White Ink – Astronomy Sketch of the Day

Thor’s Helmet – a Magnificent Apparition

Thor's Helmet - NGC 2359 — Thor’s Helmet – NGC 2359

Hello all,

One thing all astronomers chase is ideal atmospheric conditions. An apparently clear night can present poor transparency or poor seeing due to thermal energy high up in the atmosphere. But every now and then, ideal or even very close to ideal conditions do present themselves, and it gives us the finest view of the heavens.

Such conditions presented themselves to me on the night of January 18.

My first view of Thor’s Helmet, NGC 2359, was four years ago during the Ice In Space Astro Camp. My view of it seemed to me to be a fine one. So much so it inspired me to sketch it straight away! Four years later, presented with a night of exceptional transparency, I revisited Thor’s Helmet as it was right on zenith for me.

WOW! What an image! This night Thor’s Helmet had nebulosity extending in four different directions, not just the two from my first view. So much more structure was apparent, and the nebulosity extended so much further, and so many more stars were visible too.

I’ve also included an image of the sketch I did of Thor’s Helmet in 2011 for comparison. It is this way that the full impact of the differences in conditions between the two nights can be appreciated.

I hope you enjoy this sketch.

Alex.

Object: Thor’s Helmet, NGC 2359
Scope: 17.5” push-pull Karee dob
Gear: 30mm 82° Explore Scientific, 91X, OIII filter
Date: 18th January, 2015
Location: Katoomba Airfield, Australia
Media: White soft pastel, charcoal and white ink on A4 size black paper
Duration: approx. 1hr.

NGC 2525

Good afternoon all,

NGC2525 is love from my location in Puppis and is very attractive.

I was using the 505mm mirror, cooled Watec 120N+ video camera, sketching form the monitor image onto cartridge paper with draughtsman 0.3 ink pen for brighter star images, HB pencil for fainter ones, 3B pencil for galaxy detail which is then worked with a blending stump and eraser to achieve the desired match with the screen image, the whole sketch is then scanned and inverted to give a realistic view.

Hope these interest? Dale

Do you want to know more about my interest in astronomy? If so take a look at my Website: www.chippingdaleobservatory.com

Keep up to date with observations from Chippingdale Observatory by reading the Blog http://www.chippingdaleobservatory.com/blog/

M22 – the quietly spoken big brother globular cluster

Messier 22, the great globular cluster in Sagittarius

Hi all,
This was the second sketch I completed at this year’s Astrofest back in July.

M22 is a true jewel of the night sky. This giant globular cluster from a dark site it can be a naked eye object as well. It is large enough for even smaller telescopes to resolve its multitude of component stars, revealing its large and intense core.

M22 is beautiful in my 17.5” scope. It is very different from Omega Centauri and 47Tuc – could even describe it as the ‘runt’ of the giant globulars as its core is not as busy as its bigger brothers. But the component stars of its core are absolutely brilliant, arranged in so many signature patterns. It is slowly turning into a favourite of mine with its understated brilliance, loud without being overbearing presence, and sitting on a magnificent carpet of the Milky Way glow.

I won’t say much here. I’ll let M22 do its own quite whispering of its magnificence. Yeah, I think one firm fav of mine now…

Alex.

Object: M22 globular cluster
Scope: 17.5” push-pull Karee dobsonian
Gear: 22mm LVW, 91X
Location: Linville, Queensland, Australia
Date: 24th July, 2014
Media: Soft pastel and white ink on A4 size black paper
Duration: approx. 2.5hrs

Comet Jacques (C/2014 E2)

Comet C/2014 E2 (JACQUES) - August 22, 2014 — Comet C/2014 E2 (JACQUES) – August 22, 2014

Object Name: Comet C/2014 E2 (JACQUES)
RA: 02h 04m 07.8s; Dec: + 63° 39′ 26.9″
Magnitude: 6.4
Constellation: Cassiopeia
Location: Pueblonuevo de Bullaque. Ciudad Real. SPAIN
Date: August 22, 2014.
Local Time: 01:57 (2h T.U)
Material used: pastel pencil and white ink on black paper.
Celestron Telescope S/C 8″ Mount Cgt-5
Eyepiece: 22 mm L-VW
Magnification: 92x.

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

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.

Spring’s Trio

It is spring’s trio.

The dark lane in the 3628 is really fantastic!

Before this sketch, I always confused M65 and M66.
But now I can classify 65 & 66.
Sketch is magical tool in the visual astronomy. 🙂

Object Name : Leo triple
Object Type : Galaxies
Location : S. Korea
Date : Nov. 11, 2013
Equipment : Discovery 15″ Dob
Media : Black paper, Jelly pen, Pastel pencil

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.

The Challenge of Finding the Owl’s Eyes

Messier 97 - The Owl Nebula, a planetary nebula — Messier 97 – The Owl Nebula, a planetary nebula

The observing of the owl’s eye is very difficult for me.

I just have a glimsed by sketch…

Object Name : M97 (Owl Nebula)
Object Type : Planetary Nebula
Location : S. Korea
Date : Mar. 30, 2013
Equipment : Discovery 15″ Dob
Media : Black paper, Jelly pen, Pastel pencil

The Biggest Face in the Universe!

Seeing many objects in an eyepiece view is my favorite things!

So, I love galaxy groups.

M84/86 group like face shape.

He has two eyes, one little nose, smiling mouth, only one eyebrow, and ear…

It is biggest face in the universe!

Object Name : M84/86 group
Object Type : Galaxies
Location : S. Korea
Date : May. 30, 2014
Equipment : Discovery 15″ Dob
Media : Black paper, Jelly pen, Pastel pencil

Nightwid 無雲