About Dark Sky Journal

Posted on September 9th, 2006 by Archon.
Categories: General.

Dark Sky Journal - Observations of an Amateur Astronomer

I created this site so that I can share my astronomy observations with other amateur astronomers. Currently, I will be posting sketches and observation reports on the various night sky objects I observe. Dark Sky Journal also allows me to keep my observations organized and provides me the ability to search through any information I have posted.

How to use Dark Sky Journal

The fastest way to collect information posted to DSJ is by using the search bar at the top of site. For instance, if you are looking for data on M29 simply type in M29 into the search bar and press enter. This will pull up any sketches or observation reports that have been submitted. Another useful way to browse through postings is by choosing a catagory to look through. When posts are made they are flagged with all relavent catagories making them easier to find. Finding specific information should continue to be easy even as Dark Sky Journal becomes more populated with entries.

Background Images

At the top of page underneath the title, there are multiple thumbnails. These thumbnails can be clicked on to change the sites background image. The background images were taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, processed by the STScI and provided to the public through The Hubble Heritage Project. Some of these images are more “busy” then others and you may find it more comfortable to choose a more subtle background image while viewing sketches on DSJ.

Posting and Comments

Postings or entries at Dark Sky Journal are all done by me. The DSJ project at this time is setup for a single author to make entries into the log. However, this may change in the future as the project becomes more mature and new ideas prosper. Visitors can post comments on certain entries but these comments are moderated. If you are making a first time comment it will need to be approved before it actually goes live. After this intial approval, future comments using the same credentials will not need to be approved. Comments can contain some xhtml. Names and emails are required (emails aren’t displayed), url’s are optional.

Enjoy the observations and feel free to contact me if you have any questions or feedback about the project. If you intend on using any images or data from Dark Sky Journal please contact me as well.

Archon