My Astro Resources
My MC&B Catalogue
is the complete combined lists of Messier,
Caldwell and Bennett Catalogues in the one list
complete with NGC, IC and U2000 Catalogue
references for cross referencing. It contains
Autofilters, so you can select just a
constellation, or just a range of RA and/or
declination, etc. In it's default format as I
use it it is sorted by RA, so when it is printed
it can be easily used to work out what is
visible at any time during an observation
session. You can even modify the heading in the
page layout to make it say it's your very own
list! ... mine does! ;o)
My MCB&L
Catalogue is the same combined lists of
Messier, Caldwell and Bennett with the Levy
Catalogues added in as well. It contains
Autofilters, so you can select just a
constellation, or just a range of RA and/or
declination, etc. In it's default format as I
use it it is sorted by RA, so when it is printed
it can be easily used to work out what is
visible at any time during an observation
session.
I also have an Excel version of the
Barnard Catalogue
of Dark Nebulae for Epoch 2000.
AstroLog
This is an MS Excel template and support
files for a computer based Astronomical Logbook.
AstroLog is offered
free for amateur astronomers to use, modify and
develop for their own use, provided credit for
the original work is maintained with me. Feel
free to rename the heading to personalise it to
suit yourself. AstroLog is not permitted to be
sold, modified to remove credit for any
development work done by anybody, or used in any
way to generate profit without the written
permission of Alan Sheehan.
At the moment there are no installation
instructions included, nor tutorials on how it
works - it is simply provided on an as is basis.
I do intend to develop it further, and produce
installation notes, and suggestions on how to
use etc. Check back from time to time for
progress. In the meantime, I suggest you create
a directory to unzip the files into. This
directory will need to contain all the files in
the zip archive, and all session files will also
need to be kept there as well for the external
data links to be valid. There are multiple Excel
data sheets in the archive for Instruments,
Locations, Eyepieces, Lenses, Seeing,
Transparency, the Beaufort scale, etc. Each
instance of the worksheet should be saved with
the date in the filename (I use AstroLogYYMMDD)
for each session. Sessions may include visual
observations, CCD Image Capture and Image
Processing. Macros are used to paste entries
into the session log, so the page format is
flexible to suit what you do during the session.
You will need to create a personal digital
certificate to use the macros in Windows XP if
your security level is anything other than low!
Essentially AstroLog simulates a relational
database but utilises some of the extra
flexibility of Excel. Feel free to use and
modify to suit your needs for non profit
purposes. Contact me
if you want to use, bundle, modify or package
AstroLog for commercial gain.
Click here to read
about and download my free Astronomical Event
Timer program for your PC or laptop.
Click here to read
about and download my free Astronomical Clock
for your PC or laptop.
