The MoonshotMastery Academy
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SHELF I · NAKED EYE

“I have seen lovely things through the year and remember almost none of them.”

Keeping an Observing Log: Notes, Sketches and Meteor Counts

Turn nights out into a record: what to write down, how to judge seeing and sky darkness, sketching at the eyepiece with a pencil, and counting meteors in a way you can compare from one shower to the next.

From above, a person in a white coat writes notes on a printed star chart beside a small globe

What you will be able to do

  1. Keep a log that lets you compare one night with another
  2. Rate seeing, transparency and sky darkness consistently
  3. Make a simple eyepiece sketch and a meteor count you could share

Night log: the units

  1. UNIT 01 Why keep a log, and what goes in it 5 lessons · 50 min
  2. UNIT 02 Seeing, transparency and sky darkness 7 lessons · 1 h 10 min
  3. UNIT 03 Sketching at the eyepiece 8 lessons · 1 h 20 min
  4. UNIT 04 Meteor showers and how to count them 7 lessons · 1 h 10 min
  5. UNIT 05 Turning a year of notes into a record 4 lessons · 40 min

What is included

  • A logbook layout you copy into a paper notebook or a spreadsheet
  • Judging seeing and transparency, and estimating sky darkness by counting stars
  • Pencil sketching of the Moon, clusters and planets, demonstrated start to finish
  • Meteor counts by the hour, explained with a recorded shower night
  • 18 months of streaming access

Who it suits

Observers of any level who want their nights out to add up to something.

Questions about this course

What do I need before I start?

Your eyes. Nothing has to be bought in advance: the course opens with what to choose and why.

How long will it take me?

There are 31 lessons, 5 h 10 min of video in all. At about 2 hours a week that is roughly 3 weeks, but the pace is yours: clear nights decide more than the calendar.

How long can I watch it, and is there a tutor?

You can stream every lesson for 18 months from when access starts. The lessons are recorded: there is no live tutor and no marking, and the videos cannot be downloaded.

Pairs well with