White Conté on Black Paper – Page 9 – Astronomy Sketch of the Day

Craters Babbage, Harpalus, and South

Lunar craters Babbage, Harpalus, and Short
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

On this fine evening the large (144 km.), ancient (Pre-Nectarian), walled plain crater Babbage with its sizable central crater Babbage A (32 km.) formed a focal point for the eye along the terminator. The morning sunlight was bouncing off what remains of the old battered rim of Babbage and the smooth walls of crater A. Sharing an eastern rubbly wall with Babbage is another 4 billion year old wall plain crater or what remains of it called South (108 km.). This one is on the beach of Mare Frigoris. Judging from the shape of the wall between Babbage and South, the latter is the younger impact feature. Resting within the Sea of Cold is Copernican period crater Harpalus (41 km.), its pristine appearance betraying its youth. Harpalus crater was made famous in the Classic Science fiction film from August of 1950 titled Destination Moon. This crater was the rocket landing site for the astronauts in this George Pal motion picture which won awards for special effects.

Sketching:

For this sketch I used: a small 7”x 7” piece of black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper, white and black Conte’
pastel pencils. Brightness and contrast slightly increased after scanning
Telescope: 10 inch f/ 5.7 Dobsonian with 6mm eyepiece (241x)
Date: 6-5-2009 2:15-2:45 UT
Temperature: 14°C (57°F)
Clear, calm
Seeing: Antoniadi III
Colongitude 54.6 degrees
Lunation 11.6 days
Illumination 93%

Oak Forest, Illinois

Frank McCabe

Ancient But Well Preserved

The Lunar crater Petavius
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

Crater Petavius

I have waited more than 2 years for conditions to be just right for re-sketching this magnificent crater. I got set up to observe under what looked to be hopeless circumstances. Although we have been under heavy cloud cover all week, the weather service forecasted clearing and as an added bonus my nearest “Clear Sky Chart” predicted the best possible seeing conditions until midnight. Both of these came true! Alas, heaven on earth.

Petavius crater (180 km.) is one of the best known and remarkable impact features on the lunar surface. It is a walled plain and floor fractured crater with impressive multiple central peaks (1.7 km), beautiful wall terraces, mare patches, volcanic ash regions, a raised floor and remarkable looking ramparts. In addition there is a special feature of this crater called Rimae Petavius. All three parts of this rille system could be seen clearly under the excellent seeing conditions that persisted during the entire observation. Connected to Petavius to the west is crater Wrottesley (57 km). South of Wrottesley the double rim of crater Petavius can be seen. There was so much detail visible in this area I could not hope to capture but a fraction of it.
Although Petavius is 3.8 billion years old it looks younger, stately and better preserved.

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: 5-29-2009 1:20-3:15 UT
Temperature: 13°C (55°F)
Clear, calm
Seeing: Antoniadi mostly I, [ the collapsed lava tube down the center of Vallis Alps would have been easy under the seeing conditions of this night ]
Colongitude 329.5 degrees
Lunation 4.5 days
Illumination 28%
Moon was at Perigee just 3 days ago

Frank McCabe

Goodbye AR 1017

Solar disk in H-alpha on May 20th, 2009
Sketch and Details by Erika Rix

2009 May 20, 1410UT – 1515UT

Solar h-alpha, AR1017

PCW Memorial Observatory, Zanesville, Ohio USA
Erika Rix

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

Temp: 17.3°C-21.1°C, Humidity 50%
Seeing: Wilson 4, Transparency: 3/6
Clear with slight breeze and a little haze
Alt: 42.6, Az: 99.4

Active region 1017 is now spending its last moments on the western limb and will be leaving us soon. The plage was fairly unremarkable and faint except for a very bright portion on the leading edge of the faint filament running north to south along side of it.

The region approximately 40° in from the eastern limb has a slender, but well-defined filament that, upon closer closer inspection, branches off toward the north with a black, almost round smudge at the crook of the branch. There were contrasty areas of faint plage making streaks and mottles around the filament.

There were a few broader filaments scattered about, although soft in appearance. And the prominences were very small and scattered; however, there was on area of prominences toward the south that made a beautiful display.

Best regards,
Erika

Gazing Through the H-alpha Window

Solar h-alpha, AR1017: 2009 May 19, 1428UT – 1600UT
Sketch and Details by Erika Rix

2009 May 19, 1428UT – 1600UT
Solar h-alpha, AR1017

PCW Memorial Observatory, Zanesville, Ohio USA
Erika Rix

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

Temp: 14.2°C-19.8°C , Humidity 44%
Seeing: Wilson 3-3.5 , Transparency: 2/6
Light cirrus 90% coverage, slightly hazy, winds 4.6mph SSW
Alt: 41.8, Az: 105.7

AR1017 is making its way to the western limb, still clearly visible at
first glance with the crooked u-shape and then by looking closer, the
dark contrasts lining the inside of the “u”. The prominence activity
was pretty showy today and the spotless region to the east needed to be
in just the right spot of my field of view to be observed. The plage
was wishbone shaped with what appeared to be a slender, black filament
reaching out from it to the east.

The larger of the eastern proms looked detached at first, but as
transparency improved, the haze cleared up around the solar disk and I
was able to follow the entire loop where it met the limb on both sides
and even a few places in between.

Solar Garden

Solar h-alpha on May 15th, 2009
Sketch and Details Erika Rix

2009 May 15, 1515UT – 1625UT
Solar AR 1017

PCW Memorial Observatory, Zanesville, Ohio USA
Erika Rix

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

Temp: 21.8°C – 25.6°C, Humidity 42%
Seeing: Wilson 4, Transparency: 4/6
Light cirrus, winds calm
Alt: 50.3, Az: 110.2

Glancing at a lower magnification with the zoom eyepiece, three main
areas of prom immediately came to view at approximately 40°, 130°, and
215° position angles. Then adjusting the outer Etalon, the plage of the
AR most westwardly popped out, followed by the eastwardly portion of it.
I’m a bit unsure if there were actually 2 active regions I was viewing
but I’ve only seen a designation for AR1017. It appeared to be two
separate active regions from today’s views.

Increasing magnification with excellent seeing conditions and the light
cirrus not bothering me, I concentrated on the prominences first and it
was then that I spotted another at approximately 280° PA. It twice as
tall as the spike in the group near 120° and spanned across 30° of limb.
It was very soft looking but I could still make out strands of structure
vertically within it – beautiful and certainly the treat of the day.

Going back to the active regions, in both areas, I could make out what I
believed to be magnetic lines. You can almost see the subtle renderings
of them in my sketch if you look hard enough. I did find myself
rendering the contrast a little more severe than true to the view, but
the details of this region were as true as I could make them through
sketch by making fine adjustments to the FOV as well as the Etalons of
my double stacked Maxscope.

Mid-Moon Craters

Lunar craters Arzachel and Alpetragius
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

With the moon just past first quarter, many beautiful, deep craters near the center of the lunar-earth facing side standout in shadowed relief. Among those visible were the famous trio of Alphonsus, Ptolemaeus and Arzachel. During this observation I selected Arzachel (96 km.) and neighbor Alpetragius (41 km.) for sketching. Both of these craters were on display about 200 kilometers from the terminator shadow line. Arzachel is the southern most of the above mentioned trio. It is a lower Imbrium impact depression and in addition it is floor fractured. Central to the crater floor is a fine mountain projecting one and a half kilometers above the floor. Also on the floor of the crater is Arzachel A (10 km.) with light shimmering off its illuminated rim. Part of Rimae Arzachel was visible as a bright edge rille which partly paralleled the floor shadow cast by the northeastern rim.
Alpetragius the smaller, older crater (Nectarian) has a very large round mountain covering most of the crater floor. Just the tip of this mountain was catching the first rays of morning sun as I began this sketch.

Sketching:

For this sketch I used: black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper 8”x 8”, white and black Conte’ pastel pencils and a blending stump. After scanning, Brightness was decreased (-2) using my scanner.

Telescope: 4.25 inch f/10 equatorial and 6 mm at 180x
Date: 5-3-2009, 0:50 – 1:40 UT
Temperature: 13°C (55° F)
hazy, high thin clouds, calm
Seeing: Antoniadi III
Colongitude 11.2 °
Lunation 7.9 days
Illumination: 63 %

Frank McCabe

Two Crescents Meet

The Moon and Venus in Conjunction
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

Moon and Venus on the Morning of April 22, 2009

Before retiring for the evening I set my alarm clock to awaken at 4:30 am local time. I was not happy to see the sky heavily overcast but I did noticed that the sky to the east was clear from the horizon to about 12° up. Traveling due east for me would after 25 miles take you to the southern tip of Lake Michigan in Indiana. I could tell that this heavy cloud cover rolled in from the west while I slept but was not yet over the lake. I grabbed a pair of 8×50 binoculars and my sketching materials and climbed out a bedroom window onto the roof of my house to sketch. Originally I was hoping to use a telescope. At 5:00 am local time I could see both the waning crescent moon and Venus about 7° above the horizon. I noted the position of Venus relative to the moon and began sketching. Within 15 minutes the moon disappeared into the cloud layers followed by Venus and the view was over at about 5:16 am. The sky eventually cleared in the morning but the Lunar /Venus event was over by then.

Sketching:

For this sketch I used: black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper, 10″x 11″, white and black Conte’ pastel pencils and a blending stump. Brightness was slightly decreased after scanning.

8 x 50mm binoculars
Date: 4-22-2009 10:00-10:16 UT
Temperature: 1°C (34°F)
mostly cloudy, breezy
Seeing: Below Average
Co longitude: 241.6°
Lunation: 26.75 days
Illumination: 9 %

Frank McCabe

Sunset Terminator Approaching Atlas

Lunar craters Atlas and Hercules
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

Craters Atlas (87 km.) and Hercules (69 km.) made an attractive pair on this evening a couple of days past full moon. Atlas the older of the two (Upper Imbrium period) was deeper into shadow hiding the fractured floor but not the central floor uplift and peaks. The rims and aprons of both Atlas and Hercules were nicely illuminated as were the surrounding ejecta melts. Hercules the younger of the pair is an Eratosthenian period crater (3.2 billion years old). On the floor of Hercules I could see 14 km. diameter Hercules G near the center of the lava flooded, smooth floor. The sketch region extends southward (top of sketch) to the stand alone crater Grove (29 km.). To the north of Hercules is the 34 km. diameter crater Keldysh with its bowl shape and shadow hidden floor.

Sketching:

For this sketch I used: black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper12”x 9”, white and black Conte’
pastel pencils and a blending stump. After scanning, Brightness was decreased (-3) and contrast increased (+3) using Microsoft Office Picture Manager.

Telescope: 10 inch f/ 5.7 Dobsonian and 9 mm eyepiece 161x
Date: 9-18-2008, 4:00-5:30 UT
Temperature: 15° C (59° F)
Clear, transparent, calm
Seeing: Antoniadi III
Colongitude 129.3 °
Lunation 18.3 days
Illumination 90 %

Frank McCabe

A Humorum Aside

Lunar crater Gassendi on the shores of Mare Humorum
Sketch and Details by Richard Handy

One hundred and fourteen kilometers in diameter, filled with rilles and a rich variety of terrain, Nectarian era Gassendi sits on the northwestern shores of Mare Humorum in the South West Quadrant of the Moon. Gassendi is a great example of a FFC (Floor Fractured Crater). Why is it fractured? Well, the real lowdown on the rilles is that they are created by magma that finds its way to the surface through weaknesses and fissures in the breccia beneath Gassendi. As the magma fills these volumes, it pushes up on the material on the crater floor causing these characteristic fractures in the surface and in the process providing a vent for lavas. The really amazing thing was the number of rilles on the floor that were bifurcated, some seemly splitting at obtuse angles while others paralleled the rim. I could sense that there was a level of detail hidden by the seeing, a larger population of smaller rilles awaiting that moment of perfect clarity to reveal themselves. However with Antoniadi III as my average, it wasn’t going to be tonight. On the northwestern wall of Gassendi resting on its northwestern margin, much as Gassendi is to Humorum, is 33 km Copernican era, Gassendi A. Above and to the northwest is the 26 km flat floored Gassendi B. I wonder how much is floor fill is from his bigger and (younger?) brother to the south, the result of slow and steady mass wasting or a carpeting of material from a larger event. The whole area to the north and west of Gassendi seemed to be filled with these arcuate grooves. Towards the southern sunken rim of Gassendi, the northwest part of a Basin rim seemed elevated above the Mare as it rose to meet a collapsed section of Gassendi’s rim in the middle of the western outer wall. I could tell the area to the west of this arc had a different texture to the terrain, as if they were only partially submerged in the mare lavas. There were arcuate rilles here as well, paralleling the Basin. I hoped you all enjoyed this, I know I had a rille wonderful time sketching this one and sharing it with you.

Here are the sketch details:

Subject: Gassendi and environs Atlas: Rukl 52
Date: 9-3-06 Start time 4:20 UT Ending time: 5:56UT
Seeing: Antoniadi III with moments of II every 3-5 min, Weather: clear to partly cloudy
Lunation: 11.38 days Colongitude 46 deg Phase: 49.9 deg
Illumination: 82.2 % Lib. in Lat. : +6 deg 28 min Lib. in Long.: – 6 deg 53 min
Telescope: 12″ Meade SCT F10
Binoviewer: W.O. Bino-P with 1.6X Nosepiece
Eyepieces: W.O. 20mm WA Plossls
Magnification: 244X
Sketch medium: White and black Conte’ on Black textured Conte’ paper
Sketch size: 18″ x 24″

A Stunning Leo Triplet

The Leo Triplet: NGC 3628, M65, M66
Sketch and Details by Dale Holt

Last week using the 14″ Newt & Watec Camera, I sketched each member of the Leo Triplet individually. There is only a very small FOV using the camera with this scope but the detailed revealed is quite incredible. Have made 3 individual sketches I asked my very good friend & accomplished planetary imager Simon Kidd if he could make up a composite for me in Photoshop and add some field stars. He duly did this (something I couldn’t contemplate doing myself!)

If I do say so myself the result is pretty impressive, what do you guys think?

Sketches made using black conte pastel & blending stumps on white cartridge paper, scanned and inverted to white on black. All the magic is then carried out by simon 🙂

Let me know what you think? Dale