Category: dark

Alnitak Region

IC 434, Barnard 33, NGC 2023, NGC 2024
IC 434, Barnard 33, NGC 2023, NGC 2024

Dear ASOD folks,

Here’s a nice sketch I managed to do roughly a month ago.

Objects: IC 434, Barnard 33, NGC 2023, NGC 2024
Object type: various kinds of nebulae (dark, reflection & emission)
Location: Roque de los Muchachos, La Palma, Spain
Date: 12.3.2012
Media: graphite pencil on white paper, inverted on a computer

This sketch was done under the nice La Palman NELM 7.0 sky using a Tokina 300mm f/2.8 photographic lens. With a eyepiece adapter this lens makes a nice roughly 10cm rich field telescope. I decided to take a glimpse at the Alnitak region in Orion to see if there was any chance to see IC 434. Using a H-beta filter indeed revealed the nebula, which complemented nicely the brighter NGC nebulae in the same field.

More careful observation revealed something unexpected to me. There was a round notch in the relatively sharp east edge of the IC 434 precisely at the location of the Horsehead nebula. Cross checking this feature with friends confirmed it to be real. Being able to see the Horsehead nebula with only a 10cm telescope was really stunning. After all, I had grown up always hearing that seeing it requires at least a medium large telescope. This was truly a lesson that aperture isn’t the last word when observing deep sky.

The sketch is a combination of two simultaneous views of the same field. IC 434 and Barnard 33 were drawn with a H-beta filter whereas NGC 2023 and 2024 were drawn unfiltered.

Best regards,
Jyri Lehtinen

La Lagune

Messier 8
Messier 8

Hello,

Here is a m8 sketch I made this summer.

It was the first and last time I observed this nebula (because I observed it early and here, in Quebec, we don’t have good sky every day !).

I was alone with the radio in a blue-berry field, at Dolbeau. I remember… I saw Sagittarius constellation I and took my ipod to see which object I could see in this region… Nebulae and nebulae it had on my app ! I decided immediately to spot one of them with my 10 inch scope.

The Lagoon Nebulae

Without OIII, I easily saw the stellar cluster (NGC 6530) and I notice some nebulosity. But when I put the OIII filter… it was outstanding ! It first look like a cat footprint… My field of view did no allow me to see the entire nebulae. I wasn’t no anything about this nebulae this night and it was the main reason I drew it: When I came home and compare my sketch with picture I was just too happy 😛

Object Name: The Lagoon nebula, m8
Object Type: Emission nebulae with stellar cluster
Location: Dolbeau-Mistassini, Quebec, Canada
Date June 26-27 2011
Media: HB sketch pencil and shder brush
Instrument: Skywatcher 10 inch, 1200mm of focal length
Eyepiece: Celestron Ultima LX 13mm + Lumicon OIII filter

Michael Caouette-Mansour

NGC 6520 and Barnard 86

NGC 6520 and Barnard 86
NGC 6520 and Barnard 86

Object : NGC 6520 & B86 (Ink Spot Nebula)
Object Type : Open Cluster & Dark Nebula
Location : Haleakala Summit, Maui, Hawaii
Date : 7/3/11 11:20pm
Medium : Graphite pencil on white paper

I found this object by accident while locating another object & could not take my eyes off it. The open cluster appears three dimensional next to the stark black dark nebula. I used PhotoScape to invert to black, and to sharpen up some of the stars & color the yellow star in the most western section of the drawing.

Thank you for your consideration!
Thia Krach

Big Binocular Orion Nebula

Subject: big binocular M42

Hello Artists,all o.k.?I’m depressed about the weather..i hope in 4 of January for the partial Eclipse of Sun.
I made only one sketch,M42 made with my big bino Astrotech 25×100 behind my home.The night was very icely but the sky was great,the Nebula in the bino was spectacular , in one full field of stars….I hope,next day to continue my sketch with the stars of belt and Flame Nebula.At the end i made one “poster”of Orion!
Happy New Year at all.
Ciao,Giorgio.
.
Location:Pergola,10 December 2010 at 11,45 p.m. l.t.
Instrument: Big bino 25×100 (straight vision)on wood heavi trypod in steady mount
Seeing.Excelent
Temperature:Icely,no wind.
Technics:withe pastel and penn on black paper Fabriano 3.

The Great Gas Nebula in Orion

Hey!

I send you the central part of M. 42, “The great gas nebula in Orion”.
The greenish filaments of gas that surrounds the four stars. Theta Orionis is the most beautiful object you can see in the sky in both small and big telescopes! The central part of the nebula is so bright that it is easily seen with naked eyes in the middle of Orion’s sword.

I made this sketch with crayons (watercolours) on black paper.
The observation from outside Trondheim city, Norway.

Best wishes and dark sky to all artists!! MERRY CHRISTMAS !!

From Per-Jonny Bremseth.

An Unexpected Sight Close to Alnasl

An unexpected sight close to Alnasl (gamma sgr) and W sgr:
“Black lines coming out of W sgr.

Object Name: Dark lines and NGC 6528 and NGC 6522 (Globular Clusters and Barnards)
Location: Benacebada, Granada (Spain)
Date: 2010.07.10
Media: graphite pencil, white paper.

Telescope: 16″ Dob. The observing conditions: with new moon, the seeing and transparency excellent.

I hope you enjoy it!
Leonor
—
Visita nuestra web de Leonor y Fernando:
www.astronomadas.com

Giant Eruptions of Eta Carina

Eta Carina star & Key hole nebula
2010.7.15 19:00~22:00
Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia
Trans 6/6, Seeing 4/5, Limiting Mag. 6.5
Obssesion 18″ UC (f=1915mm)
Televue Ethos 13mm (147x)
Black paper(A4 size) and pastel.

Last July, I went to Australia with obssesion 18″ UC to observing star.

(My hometown is S.Korea)

During my observation trip, lots of cloud covered with Australia.

So we rented a car, and moved everyday to find clear sky. (Goondiwindi, Miles, Coonabarabran)

Eta Carina star is incredible!!!

It is not difficulty for observe erupted materials from Eta Carina star.

I did’n expect observing “Giant eruptions”, but I observed this feature with 18″ UC and extremly clear sky

(I saw belt of venus and zodiacal light every night)

Key hole nebula is clear and impressive dark nebula beside Eta Carina star.

Kanguk Cho, Nightwid

Sparkling Lagoon

-Messier 8 / NGC 6523
-Emission Nebula
-Connecticut, USA
-August 6, 2010
-Black and grey colored pencil on white paper, black uni-ball pen to accentuate stars, and eraser to help smudge nebulosity. Drawing photographed with Panasonic DMC-TZ3 and imported to Photoshop for inverting, and slight blurring to “nebulize” the actual emissions while keeping stars intact.

Observed in an orange/yellow zone with a 203mm Newtonian. M8 was sketched as seen with a Lumicon UHC filter which created an extremely noticeable improvement in the extent of the region’s nebulosity. Transparency was judged to be about a seven out of ten.

Paul Schneider

The Flame and the Horsehead

IC 434 and Vicinity
IC 434, B 33, NGC 2023 and NGC 2024
Sketch and Details by János Gábor Kernya

Object: B 33 + IC 434 + NGC 2023 + NGC 2024 diffuse nebula (Ori)
Date: 2009. 11. 12/13.
UT.: 22h32m – 02h07m
Equipment: 305/1525 Dobsonian reflector
Mag.: 48x
FOV: 52’ + 52’
S = 2-3 / 10
T = 4 / 5
Observer: János Gábor Kernya
Location: Sükösd, Hungary

Sketch of IC 434.: Thousand Oaks H-Beta filter
Sketch of NGC 2024: without filter