.5cm) or a full 360 degrees to reduce the footprint on a small imaging table.
The “Astrophotographer’s Log Book” is priced at $22.95US. You can learn more about here.
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