Astronomy Sketch of the Day

This is my sketch of M27 (NGC 6853), the Dumbbell Nebula, sometimes called Apple Core.

This planetary nebula is probaly the best one to show for the first-time-on-scope ones who want to know about the future of our Sun. It’s the brightest, bigger and sharper one, just Hellix surpases it, but not in surface brightness nor in contrast.

The drawing was done just before the Swan one published in ASOD on July 21st, 2010, and also shows how fast the sky quality can change in a few hours and with some degrees more above the horizon.

It was rendered on Bonilla, Cuenca, Spain, on July 9th, 22:25UT, with graphite bar and stump in white paper, then scaned, inverted, and level balanced. I used my 10′ dobson with a Baader Hyperion 17mm (75x 55′FOV).

I encourage every observer to draw what they see, just because they’ll see even more as they do. Slowly, more people are joining the “pencil crew” here, and I hope you will see more results in those pages soon.

Jorge Arranz

2010 July 7, 0408 UT

M57, NGC6720, the Ring Nebula
Constellation Lyra, Planetary Nebula Type 4+3, ~1500-2000 light years away
0>71”, m8.8v

PCW Memorial Observatory, Zanesville, Ohio USA – Erika Rix
16” Zhumell, 12mm Burgess, 3x Barlow, magnification 450x

Sketch created scopeside with white photocopy paper, #2 pencil,
ultra-fine black marker. Template from www.perezmedia.com.

M57 never fails to please, just like other objects such as the Double
Cluster, M13 and M27. This is the first time I’ve used the 16” on this
planetary nebula and took advantage of the aperture to increase
magnification. I was particularly interested in looking for structure
within the ring as well as a richer star field. It most likely wasn’t
the optimal magnification to use, but seeing was rock steady and I was
itching to give it a try.

This object resembled a scrunched up American football, not quite as
oblong, but most certainly not completely round. The two ends were
fainter than the middle portions of the ring, which had strands of
brightened areas to the NW and SE sections of the ring. There was one
particular area to the northern area of the ring that could have passed
for a star, but not defined. It was more or less just a bright spot
within the ring. The center of the nebula was a hazy darker gray, also
appearing oblong. I couldn’t detect the ever-elusive central star.

Erika Rix

Edge of the Schiller-Zucchius Basin

With no specific sketching target in mind, I was examining the south terminator region of the moon and noticed it was showing what is considered to be an unfavorable view because it was turned away from the observer. There was a poorly defined part of a scarp-like ring partially visible under craters Rost A, Weigel and Weigel B. This ring is just beyond the Schiller-Zucchius basin center which was not yet illuminated by sunlight. The southeastern portion of this ring illuminated by the rising sun presented a half dark, half illuminated pathway that ended at the terminator. I found this view at the eyepiece quite fascinating and had some difficulty capturing it correctly. The “unfavorable” libration of this part of the moon near the terminator contributed to the shallow angle view. Even the appearance of famous, elongated, paramecium shaped crater Schiller was unusual. These are the kinds of surprises that get me motivated to sketch the moon.

Sketching:

For this sketch I used: Black Canson sketching paper, 14”x 9”, White and black Conte’ pencils, a blending stump, plastic eraser. After scanning, contrast and brightness were adjusted slightly using the scanner.



Telescope: 10 inch f/5.7 Dobsonian and 9mm eyepiece 161x

Date: 6-23-2010, 1:45 – 2:30 UT 

Temperature: 27° C (80° F) 
clear, calm

Seeing: Antoniadi III 

Co-longitude: 44.3°

Lunation: 10.6 days 
Illumination: 88.2 %
Observing Location: +41°37′ +87° 47′

Frank McCabe

A Stellar Jewel Box

NGC 4755
Location: R.A. 17h 22min.;Dec. -38° 29′

Sketch and Details by Serge Vieillard

Translation from French with Google Translator

Observation during my travels in Chile 2010 … Although the galaxies which we are familiar with parade at the zenith, I’m focusing mainly on those unknowns….
During the twilight, I felt the black night drawing my arms to open the “jewel box”. Despite the colorful and sympathetic vision of the object, I confess I do take great pleasure in this kind of exercise.

Serge Vieillard

Object name: Longomontanus, Montanari, Vilhelm

Object type: Lunar Crater

Location: Budapest, Hungary

Date: 20 july 2010

Media: Eye liner, mascara (really).

Amanda Kiraly

NGC 4268/4272/4277/4281/4270/IC 3153
Galaxies
Ilford NSW Australia
14/05/10
56cm f5 Dobsonian telescope
Field: 17′
Magnification: 354x
Sky Quality Meter reading: 21:43

Black Canford paper
White pen
White pencil
Soft white pastel chalk
White oil pen
Blending stump
Fine tip paint brush for smoothness

Whenever Virgo is well placed in the southern sky I always try and tick
a few more objects off my observing list.

I noticed an interesting group of galaxies as I was checking my charts,
and I marked them down for observation.
I was most impressed when I finally managed to get them in the eyepiece
of the 56cm dob.

It is quite a rare treat to have so many bright galaxies gathered
together in the one field.

I have included a duplicate reference sketch with details.
Hopefully I have got all the designations correct.

Scott Mellish

I use:
Crayola Cerulean pencil for plage
Crayola Aqua Green pencil for proms
White 20# paper
I scan into photoshop and invert.

Blue skies,

Stephen Ames
270-358-8634 – t
240-376-8634 – f

http://www.AdjustableRateMarketing.com

See your life giving sun in vivid images and art
from observers all over the world at
www.SeeMySunspot.com

Object : Moon/ Partial Lunar Eclipse
Date : June 26, 2010
Time : 04:45 LST / 11:45 UT
Location : Wickenburg Arizona USA
Instrument : Naked eye observation
Weather : Moderate winds, cool upper 70′s , clear skies and the glow of the
semi-eclipsed Moon.
Medium : Acrylic paint on canvas paper 8.5 x 11

Comments :
This was my chance, I’ve wanted to do this acrylic paint since quite a while
back! I figured since the Moon will shed some light on the subject, I might
as well take advantage of the situation. At first, I didn’t know how big to
go on the canvas since I wanted to put some detail on the eclipsed Moon. Too
big and I might just make a weekend project out of something simple. So, I
settled for an 8.5 x 11 inch, which would make it easy for me to scan and
upload without to much hassle.

I framed my view next to a Saguaro cactus and set myself so that if I
painted the foreground first, the Moon will still be in the vicinity of my
selected view within an hour or so later. Shortly after 10:00 UT, I noticed
the Moon began to creep into the Earth’s shadow but that was not the time
for me to immortalize it on canvas just yet. I didn’t know how hard this
task was going to become but I realized it was going to be trickier than I
had anticipated. After brushing away on the static vegetation for almost an
hour and keeping an eye on the Moon that kept inching closer to the horizon,
I had to act on it ‘pronto’.

The full Strawberry Moon lay there tranquil and serene but being eaten away
by the umbral darkness. I noticed the shadow working its way from Mare
Frigoris and moving down onward into part of Oceanus Procellarum, all of
Mare Imbrium and Mare Serenitatis, and a portion of Mare Tranquilitatis and
Mare Fecunditatis. At this point, I would say the Moon was about 40 percent
covered while it would still go on to cover for a total of 50 percent or so.
While this was a naked eye session, I still carried my 12 x 60′s just for
kicks. I noticed through the binoculars that the Northern part of the Moon
had a pinkish to copper hue along that edge. I thought perhaps half the Moon
would turn red orange but that wasn’t the case, I guess I’ll have to wait
until December of this year to get that effect when we get the entire lunar
eclipse! : D

Wishing you dark and clear nights!
Juanchin

Bullialdus Crater

Eratosthenian period crater Bullialdus (63 km.) was just a few hours past full rim illumination and was not yet taking light on its central peaks but the western terraced wall was well illuminated by morning sunlight. The darkness over the floor of this caldera gives a sense of greater depth than the true drop of 3.5 kilometers.At the time of this observation ridges and furrows were clearly seen on the craters outer ramparts. Also included in this sketch are craters Bullialdus A and B at 10 o’clock and Konig at 12 o’clock. South is up in the sketch and East is to the right.

Sketching

Telescope: 10 inch f/ 5.7 Dobsonian and 6 mm eyepiece 241 x
Date: 7-21-2010, 1:00-2:30 UT
Temperature: 22° C (72° F)
clear, calm
Seeing: Antoniadi III
Colongitude: 26.3 °
Lunation: 9.25 days
Illumination: 77.1%

Frank McCabe

This is my sketch for M17(NGC 6618) , also known as Omega Nebula or, more descriptive, Swan Nebula.

This emission nebula is probably, after Orion one, the one that offers more detail and structures to the eye of a northern observer. This was not the best sight I have got from this faint structure, but I did my sketch anyway, for the star party AstroBonilla 2010.

It was rendered in Bonilla, Cuenca, Spain, 2010/078/10 00:30 UT using graphite bars on white paper. Then scanned, inverted and a bit of levels balance. The telescope was a 10′ newton in dobson mount, with a Baader Hyperion 17mm eyepiece (75x 55′ FOV) and a UHC filter.

More details about the drawing, the nebula, and link to the original raw drawing in my blog (in spanish) at http://qfwfqestuvoalli.wordpress.com/2010/07/15/m-17-nebulosa-del-cisne/

Jorge Arranz

2010 06 21, 0300 UT
Timocharis
PCW Memorial Observatory, OH, USA
Erika Rix
Zhumell 16”, 8mm TV Plossl, 225 x

Phase: 64.8
Lunation: 8.66. d
Illumination: 71.3%
Lib. Lat: 7°30’
Lib. Long: 4°47’
Az: 215°14’, Alt: 27°21’

This complex crater has a crushed central relief and the area was
completely enveloped with shadow. I could make out some of the western
terraced walls within the crater. Heinrich (9.5 km), B (5 km) and C (4
km), were very clear as well as a small portion of the wrinkle ridge to
the southeast. Timocharis was formed ~ 3.2 to 1.1 billion years ago
during the Erathosthenian period. Height is estimated to be 3110 meters.
Faint small rays can be spotted with decent seeing conditions.

Sketched scopeside on black Strathmore Artagain paper, charcoal, black
wax pencil, white Conte’ crayon and pencils.

Erika Rix

Moon july 4th 2010.jpg
Object Name : Earth, Moon and Jupiter
Object Type : Solar System
Instrument Used : Naked Eye
Location :
Date : July 4th 2010
Time : 2:45am local
Conditions : seeing 3/6, no clouds, a little dew
Media : Created a field sketch of this scene in my observing journal with pen and ink. The next day, I sketched the view with pastel pencils and black paper.
Description: The evening’s observations are drawing to a close when I notice the outline of the trees in the distance. Is that ghostly outline caused by the light of a gibbous moon? Then I realize that civil twilight is only two hours away. The light in the east is not due to the moon – but due to the sun.

Justin Modra

Messier M5
Observed at Bristol UK

5th June 2010; 00:30am using Nexstar 8SE

Sketched at the scope over 30 mins using a black on white template and transfered to Photoshop. I could observe several coils of stars around a bright and mottled core with sparks of light (resolved stars) across the disk and at the edges under the highest magnification.

Chris Lee

A Perfect Ring Planetary in Scorpius NGC 6337

Sketch and Details by Serge Vieillard

Location: R.A. 17h 22m; Dec. -38° 29’ (J2000)

Translation from French with Google Translator

An extraordinary adventure with the club. We started three weeks in May 2010 in , a journey of 5,500 km from to San Pedro, making many raids on the slopes of the Andean altitude. The sky was not perfect as we expected. But in the camps on foot domes of La Silla Paranal or lost in the middle of the pampas, we made some excellent observations with our own travel gear. For my part, the use of T400-c is a real pleasure, gear totally adapted to this kind of situation….. NGC 6337 is watching shamelessly, provided you push the magnification on this ring almost perfect.

Serge Vieillard

Mars
Planet
Malta (35.52N; 14.26E) at www.znith-observatory.blogspot.com
October 2009-May 2010
Graphite pencil, charcoal, white paper, scanner

This 2009-2010 Mars map is a collage of sketches made through my telescope (SCT 200mm, and colour filters) which spanned from October 2009 till May 2010. Mars offers the best telescopic views at opposition. Large surface markings offer interesting analysis and comparison with similar maps produced by astro-imagers using camears instead of their eyes. As often seen through an astronomical telescope eyepiece, the planet’s orientation is inverted, with Mars’ north polar cap at the bottom.
For a full detailed 2009-2010 Mars Apparition report, including visual observations and sketches made, I invite readers to CLICK HERE.

Charles Galdies

A Globular Cluster in the Eagle (NGC 6760)

Sketch and Details by Ferenc Lovró

Faint, diffuse globular cluster with a perfect circular shape and a core that’s getting brighter only very gently. For me it was not resolveable, although it shows a faint star on its southern side, that may be a part of the cluster. Unfortunately the Jászszentlászló sky that was excellent this far was now ruined by the quickly increasing humidity in the air. Fortunately meanwhile this happened, the seeing got much better, so it made me a little happier on this almost Winter-like night. SQM reading: 21.20 m/arcsec^2, 9°C.

Right ascension: 19h 12m; Declination: 1° 3′
Constellation:
Date/time: 2009.07.25 23:45 UT
Equipment: 12″ f/5 Newtonian
FoV: 19′; Magnification: 167x
Seeing: 7/10; Transparency: 3/5
Location:
Observer: Ferenc Lovró

2010 July 3, 1853 UT – 1938 UT
Solar h-alpha NOAA 11084
PCW Memorial Observatory, Zanesville, Ohio USA – Erika Rix

DS 60mm Maxscope, LXD75, 21-7mm Zhumell
Temp: 28.8°C, Humidity 57.7%-49%
Seeing: Wilson 4, Transparency: 3/6
Clear, slight breeze, Alt: 65.6°-58.1°, Az: 231.8°-247.3°
H-alpha sketch created scopeside with black Strathmore Artagain paper,
white Conte’ crayon and pencil, black oil pencil, Prang white watercolor
pencil

It appears that I missed seeing a dual pair of CMEs (coronal mass
ejections) on the Sun today. It took at place at 1154 UT. My session
began at 1853 UT. Fantastic footage of it can be seen here by SOHO
coronagraph.

http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2010/03jul10/cme_c2_big.gif?PHPSESSID=kljak6da6ng8ifu6v1gf6p7ch3

AR 1084 still looks like a spiral galaxy (or a chicken eye with the wide
yellow/pink skin wrinkled around the pupil). A fantastic
filament/prominence reached over the limb in the SW. The filament was
thick and fibrous reaching out to the west and on either end, long and
slender.

Riser, my regular solar buddy, aka 14-year old Rhodesian Ridgeback, took
a pretty hard fall today and had to watch me observe from a distance in
the comfort of the shade at the top of the hill. He’s resting
comfortably now on a very thick duvet. Poor ol’ boy.

Best regards,
Erika Rix
pcwobservatory.com

Object Name: M 3; NGC 5272 (Constellation of Canes Venatici)RA: 13h 42m; DE:
+28º 23′
Object Type: Globular Cluster
Location: Bonilla (Cuenca) SPAIN
Date: 15 May 2010
Media: graphite pencil, white paper, inverted GIMP 2
Telescope: SCT 8″
Eyepiece: Baader Hyperion 13 mm
Mag.: 155X

M 3 is one of the brightest globular clusters and contains half a million
stars. It has many variable star RR Lyr type. It is located at a distance of
35,000 light years. It is a beautiful spectacle offered by the sky.

Mariano Gibaja

Sketch information:
Object name: A piece of Sagittarius
Scope: Skywatcher dobs 1200/200 + SWA 32mm
Place: Poland, Silesia, Skrzyszow
Seeing: 8/10 Transparency: 4/5
Date and time: 10.07.2010r, 23:50PM (21:00)
Technique: Pencil, GIMP
Author: Marek Płonka (Poland, Silesia)

Note: I’ve always used only pencil.
I use GIMP only to improvement brightness, contrast, resize and crop
images.Under clear, summer skies I was able to sketch this nice view.
I drew this picture moving from star to star, taking the view and sketching.
In my location there are still not dark nights, but I hope, you enjoy my view.

Marek Płonka

Tom Corstjens

Observer: Tom Corstjens
Object Name: IC 5146 – Cocoon Nebula – Caldwell 19
Object Type: H-II Emission nebula
Location: Zillebeke, Belgium (during Starnights event – see www.starnights.be)
Date: 23 August 2009 – 0h25 UT
Media: graphite pencil on white paper, scanned & digital negative.

Equipment: Trusstube Dobson 220mm F/5.9
Eyepiece: Televue Plössl 17mm
Magnification: 77x
Filter: Lumicon UHC 1.25 inch
Seeing / transparency: good

Comments:
Very diffuze emission nebula, situated around 2 bright stars with most detail on north side. Different dark structures visible with long use of off-axis observation technique.
A nice starcluster can be found north of the Cocoon nebula, at low power the dark nebula Barnard 168 is very obvious!

Other sketches from the author can be found at: www.deepskylog.org (select language “Nederlands”, since my comments are in Dutch)
Enjoy & best wishes