📝 Observation Log

Your sky journal for the semester. Every time you go out and look up, you fill in one entry. By the end of the semester you'll have a record of the real sky, in your own words.

⬇ Printable PDFGoogle Docs version coming soonWord (.docx)

Filling out an entry

Every entry has the same six parts, numbered the same way on the template. Plan on 20–30 minutes outside and about 10 minutes writing it up.

When and where

Date, start and end time, and exactly where you stood.

"Backyard, north side of the garage" is useful. "Home" isn't.

Sky conditions

Clouds, the Moon, and how dark it was. Check one box in each row.

This explains what you could and couldn't see — a bright Moon hides the Milky Way.

Target

What you looked at, how you found it, which direction, and how high.

Measure altitude with your fist at arm's length: one fist is about 10°.

Sketch and describe

Draw what you saw, then put it in words: shape, brightness, color, anything that moved.

Label the bright stars and write which way you were facing.

Compare with Stellarium

Set Stellarium to the same time and place and look at the same spot.

Differences are the good part. Figure out why they happened.

One question I have

Something you noticed and want to know more about.

Real questions only. It's fine if you don't know the answer yet.

What a good entry looks like

Here's a complete example. Yours doesn't have to be this neat — it does have to be this specific. The notes on the right show what makes it work.

Date / time
Sept. 24, 9:10–9:40 PM
Location
Backyard, north side of the garage (it blocks the porch light)
Specific enough to stand in the same spot next week.
Conditions
Partly cloudy · Gibbous Moon · Both Dippers complete
The Moon note explains the missing Milky Way later on.
Target
The Summer Triangle — Vega, Deneb, and Altair
Direction / altitude
Southwest, almost overhead · Vega ≈ 7 fists = 70°
A measurement, not a guess like "pretty high."
What I saw
Vega was the brightest by far and looked a little blue-white. Deneb was dimmer and farther east than I expected. Altair had a small star on each side, just like the chart. The triangle is huge — way bigger than my spread hand. Couldn't see the Milky Way, probably because of the Moon.
Brightness, color, size, and a reason — not just "I saw stars."
Compared with Stellarium
Stellarium showed Deneb lower than I saw it, but I had it set to 9:00. At 9:30 it matched.
Noticed a difference and tracked down the cause.
My question
If Vega looks so much brighter, is it closer to us than Deneb?
A real question we'll answer in Unit 4.

The full example, sketch included, is page 2 of the PDF.

Paper or digital?

🖨️Paper

Print a stack of blank entries and keep them in your notebook. Page 1 of the PDF is the blank entry; page 2 is the example.

💻Google Docs

Make your own copy — it goes straight into your Google Drive. For each new observation, copy the whole entry and paste it at the bottom, so your journal stays in one doc.

Either way: sketch on paper if you can. Drawing what you see makes you look more carefully — snap a photo of it and paste it into the Google Doc.

You'll use these with it

🗺️ Star Map & Constellation Guide🔭 Using Stellarium
Back to Astronomy
Astronomy ·  Observation Log
🔭 Built to be looked up from, not just clicked through