Media Combinations – Page 3 – Astronomy Sketch of the Day

Light vs Dark – the Ink Spot and a lovely open cluster

Hi all,

This was the first sketch I completed at Astrofest in Queensland, Australia. I’ve been wanting to sketch this beautiful dark nebula ever since I first laid eye on it some three years ago. This dark nebula, B86, goes by the popular name of “The Ink Spot”. It sits smack bang in the centre of the densest star cloud in the whole sky, the Cloud of Sagittarius. And what sets it off even more is B86 has a gorgeous bright open cluster right next to it, NGC 6570. Both objects are more-or-less the same size as each other, even though both are not very large themselves. But it is the juxtaposition of these two very different objects against the blaze of the Milky Way that makes this pair a spectacular pairing.

Dark nebulae are clouds of dust and gas that are drifting through the Milky Way galaxy. Many of these conglomerations of dust and gas do end up being formed into stars and planets, but most just end up forming the fabric of the galaxy. In fact, the stars that we see actually only form a small percentage of the actual mass of galaxies. By far the greatest amount of a galaxy’s mass comes from this very dust and gas. The Ink Spot is a small patch of cloud. It is a very opaque nebula too. Dark nebulae are categorised according to their opacity, or how dark they are. The scale of opacity goes from 1 (very tenuous) through to 6 (very opaque). While the opacity of The Ink Spot may be a 5, it is because that it sits in the Cloud of Sagittarius that makes is a striking object.

The little open cluster NGC 6520 really works very well in setting off B86. Open clusters are groupings of stars that are all related to each other having been formed out of the same parent cloud of gas and dust. Evidence for this is seen in the spectra of the stars displaying the same chemical make up. The brothers and sisters of our own Sun have been identified this way, with the same chemical signature as our Sun having been identified in several close by stars even though the Sun’s ‘siblings’ have long drifted off away from each other. Open clusters are loose groupings, so even though they formed from the same source, their gravitational connection to each other is not strong enough to keep the group together for too long.

For me, this tiny patch of sky is one of my most favourite. Tiny and oh so precious. Brilliant, dark, stark, ghostly. All in one. Gorgeous.

Alexander Massey.

Object: The Ink Spot, B86 & NGC 6570
Telescope: 17.5″ push-pull Karee dob
Gear: 13mm LVW, 154X
Location: Linville, Queensland, Australia
Date: 24th July, 2014
Media: Soft pastel, charcoal and white ink on A4 size black paper.
Duration: approx. 3hrs

NGC 6520 and Barnard 86

Object Name: NGC 6520 and Barnard 86.
RA: 18h 03m 25.1s; Dec: -27° 53′ 28″
Magnitude: 7.6
NGC 6520 size: 6′
Distance: 6,000 light-years approx.
Constellation: Sagittarius.
Type: Open Cluster and Dark Nebula.
Description NGC 6520: Cl, pS, Ri, lV, st 9 … 13
Location: Bonilla. Cuenca. SPAIN
Date: July 24, 2014.
Time: 00:10 UT.
Material used: pastel pencils and white ink on black paper. Inverted image with Photoshop.
Celestron Telescope S/C 8″ Mount Cgt-5
Eyepiece: LV-M 22mm; Magnification: 92x.
Condition: 21.39 SQM. Temperature: 16º. Humidity 29%. Calm wind.

A little fat Owl

It had been a while since I did a lunar sketch. May saw me complete my first lunar sketch in many months. I made several attempts, but on those occasions, seeing was so poor the Moon was ‘boiling’ using just 100X magnification. Disappointing and frustrating. Eventually things did change in my favour…

As always, unless I have a specific target in mind, I just let my eye wonder along the terminator to see what pricks my interest. And, as there are several repeated alphanumeric apparitions on the Moon, I’ve found a second avian one! Some time ago I spotted an owl formed around the crater Mercator. Last night I found a second Owl, this time around the flooded craters Fra Mauro (the fat body), Parry (the right eye), and Bonpland (the left eye).Cute little fella I think is formed here J.

As it turns out, Fra Mauro is just to the south of the Apollo 14 landing site – south is to the top of the page, so the Apollo 14 site lies just below where the Owl’s feet would be.

Object: “Little Fat Owl”, craters Fra Mauro, Parry and Bonpland
Scope: C8, 8” SCT
Gear: 5mm Baader Hyperion, 400X
Date: 8th May, 2014
Location: Sydney, Australia
Media: White & grey soft pastel, charcoal and white ink on A5 size black paper
Duration: approx. 2hrs.

Another Look Near to the Altai Scarp at Higher Sun

The lunar craters Riccius, Rabbi Levi, Zagut and Lindenau near the Altai Scarp - July 4, 2014 — The lunar craters Riccius, Rabbi Levi, Zagut and Lindenau near the Altai Scarp – July 4, 2014

Riccius, Rabbi Levi, Zagut and Lindenau - Labeled — Riccius, Rabbi Levi, Zagut and Lindenau – Labeled

Two hundred or so kilometers to the southwest of the Altai Scarp you will find a mix of large and small highland craters that may catch your eye as they did mine. Many have written of the “boring” look-a-like craters of this region but good lighting can make a big difference in appeal here. Ancient Riccius crater (71 km.) is a worn, an almost obliterated remnant, covered and surrounded by crater from 10-15 km. of various ages. Adjacent to Riccius is crater Rabbi Levi (81 km.) with an interesting short chain of craters across its floor. The next crater Zagut (84 km.) is the largest of those in the sketch with Zagut A (11 km.) near the center of the floor and Zagut E (35 km.) pushed through the eastern wall of Zagut. Next to Zagut is crater Lindenau (53 km.) which is younger than the other large crater here as evidenced by the sharper rim and what looks like a part of a central peak remaining.
A fine summer evening of observing and sketching after a long spell of poor weather.
Sketching and Equipment:

For this sketch, I used black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper 8” x 12”, white and
black Conte’ pastel pencils and blending stumps.
Telescope: 10 inch f/5.7 Dobsonian and 6 mm eyepiece (241x) riding on an equatorial platform
Date: 07-04-2014, 01:15-02:50 UT
Temperature: 16° C (60° F)
Clear, calm
Seeing: Average – Antoniadi III
Transparency: 4.5/5
Colongitude: 349.0 °
Lunation: 6.7 days
Illumination: 36 %

Frank McCabe

Solar Prominences

A large prominence on Sun’s SE limb 1st June 2014. Hard to imagine that these glowing clouds are cooler hydrogen gas surrounded by hotter transparent plasma. Sketched at the eyepiece with Derwent Watercolour pencils on black paper. SolarMax60 H-Alpha ‘scope 50-80X. Location UK.

M78, A profile of tropical fish

Hi everyone!

I observed M78 &34 in Nov. midnight with my 15″ Dob.

While I drew M78, I reminded of tropical fish, it’s side face 🙂

The nebulousity of NGC 2071 is shine dimly.

Where does this tropical fish came from?

Deep cosmos? Deep see? or My eyes? 🙂

Object Name : M78
Object Type : Reflection Nebula
Location : S. Korea
Date : Nov. 11, 2013
Media : Black paper, Jelly pen, Pastel pencel

Light vs dark – The Jewel Box and The Coal Sack

The Jewel Box star cluster (NGC 4755) and the Coal Sack dark nebula

Hello all,

A couple of weekends ago saw Ice In Space Astro Camp ’14 happen at Lostock in rural NSW, Australia. I arrived late on the Friday, and when I finally settled at the camp it was dark and I just didn’t feel like setting up a big scope. The sky was clear, the full brilliance of the Milky Way was arcing overhead, so it was a great chance for some wide field sketching with my little 4″ achro.

Some time ago I had made a mental note of a potential sketching target as being the area around the lovely cluster The Jewel Box in the Southern Cross. The great thing about this scope and eyepiece combination is the true field of view encompasses the Jewel Box, Mimosa or Beta Cruxius, and the western edge of the dark nebula The Coal Sack, all set off against the mottled background Milky Way. Gorgeous stuff!

The Coal Sack is also surprisingly detailed. Streamers of darker lines, patches of brighter, and ghostly arcs. These details made for a great challenge as they are, well, black… Another fainter open cluster can also be seen just to the upper right of the Jewel Box. The Southern Cross contains dozens of open clusters within its boarder.

This sketch is very close to showing the full 5deg True Field of View I had.

Object: Jewel Box and the Coal Sack.
Scope: 4″ f/5 achromatic refractor
Gear: 30mm 82deg Explore Scientific, 17X, 5deg TFOV.
Location: Lostock, NSW, Oz
Date: 25th April, 2014
Media: White soft pastel, charcoal and white ink on A4 size black paper.
Duration: approx. 2hrs

M53 Globular Cluster

Object Name: M 53 (NGC 5024)
Location: RA: 13h 12m 55.2s; Dec: +18° 10′ 08″
Magnitude: 7.7
Dimensions: 13′
Constellation: Coma Berenice
Type: Globular Cluster
Description: GC, B, vC, iR, vvmbM, star 12.
Location: Viso del Marqués. Ciudad Real. SPAIN
Date: May 3, 2014.
Time: 00:15 UT.
Material used: pastel pencils on black paper.
Celestron Telescope S / C 8 “Mount Cgt-5
Eyepiece: ES 14mm 100º;
Magnification: 145x.
Condition: NEML: 5’6 (Zone 11 Bootes).

More information: http://astrodibujo.blogspot.com.es/

Lunar Hide and Seek – Occultation and Lunar Eclipse

The Lunar Eclipse and occultation of April 15, 2014

Aloha!

Tonight after setting up with friends and being thwarted by clouds, I raced home to see if I could still observe part of the lunar eclipse from a different location. Upon arriving home I found it was clear and quickly set up my 15×70 binoculars. I was delighted to see h Virginis just peeking its bright head out from behind the limb of the Moon and quickly started a sketch of my observation. The umbra had almost made it over the last portion of the limb and the remaining edge was brightly lit. The Moon took on a coppery glow and the stars shone nearby that normally cant be observed during full Moon.

15×70 Binocular on tripod

Black Stathmore paper, colored pencils & pastels

Thia (Cindy) Krach

Maui, Hawaii

Lunar North Polar Region

Lunar North Polar Region

For several nights this week the lunar North Pole has been tilted more towards earth due to favorable lunar libration in latitude. It has been a good opportunity to view craters such as Whipple, Peary, Byrd and others. I had a clear night with average seeing so I took advantage of the opportunity to sketch the illuminated region near the pole. At my location the Moon was at more than 60 degrees above the horizon which also helped with the time needed to complete a sketch.

Sketching and Equipment:

For this sketch, I used black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper 9” x 12”, white and

black Conte’ pastel pencils and blending stumps.

Telescope: 13.1 inch f/6 Dobsonian and 6 mm eyepiece (333x) riding on an equatorial platform

Date: 04-09-2014, 01:00-02:35 UT

Temperature: 3° C (38° F)

Clear, calm

Seeing: Average – Antoniadi III

Transparency 4/5

Colongitude 16.2 °

Lunation 9 days

Illumination 63.9 %

Frank McCabe