NGC 2808

NGC 2808, a globular star cluster in the constellation Carina
NGC 2808, a globular star cluster in the constellation Carina

Object Name: NGC 2808.
Object Type: Globular Cluster.
Location: San Miguel, Buenos Aires Argentina.
Conditions: Good transparency, bad seeing.
Date: 19/12/14.
Media: 2B, 2H, blend stump and PS. Averted vision.
Telescope: Meade LB 12″ on equatorial tracking platform.
Eyepiece: Plössl 10mm (x152) .
First glob, very tricky!

Difficult Uranus

The Planet Uranus and its moons, Oberon, Ariel, and Titania December 11, 2014
The Planet Uranus and its moons, Oberon, Ariel, and Titania December 11, 2014
Uranus and it's moons, Oberon, Ariel, and Titania - December 11, 2014
Uranus and it’s moons, Oberon, Ariel, and Titania – December 11, 2014

Object Name (Uranus with moons)
Object Type (Planet and satellites)
Location : Observatoire Astronomique de Bauduen, Provence France
Date 2014 Dec 11th
Media (graphite pencil, and inverted watercolor on white paper, Paint.net for the inversion)
That’s maybe because I like to use this great telescope, or it’s because I like challenges but,… it’s certainly not the best optical combination for this observation.
On 11 December, I finally found a corner of pure sky above the 24-inch reflector made by Olivier Planchon. To observe Uranus, the speed is definitely too high: f / 3.3 d, so we had to use very short focal EP to reach the useful magnification (Nagler 3.7 and 2.5) !.
If you look at my watercolor you can see a somewhat elongated comet hair that diffuse around the planet, that’s exactly how we see the planet area in the field, this is probably linked to a not 100% perfect collimation, but still. I get the impression that the work of collimation facing these big tubes, it is not a piece of cake.
Anyway, we can say two things:
1- We observed three of the Uranus satellites: Oberon, Titania and Ariel, this last one being a bit lost in the lights of the planet
2- the disk of the planet was not uniform as seen in a small telescope or some photos. It’s very difficult to confirm, but a diffuse zone clearer was observed in the upper atmosphere of Uranus, is that an artifact, I do not know? Anyway the main direction of the area is not in the direction of the cloud bands of Uranus.

Another composition of this observation is given here: http://astro.aquarellia.com/croquis/uranus_page_h.jpg

Near Orion-NGC 1980-1981

NGC 1981, a young star cluster with nebulosity in the constellation Orion
NGC 1981, a young star cluster with nebulosity in the constellation Orion
NGC 1980, a small open cluster with nebulosity near M42 in the constellation Orion
NGC 1980, a small open cluster with nebulosity near M42 in the constellation Orion

Object Name : NGC 1980-1981
Object Type Nebula
Location: Argentina-Provincia de Buenos Aires-Monasterio
Date: 13/12/2014
Media graphite pencil, white paper, digital tools.
All observations be performed with a motorized telescope Eq2 130-900 refelctor and eyepieces BST 12MM (75x).
Seeing 7/10.
The region where the Great Nebula in Orion is accompanied by these two objects that sometimes is a little lost in the majesty of M42. in these drawings I wanted to highlight the stars reflecting part of the nebulosity of these young clusters

Español:
Todas las observaciones ser realizaron con un telescopio 130-900 Eq2 motorizado con oculares BST 12 MM (75x).
Seeing 7/10.
La región donde se encuentra la Gran Nebulosa de Orion esta acompañada por estos dos objetos que a veces queda un poco perdido por la majestuosidad de M42. en estos dibujos quise remarcar las estrellas que reflejan parte de la nebulosidad de dichos jóvenes cúmulos

Sebastian Castagna
Estación Vientos del Sur

C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy

Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) - December 18, 2014
Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) – December 18, 2014

Object: C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy
Object type: Comet
Location: Panama city, Republic of Panama (Central America)
Date: December 18 , 2014
Media: graphite pencil , white paper and Microsoft Paint to invert colors.
Telescope: Orion XT6i
Ocular: 17mm
Hard to see in the skies with light pollution in the city of Panama …. but we draw the sketch.

clear skies,

Ricardo Schwarz

Les Pleiades

Messier 45, "The Pleiades", an open star cluster in the constellation Taurus
Messier 45, “The Pleiades”, an open star cluster in the constellation Taurus

les Pleiades,
T400
Nagler 26mm
SQM 21.8
Nouvelle Calédonie le 13/12/2014.

Observation bien agréable !
Dessin sur champ préétoilé.

Amicalement

Serge

the Pleiades,
T400
Nagler 26mm
21.8 SQM
New Caledonia on 12/13/2014.
 
Observation nice!
Drawing on préétoilé field.
 
Sincerely
 
serge

Lovejoy – one year after

The comet C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) during the month of December 2014
The comet C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) during the month of December 2014

Object Name C/2013 (Lovejoy)
Object Type Comet
Location Lindenau, Bavaria, Germany
Date December 2013
Media black graphite pencil on white paper, digitally inverted using the freeware software GIMP
Usually, weather in December is quite poor – at least in Germany. However, in 2013 we had cloudless skies for more than a week. So, before going to work, I was able to make sketches of the nice comet C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) using a pair of 16×70 binoculars.
In order to combine all sketches, I used the freeware program Cartes du Ciel to generate the starfield through which the comet wandered.
Since the comet came close to M13, I put the globular in also. The sketch I made of the cluster is some two years old, but I suppose it does not look a lot differently now 🙂
Observing conditions were not particularly good but also not very bad. Faintest star usually ranged from 6m0 to 6m2 except for December 16th and 17th when the moon was still above the horizon, brightening the sky quite badly. Therefore, the comet looked a lot less spectacular.

Best regards,
Christian Weis

Globular Cluster Pair

A comparison between two globular clusters, M15 in Pegasus and M13 in Hercules - September 24, 2014 and September 27, 2014
A comparison between two globular clusters, M15 in Pegasus and M13 in Hercules – September 24, 2014 and September 27, 2014

Hi,

Please accept my sketches of this beautiful pair of globular clusters, M15 in Pegasus and M13 in Hercules. Both globular clusters are spectacular objects by themselves but I thought it was interesting to pair them side-by-side to compare and contrast. M15 is smaller, has a more densely packed core and a more symmetrical shape M13 is larger, has a more loosely packed core and meandering streams of stars. The sketches were made on the nights of 9/24/2014 and 9/27/2014 respectively from a fellow club member’s observing field near Green Bay, WI using my 10” Discovery Dobsonian telescope at 120x. They were made using white paper with HB and 2B graphite pencils and blending stumps to smooth. Image colors were inverted using Paint.NET. I hope you enjoy it.

Object Name – M15 & M13
Object Type – Globular Cluster
Location – Near Green Bay, WI US
Dates – 9/24/2014 and 9/27/2014
Media – graphite pencil, blending stumps and white paper. Image colors inverted using Paint.net

Nebulosa de Orión (Orion Nebula)

Messier 42, "The Great Nebula of Orion", a giant stellar nursery in the constellation Orion
Messier 42, “The Great Nebula of Orion”, a giant stellar nursery in the constellation Orion

Object Name: M42.
Object Type: Nebula.
Location: Pergamino, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Date 05/12/2014, 00:15am.
Media: White paper, pencil and photoshop to invert colors and make minor tweaks.
Equipment used for the drawing: Helios 114/900 (reflector).
Ocular: Huygens 25mm.