Spring Observing Program
Introduction
Welcome to Spring and warmer weather for participating in astronomy. The nights are getting a little
shorter but there are wonderful sights in the universe to observe! Tri-Valley Stargazers invites you
to take up a simple challenge during the months of March, April and May to document your observations of
the 22 astronomical objects shown in the list that follows. There are 15 Messier objects and four stars
required for completion and three additional "Bonus" objects. The targets for this program are at the links at the bottom of this page.
Rules and Regulations
To participate in this program you must be a TVS member. You should use a
telescope with an aperture of 4 inches or greater. Observations should be
made visually, not photographically, but using a camera to begin to develop
those skills is worthwhile. Observe all 19 objects and possibly the 3 bonus objects and keep a log of your
observations using the provided form or any other that includes this
information:
- Date and time
- Observing site
- Seeing and transparency
- Aperture size of telescope
- Power used
- A description of the object as it appears in the eyepiece
- A sketch of one object -- Messier or NGC -- is required
The pictures shown on the Web are just awesome and we suggest you preview
the objects in this list so you'll have an idea of what you're going to
observe. Look for the main features and then use your fine senses (averted
vision and other techniques, see:
skyandtelescope.org/observing/secrets-of-deep-sky-observing ).
Choose one of the Messier or NGC objects to make a sketch for your log. Use the Internet images to see finer features then return
to the object and see if you can observe them, add them to your sketch. Having a tablet or laptop computer at the scope makes this easier.
Go-to telescopes are allowed, but star hopping is recommended. Star hopping
increases one's familiarity with your equipment and with the stars and
constellations. A camera can be used to supplement your observations but
this approach is only for you to capture what you may not see by eye. Your
visual observations are what we want you to report but photographs are a
fine supplement.
Submitting for Certification
When you complete the suggested program you may submit your observations to
the TVS
for their review and award recognition.
Links
Targets + log:
Excel format
Target list:
PDF format
Logging form:
PDF format
