Astrophotography involves many important steps, from choosing equipment, planning the object to photograph, setting up and taking down equipment, and processing image data, to data storage and presentation of your astrophotographs. The process of creating astrophotography images is a lengthy, long-term project, although excellent images can be made either singly or over a short period of time. However long it takes, though, it’s difficult keeping all the necessary data in your head, especially over multiple sessions and targets, different equipment and, not to mention, years. You could enter the data on your computer or reference your online posts, but an analog copy will long outlast any digital journal you may use.

The Astrophotographer’s Log Book arose from documenting my own imaging sessions, but rewriting the same information over and over in a blank notebook. Doing it by memory each time, it was easy to miss adding a line of data, or write it in another place for that session, or flip back and forth between pages to make sure I had it all written down correctly and in order. So, the notebook became, over time, a less-organized and incomplete record of my imaging sessions. In the paragraphs I wrote, it was difficult to consistently find the information I needed for planning follow-up sessions and time consuming to search the pages for it. I looked for a journal or format to meet my needs and discovered there were many different versions of observer’s logs, but almost no journal books for astrophotographers. And, those that did exist, seemed very open-ended and more like the blank Book I was already using. So I compiled this set of pages I hope will also fit your needs and help you have more productive and repeatable imaging sessions, and provide a detailed memory you can look back on in the future.

This Log Book is for astrophotographers who want to record as much data for each session as they like, or at least have the available place for it when they do. It’s for beginners to help establish good imaging session habits early on, for the advanced astrophotographer who wants and needs a consistent place to record and find the data they worked hard to collect, and for the astrophotographer who likes to look back on old records and reminisce about those special sessions.

The Astrophotographer’s Log Book, at 6″ x 9″, is sized to fit easily into your astrophotography gear bag. The front and back covers are laminated 2mm book board for 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 are also handmade by the author and each set is unique. The Log Book is wire-bound and opens flat or a full 360 degrees.

More information and to purchase at blueplanetphoto.com/product/the-astrophotographers-log-book-25-sessions/: