Author: Jeremy Perez

Foaming Starlight

M11

M11 – The Wild Duck Cluster
Sketch and Details by Carlos Hernandez

I was able to observe one of my favorite open clusters M11 (NGC 6705) in Scutum on August 9, 2008 (5:00 U.T.). This magnificent open cluster appears as an explosion of jewels in space. This spectacular collection of stars has an estimated 2,900 members of which 500 are brighter than 14th magnitude. It lies at an estimated distance of between 220 to 250 million light years. I made the observation using my 9-inch (23-cm) F/13.5 Maksutov-Cassegrain at 78x.

A digital image made using Photoshop CS3.

Links:
http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/sct/index.html
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030122.html
http://www.maa.clell.de/Messier/E/m011.html

Carlos

Partial Lunar Eclipse from Seville

Lunar Eclipse

Partial Lunar Eclipse
Sketch and Details by Isabel Roblas

“Object type”: Moon
“Title of your sketch”: Partial eclipse of moon
“Your name”: Isabel Roblas

Partial eclipse of moon of August 16, 2008. Seville. Spain.
The drawing is of the image of the moon in a hollow that the clouds, sight left with the prismatic ones 10×50

(sorry my english)

Isabel
Seville, Spain

Cassiopeia’s Sparkling Owl

NGC 457

NGC 457: The Owl Cluster
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

At a distance of 9,300 light years (2850 parsecs) this youthful open cluster is about the same age as the Perseus Double Cluster – eight million years old. NGC 457 in Cassiopeiae is composed of nearly 100 stars brighter than magnitude 13 and many fainter members. The cluster has several names including the Owl cluster, the E.T. cluster, the Phi Cas. cluster and others. The two brightest stars here, Phi Cas. and HD7902 may not actually be members of this open cluster but rather foreground stars. These two stars form the bright eyes of the owl. Phi Cas. is a magnitude 5 yellow star and HD 7902 is a magnitude 7 bluish star. If the brighter member is a cluster star at 9,000 light years it would have a luminosity of 275,000 suns. The integrated visual magnitude of this cluster is about 6.4 and it is 16’ across. This object was discovered by William Herschel in 1787. It can easily be found 2° south-southwest of delta Cas. (R. A. 1h. 22’, Dec. +58° 2’).

Sketching

Date and Time: 8-11-2008, 5:20-6:40 UT
Scope: 10” f/5.7 Dobsonian. 13mm eyepiece 111x
8”x11” white recycled sketching paper, 4B soft charcoal pencil, HB hard charcoal pencil, blending stump, scanned and inverted, some star magnitude adjustment made at the time of scanning.
Seeing: Pickering 5/10
Transparency: Average 3/5
Nelm: 4.2

Frank McCabe

Hickson 68: Galaxy Cluster in Canes Venatici

Hickson 68

Hickson 68

Sketch and Details by Bill Ferris

Move mouse over sketch to see labels.

Hickson 68: Galaxy Cluster (Canes Venatici)

RA: 13h 53.5m / DEC: +40º 17′.0

Instrument: 18-inch Obsession

Here’s a fine galaxy cluster that adorns the spring sky. Hickson 68 resides in eastern Canes Venatici and is closer to the bright stars of Boötes than to Cor Caroli. My sketch presents a 199X view in the big Obsession and is dominated by NGC 5350. This 11.3 magnitude barred spiral is northernmost in the group and has the designation, Hickson 68C. Its stellar core is embedded within a 3′.3 by 2′.4 oval nebulosity that becomes gradually brighter toward the middle. The bright stellar pair immediately west of NGC 5350 are 6.5 magnitude HD 121197 and 10.5 magnitude PPM 53793. A skosh more than 4′ south of Hickson 68C, resides a pair of galaxies sharing the same patch of sky. NGC 5353 is Hickson 68A. It is the larger and, at 10.9 magnitude, brighter of the pair. Its 2′.7 by 1′.5 oval form is aligned northwest to southeast and features a stellar core. Hickson 68B (NGC 5354) lies an arcminute to the north. Just the bright inner core of this 11.3 magnitude gotham is seen. The 1′ circular patch of haze is anchored to the sky by a faintly stellar core. Two galaxies are stationed to the east of center in my drawing. NGC 5355 (Hickson 68D) stands about 5′ west of NGC 5350. This 1′.2 by 0′.7 galaxy shines at 13.1 magnitude and is aligned north-northeast to south-southwest. NGC 5358 is the most challenging member of Hickson 68. Hickson 68E is a 14.6 (B) magnitude galaxy. It appears 1′.5 by 0.5 in size and is arranged northwest to southeast. A close pair of 13th magnitude GSC stars simmer an arcminute to the southwest.

Details of the Great Red Spot

Great Red Spot

The Great Red Spot
Sketch and Details by Carlos Hernandez

I made an observation of the Great Red Spot (GRS) and surrounding region (South Equatorial Belt (SEB)) on August 10, 2008 (04:30 U.T.). The amount of detail visible within and surrounding the Great Red Spot (GRS) was impressive. The core of the GRS was a dark salmon color (3-4/10) surrounded by a reddish pink to white color (5-7/10) over the rest of the GRS. The South Equatorial Belt (SEB) was a light brown to a greenish-brown color (3-4/10) with bright (7/10), undulating rifts over it’s northern half. The South Tropical Zone (STrZ) appeared bright with a dusky to dull (4-5/10) band appearing to connect to the southern border of the GRS. A dark (3/10) elongated condensation appeared within it following the GRS. An elongated, and bright (7/10) oval BA was noted within the dark (3/10) South Temperate Belt (STB). The center of the GRS was timed at 130.3 (L2, 128.4 L3).

A digital image produced in Photoshop CS3.

Carlos

The Orion Nebula: A Two Season Field Sketch

M42 Rough Draft

M42 Field Sketch
Sketch and Details by Dave Riddle

A few months ago, I submitted a work-in-progress sketch of the Orion Nebula (and thanks again for all the kind comments from the ASOD community!).

I thought it might be of interest to submit one my field drawings used to make the (ahem) “finished” M42 portrait. This raw rendering has hastily scribbled notes around the border concerning aperture, magnification and weather conditions. I don’t see many rough draft drawings submitted to ASOD — you know, the ones with the ink smudged and the paper wrinkled by dew accompanied by bleary eyed late-night written notes that defy comprehension the next morning.

This composite drawing was made almost seven months apart from Panacea, Florida (with my 18″ reflector) and the Woodruff Boy Scout Camp outside of Blue Ridge, Georgia with the Atlanta Astronomy Club’s 24″ reflector. A series of drawings were made over two Orion “seasons” in an attempt to get a final, presentable drawing. And I feel I have a long way to go in knowing the remarkable nebula of Orion.

Dave Riddle

Stand Alone Crater

Eratosthenes Crater

Eratosthenes Crater
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

Crater Eratosthenes rests on the boundary between the Sea of Showers and the northwestern extension of the Sea of Islands known as the Seething Bay. This crater is a magnificent stand alone crater. It is 58 kilometers across and nearly 3.7 kilometers deep. Eratosthenes began as a small mountain size rock impacting the moon at the end of the Apennine mountain range onto the mare basalt. This event occurred 3.15 billion years ago and defines the beginning of the Eratosthenian period. Other well known craters forming at about the same time include Langrenus and Bullialdus.
Eratosthenes is a regal feature when illuminated with the terminator nearby. Its terraced inner walls, irregular rubble strewn floor and central peaks make it a most attractive sight in telescopes of all sizes. See for yourself at the next opportunity.

Sketching:

For this sketch I used: black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper 9”x12”, white and black Conte’ pastel pencils and a blending stump. After scanning, Brightness was decreased (-4) and contrast increased (+4) using Microsoft Office Picture Manager.

Telescope: 10 inch f/ 5.7 Dobsonian and 6 mm eyepiece 241x
Date: 8-11-2008, 1:15-2:30 UT
Temperature: 20° C (68° F)
Clear, calm
Seeing: Antoniadi III
Colongitude 26.0 °
Lunation 9.8 days
Illumination 72.3 %

Frank McCabe

Sting Like a Butterfly

M6

M6 – The Butterfly Cluster
Sketch and details by Rony De Laet

One of the binocular highlights of Scorpius is M6, the Butterfly Cluster. This bright open cluster forms a splendid duo with M7. These two bright – naked eye – clusters were known since antiquity. While they can be squeezed in a single field of view, I rather prefer to dedicate a single sketch to each one of this brilliant duo.

M6 can be found at the tail of the Scorpius at 5° north of Lambda Scorpii. In a pair of binoculars, the cluster appears 15’ wide. A dozen stars are visible with direct vision. Averted vision can reveal another 15 stars. The binocular low power does not make it easy to distinguish the individual stars in this dense packed cluster. So take all the time you need to study M6 in detail. The lucida of the cluster, at the edge of the eastern wing of the butterfly, is the orange variable BM Sco. Don’t be surprised that your observation does not match my sketch, because BM Sco can fluctuate between mag 5.8 and 8.0. The Butterfly Cluster is 1600 l-y away. Its true size is estimated at 14 l-y.

Site : Andratx, Mallorca, Spain
Date : July 25, 2008
Time : around 22.15UT
Binoculars : TS 15×70 Marine
FOV: 4.4°
Filter : none
Mount : Trico Machine Sky Window
Seeing : 2,5/5
Transp. : 4/5
Sky brightness : 21.00 magnitudes per square arc second near zenith (SQM reading).
Nelm : 6.4
Sketch Orientation : N up, W right.
Digital sketch made with Photo Paint, based on a raw pencil sketch.

(Note: if the sketch does look too dark on your monitor, try to darken the room.)