Category: Media Combinations

A Trio in Resplendent Isolation

Bullialdus

Bullialdus and A and B
Sketch and details by Richard Handy

Sitting in replendent isolation on the lava plains of Mare Nubium, the magnificent 61 km Bullialdus reflects the early morning sunlight strongly off the steep cliffs ringing it’s western rim. If you were to stand on this precipice next to this face, a nervous downward gaze would reveal huge islands of collapsed rubble nearly 1800 meters of almost vertical drop below you. Wrapping around in great arcs with your field of view, on the opposite side of the crater, these giant terraces would appear as tumbled foothills rising from a deep gray plain, interrupted by the brightly lit jutting central peaks of Bullialdus. The wreath of folded crust that forms the glacis of Bullialdus is one of it’s most alluring aspects. It seems replete with craggy flows of broken crustal rock arranged radially around the outer rim. As an Eratosthenian aged crater, little is preserved of this iconic crater’s once prominent ray system, but at one time it must have been quite a sight, powdery rays splayed across the long cooled Nubium flows. But time, sunlight and micrometeorites fade everything. Craters like Bullialdus are classified as complex craters. The force of the impact of the original asteriod is strong enough to distort the surface downward a few kilometers. In response to this compression, the surface rebounds almost explosively, creating extraordinay results: central peaks and rim terrace mega collapse slides. Bullialdus’s peaks are close to 1000m high. The annulus of mass wasting, especially in a couple of areas to the south west of the floor do appear to almost encroach on the central peaks. To the south of Bullialdus is Bullialdus A. There seems to be a scooped depression that connects Bullialdus to it’s diminutive neighbor, as if the shock of A’s formation created a landslide off this section of the glacis of Bullialdus. Futher to the southwest Bullialdus B echos this odd terrain.

Sketch Details:

Date: 6-25-07 Start- 4:30 UT End- 6:00 UT
or: 6-24-07 21:30 to 23:00
Lunation: 10.05 days Phase: 61.1 deg Illumination: 74.2%
Lib. in Lat.= +5 deg 56 min Lib. in Long.= -00 deg 10 min
Seiing: Antoniadi II to III Weather: clear
Telescope: 12″ SCT f/10
Bino viewer: W.O. Bino-P with 1.6X nosepiece
Eyepieces: 12.4 mm Meade Super Plossls
Magnification: 393X
Medium: White and black Conte’ Crayon on textured black Strathmore paper.
Sketch size: 18″x 24″

A Day Before Full

Schluter

Schluter, Grimaldi, and Riccioli Craters
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

At one day before full moon the illumination along the western terminator, nearly at the limb was highlighting the Upper-Imbrium crater Schluter (92 km.) with its central peak protruding out from the darkness of the crater floor. The outer reaches of Mare Orientale in the name of the Cordillera mountains were just beyond the sunlight at the lunar limb. The largest feature in this sketch is the lava covered, very dark floored impact basin known as Grimaldi (230 km.) What we see of Grimaldi is the inner ring of a 440 kilometer, two ringed mini-basin. This Pre-Nectarian impact event was originally described as a walled plain crater of advanced age with a heavily worn and battered rim. The basin is noted for a large gravitation anomaly beneath the surface associated with a high mass density concentration. Adjacent to Grimaldi to the west is semi-dark floored walled plain crater Riccioli (150 km.) At the same age as its eastern partner it shows damage and age especially from the ejecta pitched out by the Mare Orientale event.

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 (-5) and contrast increased (+4) using Microsoft Office Picture Manager.

Telescope: 10 inch f/ 5.7 Dobsonian and 9 mm eyepiece 161 x
Date: 8-16-2008, 3:15-4:40 UT
Temperature: 15° C (59° F)
Clear, calm
Seeing: Antoniadi III
Colongitude 85.7 °
Lunation 14.7 days
Illumination 99.4 %

Frank McCabe

Solar Prominences – September 1, 2008

Solar Collage

Sun in H-Alpha
Sketch and details by Erika Rix

2008 September 01
solar
Erika Rix

Sketch media: black Cranford paper, white Conte’ and Prang pencils

It was a good day. I shared some solar views and was repaid with lunch!

After having walked the dogs up the road and through some fields first thing this morning, the skies were clear and I was looking forward to observing. I dragged the LXD mount outside in front of the observatory to see if the seeing improved. I didn’t set it back up inside to compare with, but I was a lot cooler, which in turn made an improved comfort level temperature wise. The downside was moving all my gear outside, putting up with a little wind, and observing on a slope. The views were worth it.

Half way through the session, my neighbor honked when she drove up the road to her house, so when I was finished with my sketches, I called her to see if she’d like to come down and have her first look at the sun through a telescope. Paul came down to join us and we had a really enjoyable time. He just came back from imaging the Sun with the Maxscope so I’m looking forward to comparing our views. His session was a few hours behind me, so I reckon there will be a few changes.

Being the thoughtful person that she is, our neighbor came back from her solar session with lunch for Paul and me.

Southeastern Ocean of Storms

southern Oceanus Procellarum

Southern Oceanus Procellarum
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

Shortly after sunset I turned my telescope in the direction of the moon and was planning to sketch the crater Longomontanus. However that all changed when I spotted a ghostly, mostly buried crater in southern Oceanus Procellarum right at the terminator. For June 10, 2006 at C. Wood’s site – LPOD, you can find a photo of this region of the moon. Superimposed over this crater are a series of dorsa (ridges) known as Dorsa Euclides F. The lava in this region is not quite thick enough to cover all the evidence that this unnamed crater existed. To the east the 12 kilometer Copernician period crater surrounded by bright ejecta at the center of the sketch is Euclides. Just to the east of this crater are the Riphaeus mountains. North of the mountains you will see four of the Lansberg craters with the largest being Lansberg D (11 km.).
The two small Eratosthenian craters at the far left side of the sketch are Kuiper and Eppinger both at about 6 km. in size.
I love these views that inspire us to capture them with a sketch.

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 (-5) and contrast increased (+3) using Microsoft Office Picture Manager.

Telescope: 18 inch f/ 5 Dobsonian and 12 mm eyepiece 167x
Date: 8-12-2008, 1:35 – 3:05 UT
Temperature: 21° C (71° F)
Partly cloudy, hazy, calm
Seeing: Antoniadi II – III
Colongitude 35.8 °
Lunation 10.6 days
Illumination 78.9 %

Frank McCabe

Luminous Lagoon

M8

M8 – The Lagoon Nebula
Sketch and Details by Kiminori Ikebe

M8 (NGC 6523) Sgr diffuse nebula
Difficulty level 1
The Lagoon Nebula
Date of observation: 1998/05/27 03:20
Transparency/seeing/sky darkness: 3/3/4
Instruments: 32cm Dobsonian with XL21 at 70x and OIII Filter
Width of field: 0.9 degree

Complex structures are visible. There is the open cluster NGC 6530 near the center, which can be seen clearly even with the OIII filter. The brighter part of the nebula is divided into three regions. A triangular-shaped nebulosity in the southwest is the brightest with 9 Sgr (mag 6.1) shining at the center. There is a small, somewhat fainter region south of 9 Sgr. The second brightest region extend from the center to the south, which contains the open cluster NGC 6530. Between the brightest and next brightest regions lies a clear winding dark lane like a large river. The “banks of the river” is bright and a magnificent sight. At the southern end a sharp protrusion like a horn is visible. Although it is faint, the outline is sharp. North of the brightest region lies the third brightest region. It extends from the east to the west and the eastern half is bright providing a fine sight. With a close examination you can detect a faint nebulosity east of NGC 6530. It is large and looks like a very faint mist. In 10×42 binoculars, there are two bright spots side by side in the east-west direction within a narrow triangle. There is a double involving 7 Sgr at the western end of the triangle. There is a star near the center of the western part of the bright region. This star is 9 Sgr and the bright nebulosity surrounding it is clearly seen. The eastern part is rather elongated with the same orientation with NGC 6520. The globular cluster NGC 6544 is clearly seen in the southeast.

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

Longomontanus and Environs

Longomontanus and Environs

Longomontanus and Environs
Sketch and Details by Richard Handy

Sketch of Longomontanus and environs on November 25, 2005 4:42 am PST to 6:10 am PST.

Telescope: Meade 12″ SCT
234X (2X barlow with 26mm Plossl)

Seeing: Antoniadi III-IV and occasionally II.

Colongitude: 199.9 deg

Lunation: 23.48 days

Medium: White Conte’ on black Strathmore textured paper.

Sketch size: 17.5″ x 23.5″

Crater Maurolycus

Crater Maurolycus

Crater Maurolycus
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

This is a notable crater around the twentieth day of lunation as the setting sun shadows begin to crawl across the crater floor to the east. The large size (115 km.), central peaks on a flat floor and high terraced walls identify this ancient (Nectarian period) crater as a walled plain impact. The east wall rises steeply above the floor 4.2 kilometers. Part of a previous large crater juts out from under Maurolycus to the south. Central peaks casting shadows were seen north of the center point on the crater floor. The floor is mostly flat and smooth. In addition the floor is not believed to be lava flooded and in the October 2007 issue of Sky and Telescope, Chuck Wood describes a hypothesis that it may be covered with fluidized ejecta from basin formation. The problem with this notion as he points out is that basin formation ended before the Maurolycus forming event occurred. Among the many similar craters in the southern highlands this is a crater that truly stands out.

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 241 x
Date: 7-23-2008, 5:45-7:10 UT
Temperature: 20° C (68° F)
Partly Cloudy, calm
Seeing: Antoniadi III
Colongitude 154.2 °
Lunation 20.2 days
Illumination 76.3 %

Frank McCabe

Bejeweled Ink Spot

NGC 6520 and Barnard 86

NGC 6520 and Barnard 86
Sketch and Details by Kiminori Ikebe

A dark nebula telescopically easy and an beautiful overlapping open cluster. A photograph taken by a 200mm lens shows a small dark nebula and a compact open cluster at the southern edge in addition to M8 and M20. At 110x B86 is quite clear. The field is lit up by the Milky Way stars but a dark triangular shape region to the west of NGC 6520 is quite conspicuous. It appears as if the area is literally painted black and is called the “Ink Spot.” A line of stars along the base of this triangle. A hint of a long dark nebula to the southwest of NGC 6520. This is not as conspicuous as B86; not visible with direct vision. NGC 6520 is beautiful, compact, and “lively.” Bright stars are scattered across. Faint stars are concentrated in some areas.