Media Combinations – Page 32 – Astronomy Sketch of the Day

Dogging the Sun

The Sun in h-alpha, February 16, 2008
By Erika Rix

2008 02 16

Sun in h-alpha

PCW Memorial Observatory, 40.01/-81.56

Erika Rix

There were several prominences scattered about the limb, visible at different
magnifications. I’ve concentrated at the NNE one, which also had a very small reach
in front of the disk when I tweaked the Etalon.

I should have sketched this area larger, or sharpened my pencils better. There was
so much detail within it that my white pencils were too blunt to render them
properly.

With the hunters and their dogs in the fields and woods in front of our observatory,
I wasn’t keen on hanging out too long for more sketches. Thankfully I could close
the door to keep Riser in the observatory with me. As it was, he was antsy, moving
around a lot and making noises…very distracting.

Sketches rendered on black Strathmore Artagain paper, white Conte’ pencil and
crayon, white Prang pencil.

In the Last Rays of the Day

Lunar craters Aristoteles and Eudoxus
By Frank McCabe

Aristoteles and Eudoxus

Sketching:
For this sketch I used: black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper, white and black Conte’
pastel pencils and a blending stump. Brightness was slightly decreased after scanning.
Telescope: 10 inch f/ 5.7 Dobsonian and 6 and 4 mm eyepiece 241 and 362X
Date: 6-6-2007 9:05-10:00 UT
Temperature: 8° C (47° F)
Clear, calm
Seeing: Antoniadi II-III
Colongitude: 158.7 °
Lunation: 20.6 days
Illumination: 72.7 %
Frank McCabe

Shepard Courtier of Selene

Northeastern Lunar Limb Crater: Endymion
By Frank McCabe

Northeastern Lunar Limb Crater: Endymion

The lunar libration on this evening was not favorable for viewing Mare
Humboldtianum. However the 125 kilometer diameter dark floored crater Endymion was
well placed in lunar morning sunlight just 300 km. southwestward of the mare
center. I was keen on rendering this crater because I knew it to be large, ancient
and in possession of a remarkable rim and rampart. Crater Endymion is an ancient
nearly four billion year old Nectarian formation. The highest reaches of the
mountains on the rim and apron tower at 4600 meters above the dark lava flooded
floor. I was unable to see under the viewing conditions the ray streaks from
crater Thales (not visible in the drawing) that are best seen at high sun. The
notable terracing on the inner rim was in shadow but much of the broken crater
ramparts were clearly visible about the crater’s circumference. Craters Atlas and
Hercules were visible nearby very close to the sunrise terminator and if the
temperature would have been a couple of dozen degrees warmer I would have enjoyed observing and sketching them.

Conditions at the time of this observation were less than ideal with a brisk wind
out of the northwest and an air temperature of -19° C (-2° F). I stretched this
sketch out over two hours plus so I could take frequent finger thawing breaks. I
have observed under much colder conditions but I need to take off my gloves to
sketch.

Sketching:

For this sketch I used: black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper, 9”x 12”, white and
black Conte’pastel pencils and a blending stump. Brightness was slightly decreased
(-4) and contrast increased (+2) after scanning using Microsoft Office Picture
Manager.

Telescope: 10 inch f/5.7 Dobsonian and 9mm eyepiece 161x
Date: 2-10/11-2008 23:15-2:20 UT (sketching time was 45min.)
Temperature: -19°C (-2°F)
clear, breezy
Seeing: poor back and forth between Antoniadi III and IV
Co longitude: 322.1°
Lunation: 3.8 days
Illumination: 17.2 %
Phase: 131.1°

Dances on the Limb

Solar H-alpha sketch collage 2008 02 11, 1214ST -1304ST (1714UT – 1804UT)
By Erika Rix

2008 02 11, 1214ST -1304ST (1714UT – 1804UT)

Solar H-alpha

PCW Memorial Observatory, Zanesville, Ohio, USA, Lat: 40.01 / Long: -81.56

Erika Rix

Temp: 14.0 °F / -10.0 °C

Winds: WNW at 8.1 mph, light scattered and later completely overcast

Humidity: 49%

Seeing: 2/6-5/6

Transparency: 2/6

Alt: 35.9 Az: 176.9

Equipment:

Internally double stacked Maxscope 60mm, LXD75, 40mm ProOptic Plossl, 21-7mm Zhumell,

Sketch Media:

Black Strathmore Artagain paper, white Conte’ and Prang pencils, white vinyl eraser.

Added -25 brightness, +5 contrast after scanning in color at 300 dpi. I then turned
the image into monochrome. I scanned initially in color to eliminate cross hashes
that the scanner creates in grayscale. Tilting Sun program used for digital Sun
insert.

At first glance in h-alpha around 10x magnification, only two prominences, SSE and
West, popped out at me. I didn’t waste much time with the 40mm eyepiece since I
usually use it for initially getting the Sun in the FOV. At 19x the eastern
prominence looked like two fingers curling towards each other with the southern most
of the two a little brighter. Taking the magnifications to 57x I could make out a
very faint thin line connecting the two and also noted the strands of contrasted
prominence within the two fingers at 33x. Seeing was much worse at the higher
magnifications but I had moments where it settled for a detailed view.

Moving South at low magnification, the prominence appeared to be two separate
entities with the westerly portion of it looking like a hook or letter C opening up
to the East. Increasing magnification with the zoom eyepiece, I was amazed to see
with slight averted vision at first several connections between the two. After
discovering them, I could actually look at them straight on to make out the delicate
network of strands. It was truly beautiful and very delicate.

A similar thing happened to me with the western set of prominences. The most
northerly of the four on the western limb grew almost twice in size with a
magnification of around 33x. The prom itself didn’t grow, but rather my ability to
see the actual size of it with a modest magnification. The additional length of it
disappeared at 57x.

The little set of prominences at the NNE limb became brighter as the session went
and also became better defined with the lower one (more northerly) turning from a
fuzzy little thumbprint into a thin branch reaching to the one that was more to the
East.

I noticed a dark round dot around 40 degrees on the disk from the East and pretty
much on the equatorial line. It was very small and tweaking the Etalon did not show
any signs of plage. Other than that, there were no significant surface details such
as plage or filaments to me visually. The disk was alive with hairlike structures
and a mottled appearance, very pretty.

Alexander’s Waning Ray

Alexander’s Waning Ray
By Richard Handy

When the waning Moon brings long spires of deep shadows to the mountains and scarps that line the western shores of Mare Imbrium, the peaks of the Montes Caucasus become beacons of bright white light, radiant and dazzling in the last rays of late lunar afternoon sun. This arcuate, rugged range, a remnant of the multi-basin rings raised by the titantic Imbrium impact, reach a lofty 6000 meters in elevation above Mare Imbrium and Serenitatis today. The strait that separates the Caucasus and the Montes Apenninus is probably the result of the previous Serenitatis impact. The collision excavated a large section of crustal material at the eventual and almost tangental intersection of these two great lunar basins, so here no mountains nor hills were lifted high enough to survive the much later inundation by mare basalts. The dark parabola of shadowed Alexander is illuminated by a single, slim dagger of light. Was this ancient Pre-Imbrium 82 km crater the result of an oblique impact? The heavy fill of ejecta from the Imbrium or Serenitatis events and the remainders of its sparse and broken ramparts make interpretation difficult, still it’s general elliptical depression begs this question. Between the Montes Caucasus and the Montes Alpes to the northeast lies Cassini with it’s smooth appearing glacis. This Lower Imbrium crater almost looks to have impacted into a semi-liquid layer of basalt, so soft and thin is the appearance of it’s glacis. To the northeast of Cassini, The Montes Alpes, a great blocky wedge composed of lineated chunks of broken regolith, is scattered radially from the center of Imbrium, evidence of the sheer power of an explosion that lifted up mountain ranges and tossed aside blocks of lunar crust the size of stadiums hundreds of kilometers from it’s center. Beyond the field of view of this sketch, the Vallis Alpes confirms the readjustment that occcured millions of years after the Imbrium event, as large sections of crust pulled apart under the stresses of sublithospheric flows.

Sketch details:

Subject: Alexander’s Waning Ray Rukl: 12, 13,
Time: 9:50 UT to 10:17 UT Date: December 30, 2007
Seeing: Antoniadi III -IV Weather: clear and 10 mph breeze
Lunation: 20.68 days
Colongitude: 164.0 deg.
Illumination: 58.9%
Lib. in Lat.: +03 deg. 30 min.
Lib. in Long.: +06 deg. 29 min.
Phase: 280.2 deg.
Telescope: 12″ Meade SCT f/10
Binoviewer: W.O. Bino-P with 1.6X nosepiece
45 deg. W.O. erect image diagonal
Eyepieces: 18mm W.O. Plossls
Magnification: 271X
Sketch Medium: White and gray pastels on Strathmore black Artagain paper
Sketch size: 18″ X 24″

Petavius Yet Again

Evening and Morning Light on the Crater Petavius
By Frank McCabe

On the 6th day of March 2007, I sketched crater Petavius in the evening light
close to the time of sunset at Petavius. This large rather circular floor
fractured crater appeared elongated and ellipsoidal because of its proximity to
the limb and in a somewhat unfavorable libration. I was hoping on Wednesday
evening during the next lunation to catch the crater again just after sunrise but
I was thwarted by clouds and rain 16 days after the first drawing. However the
next evening had some breaks in the cloud cover before the rains reappeared and I
was able to sketch Petavius in the lunar morning sunlight and also at a more
favorable libration which explains its more circular appearance. Upon completion
of the second drawing I rotated and resized it using Microsoft paint and placed it
with the earlier sketch. Seeing the same features in the morning and evening light
adds to the endless enjoyment of lunar observing any time during a lunation or
between lunations as occurred here. The March 6th sketch (evening at the crater)
was posted at this site March 17, 2007. The March 23rd sketch (morning at the crater)
made 17 days later is posted second. I used the same telescope and eyepiece to
sketch both drawings.

Sketching: 1st Sketch
For this sketch I used: black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper, white and black Conte’
pastel pencils and a soft blending stump.
Telesccope: 10 inch f/ 5.7 Dobsonian and 6 mm eyepiece
Date: 3-6-2007 2:45-3:30 UT
Temperature: -6°C (21°F)
Clear, calm
Seeing: Antoniadi IV
Colongitude 113.5°
Lunation 16.5 days
Illumination 95%


Sketching: 2nd Sketch
For this sketch I used: black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper, white and black Conte’
pastel pencils and a soft blending stump.
Telesccope: 10 inch f/ 5.7 Dobsonian and 6 mm eyepiece
Date: 3-23-2007 1:10-2:20 UT
Temperature: 17°C (62°F)
Partly and at times mostly cloudy, variable winds
Seeing: Antoniadi III- IV
Colongitude 320°
Lunation 4 days
Illumination 22 %

Frank McCabe

Prominent Arches

Solar prominences, January 23rd, 2008 1125ST -1240ST (1625UT – 1740UT)
By Erika Rix

2008 01 23, 1125ST -1240ST (1625UT – 1740UT)

Solar H-alpha

PCW Memorial Observatory, Zanesville, Ohio, USA, Lat: 40.01 / Long: -81.56

Erika Rix

Temp: 21.0 °F / -6.1 °C

Winds: variable at 5.8 mph

Humidity: 63%

Seeing: 6/6

Transparency: 3/6

Alt: 28.1 Az: 160.5

Equipment:

Internally double stacked Maxscope 60mm, LXD75, 40mm ProOptic Plossl, 21-7mm Zhumell

Sketch Media:

Black Strathmore Artagain paper, white Conte’ and Prang pencils, white vinyl eraser.

Added -30 brightness, +9 contrast after scanning. Tilting Sun program used for
digital Sun insert.

The NE and the SE limbs continue to put on a display for us. I didn’t get a chance
to observe yesterday for all the overcast and light snowfall, but over the past
several days’ observations, it’s been very interesting to watch the changes and
compare observations.

The solar disk had long u-shaped very thin filament looking lines reaching almost
from the SE limb to the inward 1/4th of the disk. The opening of “u” was facing
outward toward the large prominence on that area of the limb. This was the
prominence that I concentrated on today for a sequence that spanned only about 45
minutes’ time. Funny, it seemed much longer than that, and as much as it changed in
that time frame, I would have expected it to have been longer as well. Seeing was
terrific, but transparency was only average with moments of excellent clarity as
well as an orange haze all around the disk in my FOV.

Differences in the first two sketches almost alarmed me and I worried that I had
made one too compact width wise and the other too spread out. There’s a chance that
I may have indeed done that, although as a sketcher, I try to make my sketches as
true to my observations as I possibly can. Once I recorded the last two, though, I
could see the movement of the prominence indeed spreading out, getting fainter to
the eastern side of it with each sketch. It was almost as if that side of the
prominence was getting weaker and losing structure. I would have loved to stay out
all day to record this.

The NE prominence was not quite as tall as the SE prominence, but it was easier to
view, although I did have to adjust the outside etalon as there was quite a
difference between the two prominences for best bandwidth viewing. I normally tweak
as many things as I can with the scope to tease out details in my observations, but
I normally don’t have to adjust the etalon that much between different prominences.

I observed 8 different areas of prominences around the limb total.

Jovial Giant

Jupiter-July 11th, 2007
By Richard Handy

The fog along the San Diego coast finally relented enough for a observation and sketch of Jupiter last evening. The Atmosphere was steady enough at Antoniadi II by the time I started around 6:00 UT. I was so happy to get a chance to sketch at the eyepiece after such a long spell of foggy evenings. Jupiter’s elevation above my southern horizon made use of my binoviewers with a 45 degree erector diagonal so comfy! The creamy off-white colors separating the major bands caught my attention first, as they should I guess, since they seem to dominate in total area the visible face of Jupiter. Guess that’s why Jupiter appears like a bright yellow star to our naked eyes. The rusty hue of the NEB was fun to try to capture. I noted burnt sienna barges on some areas along it’s southern fringes. At places the bands appeared broken. The grayish caps at times looked to have little filigrees running along their margins, but the seeing just couldn’t hold long enough to render them.
Sketch details:

Object: Jupiter
Time: 5:57 UT until 6:35 UT Date: 7-12-07
Seeing: Antoniadi II Weather: clear
Telescope: Meade 12 SCT, f/10
Binoviewer: W.O. Bino-P with 1.6X nosepiece
W.O. 45 degree Erector Diagonal
Eyepieces 18 mm W.O. Plossl
Magnificaton: 271X
Medium: Colored Conte’ pencils and colored chalks on 9″ x 12″ Strathmore Artagain black paper
Sketch size: 9″ x12″ Jupiter’s disk is about 5″ in diameter

A Brief Winter Interlude with the Moon

The gibbous Moon on January 27th, 2008
By Frank McCabe

Trying to observe old Luna in winter can be a difficult challenge in the
Midwestern Great Lakes Region. Constant cloud cover punctuated by brief, frigid
clearing will try your patience during set up, scope cool down and observation.

One solution is to observe and sketch without a telescope. Pick a spot that gives
you an interesting view. Sketch quickly then go back inside and have a cup of tea
or hot chocolate. If you did bring a scope outside, by now it may have lost the
heat that will make observing possible. If cloudy you have something to show for
your efforts as you put away your equipment and wait for a better opportunity.

This was my naked eye view of the nearly 19 day old waning gibbous moon near local
midnight as it climbed above my neighbors Horse Chestnut tree.

Sketching:

For this sketch I used: black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper, 10”x 8”, white and
black Conte’pastel pencils and a blending stump. Brightness was slightly decreased
after scanning.

Naked Eye Drawing
Date: 1-27-2008 6:05-6:30 UT
Temperature: -9°C (15°F)
partly cloudy, calm
Seeing: Average
Co longitude: 142.5°
Lunation: 18.8 days
Illumination: 77.1 %

Frank McCabe

Prominade on the Limb

Solar H-alpha 2008 01 25,
1205ST -1330ST (1705UT – 1830UT)
By Erika Rix

2008 01 25, 1205ST -1330ST (1705UT – 1830UT)

Solar H-alpha

PCW Memorial Observatory, Zanesville, Ohio, USA, Lat: 40.01 / Long: -81.56

Erika Rix

Temp: 16.0 °F / -8.9 °C

Winds: SSW at 4.6 mph

Humidity: 71%

Seeing: 5/6

Transparency: 2/6

Alt: 30.5 Az: 170.9

Equipment:

Internally double stacked Maxscope 60mm, LXD75, 40mm ProOptic Plossl, 21-7mm
Zhumell, ETX70-AT with 8mm TV Plossl for white light observation.

Sketch Media:

Black Strathmore Artagain paper, white Conte’ and Prang pencils, white vinyl eraser.

The NE and the SE limbs are still at it. Snows and overcast prevented me from
viewing yesterday, but on the 23rd of January, two proms on the NE limb were spread
out a little further from each other and the one that was around 55 degrees PA had
two very bright upright legs to it with a faint line of connection in between them.
Today, there is a very tall fainter prominence around 45-50 deg PA that looks like
two hands pressing against each other with a small prominence just north of it by
about 2-3 degrees. Then around 55-60 degrees PA (maybe even a little more distance
than that) was a brighter prominence defined by a very bright tall slender arm on
the northern side of it with a few shorter slender arms jetting out to the southern
portion. The base of the main southern portion was about twice as thick as the
northern arm.

To the SE around 135 degrees was a very bright cone shaped prominence about half as
tall as the two proms on the NE limb. The inside of the cone appeared hollow.
Bumping up magnification, and adjusting the T-max, I noticed a small, round, faint
cloud just to the south of it, reaching up above by about half its height. I
lowered magnification again for better contrast and it didn’t take long for me to
notice a few other portions of it. Playing with the zoom eyepiece, I soon found a
happy medium in magnification to tease out as much detail as I could, bringing out
this prominence to fuller glory. It was huge and very similar in shape, only much
fainter, to the prominence in this same area two days ago.

I was hoping to see some sort of evidence from the pore that the Hinode captured.
Of course, it most likely is too small yet for me to see and even so, with the poor
transparency today, I imagine it would have been difficult even it were visible for
my scopes. After my H-alpha session, I pulled out the ETX70 for a white light view
and couldn’t see any evidence with pore nor facula. Something I did see, however,
was a claw like marking just inside the limb about 25 degrees in the NNE quadrant.
I’ve included a close up view of what it looked like. There were dark areas
resembling a filament that had dissipated.

All in all, I observed 7 different areas of prominences around the limb. The NW
section of limb appeared rough and turbulent with the long section of short
prominence weaving up and down off the limb.