Ukert is a relatively small crater that lies between Sinus Medii and Mare Vaporum. I
found it’s surrounding environment to be quite fascinating which is why I chose it
for the subject of this sketch. It was rendered on Strathmore Windpower sketch paper
with a 2HB mechanical pencil. Post processing was done with MGI Photosuite III.
Jason Aldridge
North Port, Florida
This is the biggest meteor I ever saw, he lasted for 5-7 sec.
his tail looked like a comet.
I have 14 years and this is one of mine first sketches!
Time: 19:57 p.m
From: Serbia
Seeing: clear with some clouds.
Medium used: Graphite pencil and then inverted colors in paint.
Alexander Andjelic
THE MOON
Author: LUIS RIVAS from Valencia (Spain)
Date: 15 aug 1998
Newton telescope 8″ F:6
Plossl 16 mm eyepiece (179x)
drawing in 100 minutes
In the 1950’s when I was a youngster, Venus was believed to be Earth-like not only
in size but in atmospheric conditions as well. Today it is known that Venus has
the hottest surface temperature of all the planets (457°C on average) and a high
pressure atmosphere of carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid. Venus is always shrouded
in clouds but its phase change and albedo features can be seen with a telescope.
The late spring and summer of 2007 have provided northern observers a great
opportunity to observe Venus in the west just after sunset. Within the week Venus
will reach inferior conjunction and begin to switch over to the morning sky as it
races past earth. Currently Venus is a thin crescent only 44 million km. from
earth and subtending an angular size of nearly 58 seconds of arc. Presently the
planet is too close in alignment with the sun for safe daytime observing but
beginning in September it will rise before the sun in the morning. The 4 drawings
above were made when Venus was between 103 and 51 million km from the Earth.
The first drawing was made with an 18” Newtonian telescope at 381x and the other
three were made with a 10” Newtonian at magnifications between 161x and 241x.
Deep violet, red and polarizing filters were used to bring out the albedo cloud features.
First drawing 7 pm local time June 11, 2007
Second drawing 8 pm local time June 20, 2007
Third drawing 5 pm local time July 1, 2007
Fourth drawing 2 pm local time July 29, 2007
Frank McCabe
This is my impression of Eratosthenes. I find it to be one of the most remarkable
craters on the Moon. The sketch was rendered on Strathmore Windpower sketch paper
with a 2HB mechanical pencil. Post processing was done with MGI Photosuite III.
Jason Aldridge
North Port, Florida
M 44, also called Praesepe or Beehive, is one of the greatest Open
Clusters of the night sky. Consisting of many bright stars, it is
already visible with the naked eye, the best view, however, is provided
by binoculars or a rich field telescope, which show M 44 in all her
magnificent beauty. The 1.5° FOV the Newtonian provided, when I sketched
this, was already way to small to show all the stars belonging to this
great cluster.
Date: December 24, 2006
Location: Steinwald, Bavaria, Germany
Instrument: Vixen Newtonian 4.5″ f/6 on Vixen GP
Constellation: Cancer
Seeing: Antoniadi II
NELM: 6m0
Bortle: 5
Magnification: 45x
Sebastian Lehner
Summer is approaching, the nights have become grey. But I do not stop observing.
Here is an impression of M3. I had fun teasing out as much detail as possible.
Globulars are difficult to render. The mind might see patterns that aren’t there. I
tried to remain objective. Lots of faint stars were present in the outer region of
the halo. I noticed some dark lanes in the halo, and the core looked elongated too.
I hope you like the view.
Date : June 5, 2007
Time : 22.30UT
Scope : ETX 105/1470
Meade 25mm and 15mm SP
Power : x66 to x100
FOV: 35′
Filter : none
Seeing : 2.5/5
Transp. : 2/5
Nelm : 4.9
Sketch Orientation : N up, W right.
Digital sketch made with PhotoPaint, based on a raw pencil sketch.
Best Regards,
Rony De Laet
http://www.geocities.com/rodelaet, my personal website.
Solar Photosphere: The Beginning of NOAA 10966
Faculae were on both the eastern and western limbs, showing up with nice contrast
against the limb darkening. Within the eastern facula, the spot in NOAA 10966 was
hiding so well that I nearly missed it all together. After scanning the entire disk,
I finally picked up this little pore. No signs of penumbra. Faint granulation was
observed, though.
I’ve been using copy paper and a #2 pencil for my multiple white light filter
observations. Blending done with my finger.
Erika Rix
Zanesville, Ohio USA
On August 5th 1971 the Astronauts of Apollo 15, David Scott, James Irwin, and
Alfred Worden were coming home. It was the 11th day of the mission, and the 2nd day
of their voyage back to Earth after a successful mission to the lunar surface.
Six days earlier on July 30th, Apollo 15 Commander David Scott and Lunar Module
(LM) pilot James Irwin had landed in the Rima Hadley/Montes Apenninus region of the
Moon in the Lunar Module Falcon. “OK, Houston. The Falcon is on the Plain at
Hadley.”, said David Scott upon touchdown. The Command and Service Module (CSM)
pilot, Alfred Worden continued in lunar orbit in the CSM Endeavour and conducted
scientific experiments. While on the lunar surface, Scott and Irwin made three
moonwalk Extra Vehicular Activities (EVAs), becoming the 7th and 8th men to walk on
the Moon. During the EVAs which totalled 18 hours, 35 minutes, they covered 27.9
km, and collected 76.8 kg of rock and soil samples. They also took photographs, set
up the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP), and performed other
scientific experiments. This time the Astronauts didn’t just walk on the Moon, for
this was the first mission to employ the Lunar Roving Vehicle. Scott and Irwin used
the Rover to
explore regions within 5 km of the LM landing site. After the final EVA, David
Scott performed a televised demonstration of a hammer and feather falling at the
same rate in the lunar vacuum.
The LM lifted off from the Moon on August 2nd after 66 hours, 55 minutes on the
lunar surface. Once the Falcon docked with Endeavor, the lunar samples and other
equipment were transferred from the LM and it was jettisoned after a one orbit
delay.
The LM Falcon impacted the Moon on August 3rd, 93 km west of the Apollo 15 ALSEP
site. It had an estimated impact velocity of 1.7 km per second.
On August 4th, after Apollo 15 underwent an orbit-shaping maneuver, a scientific
subsatellite was spring-launched from the Scientific Instrument Module (SIM) bay
into lunar orbit. The Apollo 15 crew began the transearth injection on the next
orbit which started their long journey home.
The next day, August 5th, Alfred Worden stepped into the black vacuum 196,000 miles
from the earth to become the first man ever to take a floating excursion outside
his craft in interplanetary space. The Apollo 15 astronauts, in prearranged
collaboration with Soviet and Dutch astronomers, were trying to observe what some
scientists suspect are “black holes” in the sky.
Meanwhile, back on Earth, Niel Armstrong was celebrating his 41st birthday. In
Houston not too far from Mission Control, Credence Clearwater Revival was jamming
at the Coliseum . Across the Atlantic Ocean in Munich Germany, An American Soldier
and his wife (Justin and Janet Aldridge) were celebrating the birth of their first
child. They named him Jason.
Two days later on August 7th, the Apollo 15 Astronauts splashed down in the Pacific
Ocean, 330 miles north of Honolulu, Hawaii and 6.1 mi from the recovery ship USS
Okinawa. 16 months later, Apollo 17 Commander Eugene Cernan would be the last man
to walk on the Moon.
A child of Apollo, Jason would grow up with dreams of traveling to the Moon. He saw
the color photographs of Mars that returned from the Viking Missions, and he knew
that someday he would visit Mars as well. He watched as the Voyager spacecraft flew
past Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, and he knew that Man would explore the
solar system and beyond in his lifetime.
Today I am 36 years old. The dreams I had as a child are all but a fond memory now.
No Human has been back to the Moon, and there have been no manned missions beyond
Earths orbit. NASA plans to return to the Moon by 2018, almost 50 years after Niel
Armstrong first set foot there. I think my feelings about this matter are best
described in the words of Apollo 15 Commander, David R Scott:
“As I stand out here in the wonders of the unknown at Hadley, I sort of realize
there’s a fundamental truth to our nature, Man must explore . . . and this is
exploration at its greatest.”
I would like to dedicate this lunar sketch to the brave men of Apollo 15, David R
Scott, James B Irwin, and Alfred M Worden. I am honored to have been born during
their historic mission.
Jason Aldridge
PS: Happy Birthday Niel Armstrong!
*Sources: NASA NSSDC Master Catalog Display: Spacecraft, Apollo Flight Journal, New
York Times articles from 8/6/1971, Credance Clearwater Revival official web site.
Sketching Materials: 0.5mm Mechanical Graphite Pencil, Strathmore Windpower Sketch
Paper, MGI Photosuite III software for post processing.
Due to my newly found enthusiasm for observing, measuring and, of
course, sketching Double and Multiple Star Systems, I’ve decided to
present a selection of some of the most well-known star systems of that
kind.
Clockwise starting in the upper left corner, you will find Mizar and
Alkor in Ursa major, already known since ancient times. The upper right
corner shows Albireo, the indicator of late summer / early autumn and
for many observers one of the best double stars in the sky. The lower
right corner shows Epsilon lyrae, the famous double Double, I got the
proportions wrong there, nevertheless a fascinating sight. Finally, the
lower left corner is a drawing of Alamak in Andromeda, the “Autumn
Albireo”, as many call it, shining in the colors yellow and blue-green.
These four sketches represent the most well-known double stars,
basically any observer knows, however there are many other fantastic and
rewarding Double and Multiple Star Systems out there, so when you are
planning your next observing night, maybe you are going to visit one or two.
All sketches were made with a 6″ Newtonian f/5 at varying
magnifications, the conditions were good, around 6 mag, Bortle 4-5
skies, average seeing, pencil sketches, digitally re-worked.
Don’t forget to click on the sketch, which will take you to a larger
version and a better view!
Sebastian Lehner
