- Will my logs disappear if I close the browser?
- No. Sessions are stored in IndexedDB, a persistent local database built into every modern browser. They survive tab closes, browser restarts, and computer reboots. The only way to lose them is to clear your browser's site data or switch to a different browser — which is exactly why the JSON backup export exists. Download a backup periodically to stay safe.
- What does the seeing scale 1–5 mean?
- Seeing describes how steady the atmosphere is, which directly affects how much detail you can see at high magnification. 1 = very bad (image constantly boiling, high-power useless); 2 = poor; 3 = moderate (moments of steadiness); 4 = good (calm images, fine planetary detail possible); 5 = excellent (perfect steadiness, limited only by aperture). This corresponds roughly to the Antoniadi scale used by the BAA and many visual observers.
- What does transparency 1–5 mean?
- Transparency measures how dark and clear the sky is — how faint a star you can detect with the naked eye. 1 = very poor (heavy haze or light pollution, naked-eye limit ~3.0 mag); 2 = poor; 3 = average (limiting mag ~4.5–5.0); 4 = good (limiting mag ~5.5–6.0); 5 = excellent (limiting mag 6.5+ under very dark skies). Unlike seeing, transparency affects deep-sky objects far more than planets.
- How do I use the Bortle scale field?
- The Bortle Dark-Sky Scale runs from 1 (perfectly dark, Milky Way casts shadows) to 9 (inner-city sky, only the Moon, planets, and a handful of stars visible). Enter the value that matches your observing site. Class 4–5 is a rural/suburban transition; class 1–2 is a remote dark site. Knowing your Bortle class helps you interpret your observations and compare sessions logged from different locations.
- Can I use this on a phone or tablet at the telescope?
- Yes — the interface is fully mobile-responsive and works entirely offline once the page has loaded. To preserve night vision, dim your screen brightness all the way down; some astronomers also activate their phone's red-screen mode or accessibility colour filter. The dark theme here minimises white-light glare.