My latest sketch for your interest. As previous, 153mm OG Watec 120N+ video camera, sketched from b&w monitor onto black art paper with white Conte hard pastel, watercolour pencil and white acrylic paint.
Regards, 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://chippingdaleobservatory.com/blog/
Crater Posidonius at Sunset
On this night I watched the sunset terminator creep slowly toward ring-plain crater
Posidonius; in addition I sketched the crater and other features on the floor of Mare Serenitatis. Posidonius (96 km.) is an old upper Imbrian era impact remnant. Its age is underlined by the way shadows penetrate the rim at numerous points betraying impact damage there. The highest part of the rim is on the terminator side of this crater. Sunlight was still reaching Posidonius A and other high points on ridges including one on the inner ring. Beyond this crater to the west and south the great serpentine ridge could be seen in best light. This ridge is made up of dorsa Smirnov and dorsa Lister.
Sketching:
For this sketch I used: black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper 9″x 12″, white and black Conte’ pastel pencils and a blending stump. After scanning, Brightness was decreased just slightly using my scanner.
Telescope: 10 inch f/ 5.7 Dobsonian and 6 mm eyepiece 241x
Date: 08-07-2012, 06:30 – 07:40 UT
Temperature: 29°C (85° F)
clear, calm
Seeing: Antoniadi III
Colongitude 147.9 °
Lunation 19 days
Illumination: 73.4 %
Frank McCabe
Not really an astronomical observation more a romantic interlude.
Best to all, Dale
Do you want to know more about my interest in astronomy? If so take a look at my Website: http://www.chippingdaleobservatory.com/
Keep up to date with observations from Chippingdale Observatory by reading the Blog http://www.chippingdaleobservatory.com/blog/
Aloha!
Another Sunday morning spent happily with the Sun. Today the first prominence that struck me was one that had the appearance of a very fine “tree” near a “bridge”. The details & seeing were excellent today and I could make out swirling and looping details within the prominence, a lacy network of light and dark. The prominence could be seen spilling onto the solar surface as a filament.
I usually just cant leave done alone, so I tried some different things to colorize and experimented with Photoscape software. I fell upon the magic button – something called color balance. What fun to add color and see more of what I observed in the eyepiece!
Solar Prominence
Lunt 60mm PT
14mm & 6mm
11-16-14
Maui, Hawaii
Black Strathmore paper, Conte’ white crayons and watercolor pencils
Photoscape Software
Cindy (Thia) Krach
Haleakala Amateur Astronomers
Lunar Crater Copernicus
Across the Carpathian Mountains resting on the eastern Ocean of Storms is the
landmark crater of the Sea of Islands, mighty Copernicus. Copernicus is a 95
kilometer diameter complex crater that begins to show itself in all its majesty
two days past first quarter. During the time of “Snow-Ball Earth” 800 million
years ago the event that created Copernicus suddenly occurred. What remains is a
3.8 kilometer deep hummock covered flat floored, centrally peaked, terrace walled
spectacular sentinel. Especially during high sun the bright ray system of this
crater can be seen extending from the base of the glassy glacis in all directions.
The descent from the rampart to the mare floor below is about one kilometer. Three
of five peaks were clearly visible in morning sunlight. In 1999 the Clementine
near infrared camera detected magnesium iron silicates in the peaks indicating
rebound of this deep rock through the surface crust following the impact event.
To view this impressive crater all you need is a good pair of binoculars and an
opportunity between two days past first quarter and one day past last quarter.
Weather permitting, you can see it tonight.
Sketching:
For this sketch I used: black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper, 9”x 12”, white and
black Conte’pastel pencils and a blending stump.
Telescope: 13.1 inch f/5.9 Dobsonian and 9mm eyepiece 218x
Date: 11-03-2014, 00:45 – 02:10 UT
Temperature: 0°C (32°F)
clear, calm
Seeing: Antoniadi III
Co longitude: 23.2°
Lunation: 8.9 days
Illumination: 69.3 %
Phase: 67.4°
Frank McCabe
Pitatus is an old, large 97 km. diameter crater on the edge of Mare Nubium. The floor of this crater has a linear central peak which was casting a fine elongated triangular shadow at the time of this observation and sketch. To the south craters Wurzelbauer (88 km.) and Gauricus (79 km.) could be seen; both of these craters show badly warn rims; both much older than Pitatus. Attached to the northwest rim of Pitatus is the crater Hesodius (43 km.). At about the eighth or ninth day of lunation you can observe the famous “sunrise ray” beaming across the floor of Hesodius through a break in the wall with Pitatus. This is certainly a sight worth observing.
Sketching:
For this sketch I used: Black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper, 12”x 9”, both white and
black Conte’pastel pencils and blending stumps.
Telescope: 10 inch f/5.7 Dobsonian and 9mm eyepiece 161x
Date: 09-17-2014 10:00-11:25 UT
Temperature: 5°C (42°F)
Clear, calm
Seeing: Antoniadi III
Co longitude: 187.3°
Lunation: 22.6 days
Illumination: 39.0 %
Frank McCabe
Among the large craters of the lunar southern highlands, a nearly 4 billion year old crater stood out over the terminator on this evening just after local sunset here in the central USA. This crater is the 230 km. diameter impactor known by the name Clavius. Clavius is blanketed with a sizable number of craters and numerous craterlets . The north-northeastern rim of Clavius has a large crater resting upon it and most of its rim is just catching the light of sunrise. This 52 km. diameter crater is Porter. Much of the central floor of crater Clavius remains in darkness except for Clavius D (21 km.) and to its right in the sketch Clavius C (13 km.). Note that crater D is casting a nice shadow across the high central floor which is just beginning to light up in the lunar morning sun.
Sketching:
For this sketch I used: Black Canson sketching paper, 8”x10”, white and black Conte’ pastel pencils and blending stumps.
Telescope: 10 inch f/ 5.7 Dobsonian and 6 mm eyepiece 241x
Date: 09-03-2014 01:05-02:00 UT
Temperature: 26°C (79°F)
Partly cloudy, breezy
Seeing: Antoniadi III
Co longitude: 14.9°
Lunation: 8.47 days
Illumination: 56.7 %
Frank McCabe
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
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
The kilometer high rim of Prinz (47 km.) crater was casting a shadow across its own lava flooded floor. The uplifted Harbinger mountains were also casting fine shadows in this region of the lunar surface with its large magma ponds pushing up and freezing in the distant past. The uplifting doming in the region created many fissures for lava escape and flooding to occur. The fissures can be seen clearly on nights of steading seeing. I was denied that detailed view on this night. From the crater Krieger (22 km.) north and somewhat east of Aristarchus (40 km.) four distinct long shadows could be seen crossing to the 70 km. fault called Toscanelli at the edge of the Aristarchus plateau where the terminator was located during the rendering of this sketch.
A fine view in any telescope.
Sketching:
For this sketch I used: black Canson paper, white and black Conte’
pastel pencils and blending stumps, white Pearl eraser
Telescope: 10 inch f/ 5.7 Dobsonian and 9 mm eyepiece 161x
Date: 06-20-2013, 02:40 – 04:10 UT
Temperature: 19° C (68° F)
Partly cloudy, hazy
Seeing: Antoniadi IV (poor)
Frank McCabe
