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Record the start and end times of each observing session in 24-hr time here

Record the observatory personnel on each shift that night

Record the spaces used during the observing session

• Lecture room - PHYS 401
• Control room/dome - PHYS 433C

Record the purpose and goals for the observing session (ie. detail the external or internal research group/project, overall target types, as well as any miscellaneous observation requests for the night)

Record the detectors mounted on each scope that night, as well as the focus being used for each

Use this table to record every frame taken that night, make sure not to miss any of the table cells. It is important that the research team receives as much information about the observing conditions as possible to account for any confounding variables in the data. This frame table must include rows for any light frames (different rows for different capture parameters), along with separate rows for each calibration frame – again different rows for different parameters (e.g., time, filter, gain, etc).

In order from left to right:

• YYYYmmddTHHMM - The year, month, day and (military) time at which the frame is taken
• Object - Object name
• Filter - The filter the frames is taken in (ex. R,B,V,I…etc.), adjustable in Sharpcap
• Int time - A.k.a, the exposure time at which the frame is taken, adjustable in Sharpcap
• Gain - The electronic amplification of signal (artificially making the image look brighter), also adjustable in Sharpcap
• Airmass - The measure of the amount of atmosphere the light from an object passes through before reaching the telescope, found on DFM TCS
• Mag - The apparent magnitude of the object as viewed from Earth, can be found on the observing plan, Stellarium, or through a simple google search if nothing else is unavailable
• RA [h] and DEC [deg] - The RA and DEC coordinates of the object, found in the observing plan, Stellarium, Simbad, or through google
  • should be found in the observing plan if it is a very niche object)
• Source type - The kind of celestial object it is (ex. variable star, star cluster, planet, nebula, etc.)
• Scope - Whether it is taken on the main or finder scope
• Purpose - Detail the purpose of the frame (ie. miscellaneous request, for a specific research project, calibration frames, etc.)
• Notes - Anything of note about the specific frame (ex. dropped frames, deleted, clouds rolled in during the capture, etc.)

Throughout the night, there should be a running timestamped log of everything that happens throughout the night (ex. going up into the dome because the mirror doors are stuck, powercycling because the detectors keep disconnecting, difficulties with pointing or guiding, everything!)

Use the National Weather Service to keep a log of the temperature and humidity every 2 hours

• https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=39.2904&lon=-76.6123&lg=english&&FcstType=digital

Any outstanding notes for the night - any notable issues with observing, or any telescope/detector malfunctions