Category: globular

A Large, Glittering Ball

Messier 13
Messier 13

Object name: Messier 13 (NGC 6205)
Type: Globular Cluster
Location: Sandown, UK
Date: October 15, 2011
Media: Graphite pencil on white paper, inverted in Photoshop.
Equipment: 18 inch f/4.3 Dobsonian with an 11mm Televue Plossl (180x).

Ever since I became interested in deep sky observing and sketching nearly 20 years ago, I have mostly used 6, 8 and 12 inch telescopes for my observations, plus the odd big ones (20, 36 and 48 inches) at star parties such as Texas. My new 18 inch dob has now brought my observing into a Whole New Realm – the magnitude or so difference over my 12 inch means that there is a lot more to see.

On October 15th, as the conditions were a bit lousy (nearly-full Moon plus some mist), I didn’t bother with the faint galaxy-hunting I had been doing lately and decided to sketch M13 instead. I haven’t done a lot of sketching while using the 18 inch yet, as I have spent the time in my six sessions with it so far searching for more detail in objects and things such as faint galaxies in the field of view.

While sketching M13 I found – totally unsurprisingly – that the big and more detailed objects are far more challenging to sketch when viewed in larger apertures. You’re just overwhelmed with the profusion of detail and M13 is a prime example of this; while it isn’t totally resolved in the 18 inch, it is a very large glittering ball of many stars.

Faith Jordan

My Mate Scorpius

Scorpius

Scorpius
Hover mouse over image to view labels.

Object type: constellation
Location: Itajobi, SP, Brazil (on a farm)
21º19′ S
49º03′ W
+450m
Date: July 2011
Media: 2B 0.5mm graphite pencil on white paper, scanned then inverted
Instrument: naked eye and 10×50 binoculars
Observer: Rodrigo Pasiani Costa

July 2011 was definitely a great month for me to observe the night sky. In fact it didn’t rain at all, so I could set my telescope on my mom’s farm several times. I spent many hours a night observing, sometimes from seven pm (local time) untill half past trhee am (local time), and I would be alone if not for a mate: Scorpius, high above in the sky, always looking at me from the top, crossing from East to West through the zenit. So, between one object and another, I skethed this fascinating constellation together with some of its stellar clusters and nebulosity. The details were observed with a 10×50 binoculars, but the stars and the Milky Way were observed with the naked eye. I hope you enjoy it, it took me three or four nights, and was a great experience.
Oh, I could not forget. Past September 24th was the 18th birthday of my friend Camila. Happy birthday, Camila, enjoy the great dark sky you have from your garden.

More July sketches coming soon.
Dark skies to everybody.
From Brazil,
Rodrigo P. C.

A Dark Lane in M13

Messier 13
Messier 13

Hey Artists!

I send you the Hercules globular M. 13.
This is a splended object to observe in a medium scope.
Interesting to see the north- south dark lane crossing the centralarea, which have
a foursquared look. Info on sketch.
I used pen and pencil on white paper and inverted.
Observation from Trondheim, Norway.

Best wishes from Per-Jonny Bremseth.

A Flirty Globular

Messier 15
Messier 15

Object name: M15
Object type: Globular Cluster
Location: York, UK
Date: 18th September 2011
Media: Graphite pencil, white paper, scanned and colours reversed.
The skies here in the UK have been very disappointing the last month or so. Desperate for anything, I grabbed a chance at a clear dark view last night, but had only ten minutes sketching before the clouds rolled in again. M15 is great consolation though; extensive, bright, I just love the way it tantalises you with flickers of stars at the edge of vision. Flirty. And like many great beauties, out of reach.

I used a Skywatcher Skyliner 152mm f8 Dobsonian, 10 mm eyepiece. 22.30-22.40 UT

Dark Lanes in Messier 22

Messier 22
Messier 22

Object Name : M22 (GC in Sgr)
Object Type : Globular Cluster
Location : Kangwon-do, South Korea
Date : 06.06.2011
Media : White paper, 0.7mm Sharp Pencil

Hi all. I sketched M22 under dark sky. (Limiting Mag. 6.0)
I saw some ‘dark lane’ in this cluster..
It is real? or illusion? I’m not sure

Dark lane Description
http://www.nightflight.or.kr/bbs/data/tmp3/M22_des_110606.jpg

A Gem Found in the Water Bearer

Messier 2
Messier 2

Object Type: Globular Cluster
Location: Fredericksburg, Texas, USA
Date: 08/02/11
Time: 02:05 CDT
Conditions: Clear; Seeing 3/5; Transparency 4/5
Equipment: 280mm SCT, 22mm EP
Medium: Graphite pencil and blending stump on white paper.
scanned and color inverted.

This evening was one of the best views I’ve had of this well-
resolved globular cluster. It’s in the constellation Aquarius
and is just about 37.5 k light years away from us with a
diameter of 175 light years containing some 150k stars.

Things are looking up,
John E.

A Jewel of the Southern Sky

NGC 6752
NGC 6752

Hello everyone,

There are few deep sky objects that are rarely matched to their impact through the eyepiece. When you first see them through the eyepiece, you lift your head for just one moment & think “Holy heck, did I just see that!”, and then rush back to the eyepiece .

NGC 6752 has to be one of those objects. This southern sky globular cluster in the constellation Pavo, is one cracker of a GC. A naked eye object, it is easily overlooked as it lies in a tremendously busy part of the sky, even though it is the third brightest globular cluster in the whole sky. My first look at it had me running around the place saying to folks “you gotta have a look at this through your scopes!”

Not only is it a bright GC, but it is jam-packed with lines, arcs, loops, hollows and figures made up of stars. One particularly lovely alignment of stars seems to trace a large looping love heart shape. My sketch shows it on the left side of the main ball. Sketch was done in just over an hour.

This GC is one big sucker. The mistiness that reaches out from the core is very expansive. The number of resolved stars is wicked. This GC’s reach was huge, even though transparency of the sky wasn’t brilliant.

This is one target that I would really love to have a squiz at through a monster dob. I might even run the risk of trashing my night vision with it this way, J.

I can only hope that this sketch evokes some of the immense beauty of this cluster. It is just WOW!

Alex.

Object: NGC 6752, globular cluster in Pavo
Scope: 17.5” f/4.5
Gear: Unitron 16mm Konig, 125X, 33.6’ AFOV
Date: 2nd July, 2011
Location: Wiruna, Ilford, Australia
Media: White pastel, white charcoal pencil & white ink on A4 size black paper.

Messier 5

Messier 5
Messier 5

Here is my sketch of the globular cluster M5. The sketch was done at the eyepiece June 19, 2011 at 2253DST using my 200mm dob and an 8mm EP yeilding 150x magnification. I used graphite on white paper and then reversed the image and cleaned it up in Corel Paintshop Pro. I was really struck by the three dimensional quality of this cluster when viewed with averted vision. The fainter stars on the NW edge of the core POP into view and really seem to be well in front of the cluster’s core of unresolved stars. The sketch was done from my backyard observatory in Orleans, Ontario, Canada.

Clear skies,
Gordon Webster

Comet Visits a Globular Cluster

C/2009 P1 (Garradd)
C/2009 P1 (Garradd)

Hi,

The other night a visitor to the inner solar system, Comet C/2009 P1 (Garradd), appeared to make its own visit to M15, one of the brightest globular clusters in the northern sky. I say “appeared to” because M15 is actually over 33 thousand light years distant.

Comet Garradd was beautiful to see as it glided past the glob over the two nights I was able to view it. The soft glow of the moderately condensed comet head contrasted nicely with the bright knot of stars in M15 as the fan shaped tail swept faintly to the southeast, a sight I’ve tried to reproduce with this sketch.

Garradd will be making more visits over the next few weeks as it travels past the constellations Delphinus and Sagitta and the Coathanger asterism. Catch it if you are able!

C/2009 P1 (Garradd)
Comet
Twin Sugars Observatory Friars Hill, WV USA
August 1st & 2nd, 2011
Graphite pencils on white sketch paper, inverted digitally

Regards to all,

Michael Rosolina