White Conté on Black Paper – Page 8 – Astronomy Sketch of the Day

The Great Peninsula and Adjacent Sea

The Great Peninsula and Adjacent Sea
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

On this cold early morning I chose for sketching the lunar highland region that is pointed directly to Earth, namely the Great Peninsula and the adjacent Mare Nubium. It would be much fun to draw the entire visible part of the Peninsula in just one sketching session at the eyepiece but that is just a dream with the terminator features changing so quickly. I focused on just what I could handle inside my self-imposed two hour limit. The seeing was good and that alone means ignoring some visible detail within the allotted time.
I was well into the sketch when I noticed my first mistake. I was using the excellent black Canson acid-free paper and one edge was embossed with the words “Colorline Canson…” which I discovered about one hour into the sketch as I began drawing over these words… Dah.
The terminator was cutting across the western part of the peninsula which was diagonal and inverted in the eyepiece from upper right to lower left in the Newtonian telescope.
From top center to lower left the large ancient craters with floors in full darkness are: Regiomontanus (125km.) with an illuminated, cratered peak somewhat off center; Purbach (120km.) with its arching central peaks picking up the last rays of sunlight; Smaller Thebit (60km.) closest to Rupes Recta (Straight Wall); Arzachel (100km.) with all but the rim in total darkness (note: that was not the case before I started sketching); and lastly Alpetragius( 40km.) with the tip of its huge central peak catching light.
The two smallish and younger craters on the other side of Rupes Recta are Birt (17km.) and Nicollet (15km.). With such good seeing many smaller craters were clearly visible across the Sea of Clouds. While observing this region after finishing the sketch in twilight, clouds moved in and closed out any further viewing.
Sketching is always a series of compromises, if you want the moon high in the sky this time of year you are limited to the early morning. During the fall early morning is the coldest part of the day and you need to give up some sleep time.
It was an adrenalin rush to see the moon on this morning and enough to keep warm.

Sketching:

For this sketch I used: black Canson paper 9”x 13”, white and black Conte’
pastel pencils , and Conte’ crayons, a blending stump, plastic eraser.
Telescope: 10 inch f/ 5.7 Dobsonian with 6mm (241x) eyepiece
Date: 10-11-2009 9:30-11:30 UT
Temperature: -3°C (27°F)
Clear becoming mostly cloudy, calm
Seeing: Antoniadi II and briefly I
Co longitude 182°
Lunation 22.7 days
Illumination 49.4%

Oak Forest, Illinois

Frank McCabe

Lunar Bull’s Eye

Crater Cabeus near the Lunar South Pole
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

On Monday September 28, 2009 the LCROSS Science Team at NASA decided to change the impact target for the October 9, 2009 11:30 UT impact based on a better chance of striking a more robust hydrogen concentration and hopefully creating a plume that reaches a higher altitude. At the newly selected site inside a valley on the floor of crater Cabeus a large hill in the vicinity will be casting a shadow that should provide good background contrast for viewing, imaging or sketching the event. The NASA LCROSS report states, “During the last days of the mission the LCROSS team will continue to refine the exact point of impact within Cabeus crater to avoid rough spots, and to maximize solar illumination of the debris plume and Earth observations.

From my location in the Chicago south suburbs the morning sky will be in twilight and the moon will be past the meridian but at a respectable 66° altitude in Taurus. The locations get darker the further west you are in the USA.

On the only recent clear night in some time I went out and sketched the South Polar Region including crater Cabeus. I did this primarily for practice and to see how much of the region I could sketch in a reasonable amount of time; so now I know about when to get started on October 9th. On the date of impact the crater Cabeus will be in about the same viewing position from the limb as in the sketch.

Sketching:

For this sketch I used: black Canson paper, white and black Conte’
pastel pencils , a blending stump, gum eraser.
Telescope: 10 inch f/ 5.7 Dobsonian with 6mm (241x) eyepiece
Date: 9-30-2009 9:15-10:45 pm local time
Temperature: 11°C (51°F)
Clear, calm
Seeing: Antoniadi III,
Co longitude 56.7°
Lunation 12.3 days
Illumination 90.4%

Oak Forest, Illinois

Frank McCabe

Webmaster’s note: Anyone who is able to observe and possibly sketch the LCROSS impact dust plumes are invited to submit their drawings to ASOD for publication.

Mood of the Mighty One

Lunar crater Copernicus
Sketch and Details by Andrew Phethean

Copernicus

I was a bit daunted by the intricacy of detail in the banks of the crater, so rather than render accuracy, I attempted just to capture the “mood” of the crater – the 3-D-ness, the grandeur, the complexity. Details follow:

Location: Aberdeen, UK
Conditions: transparency: IV/V. Seeing III/V
Time: approx 11.20 pm – 12.00 am (4th April)
Scope: 6″ f/8 Skywatcher Evostar
Eyepiece: 7mm TS Planetary (171x)
Materials: White and black Conte chalk pastels on A5 black 270gsm drawing paper

I only heard of ASOD today, reading Astronomy Now magazine. I was regretful that I hadn’t heard of it before, because I love seeing the work that people produce with their own hands. I’ve had a good browse of the site and am enjoying the work on there.

I have only made a handful of sketches before. My first was a lunar sketch of Gutenburg. I make DSO sketches once in a while to check my observations. I’m 21 and have been into astronomy for 3 years.

I have attached two sketches here. Both of which I was very proud to have published in Astronomy Now magazine.

Andrew Phethean

Webmasters note: Thank you Andrew and we will be delighted to feature your second of hopefully many submissions to come! -Rich Handy and Jeremy Perez

Dancing on the Solar Limb

Solar prominences on August 31st, 2009
Sketches and Details by Erika Rix

2009 August 31, 1454UT – 1625UT
Solar h-alpha prominences

PCW Memorial Observatory, Zanesville, Ohio USA
Erika Rix

DS 60mm Maxscope, LXD75, 21-7mm Zhumell
Sketches created scopeside with black Strathmore Artagain paper, white
Conte’ crayon and pencil, white Prang watercolor pencil.

Temp: 23.0°C-25.0°C , Humidity 52%-38%
Seeing: Wilson 4 dropping down to 2, Transparency: 4.5/6-3/6
Clear to scattered, light winds E changing to NE
Alt: 43.7 – 55.6, Az: 122.5 – 152.5
Observed inside observatory. Seeing became very poor as the inside
warmed up.

There looked like a possible new active region forming by bright plage ~
30° in from the eastern limb. There were several prominences scattered
around the disk, and the largest areas were on the SE and SW limbs,
changing dramatically over the course of the 1.5 hr observation.

Almost a Tycho Crater Sketch

Lunar crater Tycho unfinished
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

I was about 45 minutes into this sketch when I began thinking about the last time I started a close up sketch of the crater Tycho. I was stopped shortly into that attempt by fast approaching clouds. This time I was not concerned because satellite images and the Clear Sky Clock for my area revealed little or no chance of that and suddenly as if on command the clouds rolled in from the east and sketching was over.
So I share with you my second attempt at a Tycho crater sketch. What is it they say about the third time?

Sketching:

For this partial sketch I used: black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper 9″ x 12″, white and black Conte’
pastel pencils, gum eraser and blending stumps.
Telescope: 10 inch f/ 5.7 Dobsonian with 6mm (241x) eyepiece.
Date: 8-13-2009 9:30-10:15 UT
Temperature: 20°C (68°F)
Clear and then cloudy, calm
Seeing: Antoniadi III,
Co longitude 107.3°
Lunation 22 days
Illumination 54.5%
Oak Forest, Illinois

Frank McCabe

Crater Langrenus Before Sunset

Lunar crater Langrenus and environs
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

One night past the August full moon I had the opportunity to observe the craters near the moon’s eastern limb. One of these craters, the one I selected for sketching, was the walled-plain crater Langrenus. With the terminator a couple of hundred kilometers away the beautiful ray system was still easily seen crossing Mare Fecunditatis to the west. Crater Langrenus is approximately 132 kilometers in diameter and dates from the Eratosthenian period. Its walls stand several kilometers tall and it has a nice pair of central mountain peaks rising more than a kilometer above the floor. The northern portion of the floor is heavily boulder covered but in the current lighting that was difficult to see clearly. Beyond the crater to the northwest the triplet craters of Naonobu, Bilharz and Atwood were nicely visible and a central swelling could be seen on the floor of each.

Sketching:

For this sketch I used: black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper, white and black Conte’
pastel pencils and a hard blending stump.
Telescope: 10 inch f/ 5.7 Dobsonian with 6mm (241x) and 4 mm (362x) eyepieces
Date: 8-8-2009 6:50-8:15 UT
Temperature: 22°C (72°F)
Partly cloudy, calm
Seeing: Antoniadi III,
Co longitude 107.3°
Lunation 16 days
Illumination 98.5%
Libration in Longitude -3.5°

Frank McCabe

Beacon of Light and a Dark Dagger of Night

The Lunar Crater Moretus
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

Lunar Crater Moretus

When I think of craters in and around the south polar region of the moon, this is the one that comes to mind first. The lunar excavation I have sketched here is complex crater Moretus (114 kilometers in diameter). Moretus is an Eratostherian age feature with remarkable depth of nearly 4 kilometers from rim to floor. Rising above the center of that floor and casting a long shadow to the base of the east wall is the 2.6 km. central peak reflecting much light to my eye from its mostly shadowed surroundings. The inner terraced walls were gleaming on the eastern side in the setting sunlight and even the glacis of melted eject was eye catching against the surrounding shadowed cratered field of the southern highlands. You cannot look at the moon on a morning like this and not be moved by the beautiful view of the old cratered moon.

Sketching:

For this sketch I used: black Canson paper 12”x 10”, white and black Conte’ pastel pencils, blending stumps. After scanning, Brightness was decreased (-2) and contrast increased (+2) using Microsoft Office Picture Manager.

Telescope: 10 inch f/ 5.7 Dobsonian and 6 mm eyepiece 241x
Date: 7-14-2009, 9:30 – 10:15 UT
Temperature: 15° C (60° F)
clear, calm, low humidity
Seeing: Antoniadi III
Colongitude 177.7°
Lunation 21.8 days
Illumination 58.4 %

Frank McCabe

A Brilliant 15 Day Old Moon

15 Day Old Moon
Sketch and Details by Erika Rix

2009 July 8, 0240UT – 0535UT
Lunar, Erika Rix
PCW Memorial Observatory, Zanesville, Ohio USA
Orion ED80 w/WO dielectric diagonal, LXD75, 21-7mm Zhumell, 13% T moon
filter

Lunar phase 352.2°-350.9°, 15.3-15.42 days
Temp: 17.6°C-11.7°C, H: 59%-86%
Alt: 11°02’ to 27°10’ Az: 132°18’ to 170°38’
Libr. Lat: 01°32’ to 01°24’, Libr. Long: 00°00’ to -00°37’
Seeing: Antoniadi II, Transparency: 3/6
Light cirrus, calm

Sketch created scopeside with black Strathmore Artagain paper, white
Conte’ crayon and pencil, white Prang watercolor pencil, black oil
pencil, black charcoal pencil.

The ray formations for last night’s (early this morning) Moon were
spectacular as was the terminator line to the east, showing specks of
rugged crater edges that looked suspended over the terminator edge.
Aristarchus and the surrounding area looked like two deep, bright gouges.

Full Sun In a Grassy Field

Solar h-alpha, AR1023 and 1022: 2009 June 23
Sketch and Details by Erika Rix

2009 June 23, 1500UT – 1625UT
Solar h-alpha and White light, ARs 1023 & 1022
Erika Rix
PCW Memorial Observatory, Zanesville, Ohio USA

H-alpha 1546 UT, DS 60mm Maxscope, LXD75, 21-7mm Zhumell
Temp: 27.7°C
Seeing: Wilson 4.5, Transparency: 5/6
Clear with light cirrus, light breeze N
Alt 52.1 Az 103.5
Sketch created scopeside with black Strathmore Artagain paper, white
Conte’ crayon and pencil, white Prang watercolor pencil, black oil pencil.

Solar white light, AR1023 and 1022: 2009 June 23, 1621UT
Sketch and Details by Erika Rix

White light 1621 UT, ETX70-AT with tilt plate, 21-7mm Zhumell and 2.5x
SA Barlow
Temp: 30.2°C , Humidity 84%
Seeing: Wilson 2.8, Transparency: 5/6
Clear with light cirrus, winds NE 9mph
Alt 58.5 Az 112.1
Sketch created scopeside with white photocopy paper and #2 pencil.

Solar H-alpha and white light comparison: 2009 June 23, 1500UT-1625UT
Sketch and Details by Erika Rix

This morning, I moved the solar rigs outside for better seeing
conditions. After all the rains and then full sun today, the coolness
of the grassy fields would be a significant improvement over the hot
wood and carpet from inside the observatory. It appears my decision was
the correct one because I started the solar session off with h-alpha and
was able to not only increase mags to a 7mm, but used a 2.5x Barlow
toward the end of the
h-alpha session for deeper observing. The seeing became much worse
about an hour later when I began my white light filter observation.

Both active regions were obvious and 1023 almost looked like an “X”
shaped plage with a hint of a spot to the western crook of it. There was
another plage on the other side of that spot with a very prominent
filament reaching to the west, although very small with a more obvious
spot at the eastern start of it. Moving west across the disk, AR1022
was almost a “U” shaped plage resembling a pair of oxen horns with the
way each side of it curved outward.

There were many prominences, all fairly small, but they popped in and
out as I moved the Sun in my FOV for optimum clarity of features.
Speaking of the tilting of the Maxscope’s Etalons, I observed with Alan
Traino at a star party this weekend and had the chance to use a pressure
tuner on their 60mm Lunt h-alpha scope. What a great design! And I was
very impressed with the flat FOV, making it so much easier to pull out
details. Thanks Alan for supplying the scopes for us to try out. Wish
I had had more time to play with the pressure tuning scope as well as
the CaK.

The solar disk was speckled with network details and there were several
filaments, although again, very slender or very small.

The view with the white light filter was a little harder to discern
because of the dramatic change in seeing. Although I got a good focus,
I only had slight moments of seeing to make out a little bit of detail
within AR1023. What first looked like two oblong sunspots in that active
region became two pairs of sunspots. The preceding pair was the larger
with the following pair the smaller. There may have even been a third
little spot in the preceding pair but seeing prevented me from really
honing in on those two sets. There were no faculae that I could make
out, although there was a hint of contrast around both sets of spots as
well a faint line reaching from the preceding to the following pairs.

The Lunar/Antares Occultation

The Lunar Occultation of Antares
Sketch and Details by Michael Rosolina

Hello,

I was fortunate to be able to view the occultation of the red supergiant Antares by the nearly full Moon as it rose on the evening of June 6th. The Moon was still sixteen hours from full which caused the lunar limb to have an odd, irregular appearance in places. Antares, “the Heart of the Scorpion” disappeared in an eyeblink behind the invisible dark edge of Luna before it ever reached the sunlit mountains and mares.

Antares means “the rival of Mars” in Greek, but it was easily overwhelmed by Selene that night.

This field sketch was done with white and gray Conte’ crayon, black charcoal pencil, and orange color pencil on black paper.

The Moon and Antares
Occultation
0226 UT 7 June 2009

Michael Rosolina
Friars Hill, WV USA