Pastels on Black Paper – Page 4 – Astronomy Sketch of the Day

Saturn, Titan and Raindrops

Object Name: Saturn
Object Type: Planet
Location: Deventer, The Netherlands
Date: May 13, 2012
Media: Pastel pencils on black paper

Last night I wanted to make a sketch of Saturn, mostly to capture as much moons as possible through my old 75mm f/15 Polarex/Unitron refractor. After 45 minutes of sketching at 200x with pastel pencils on black paper, Saturn was pretty much done (although I found it surprisingly difficult to draw a good ellipse for the rings), and just when I added the easily visble Titan, I heard some droplets on the trees next to me and felt something on my head: RAIN! I immediately covered the pastel sketch witch my hand and rushed inside my shed. After the sketch was save I pulled the telescope out of the rain. The most abrupt ending of a sketching session ever! I had completely missed the incoming clouds while viewing through the eyepiece.

Anyway, both the sketch and the telescope survived. Sadly with only one moon observed: Titan.

Clear skies and kind regards,
Roel Weijenberg
www.roelblog.nl

Eye of the Monster

Hello all,

The atmosphere appears to be finally drying out here on the east coast of Australia. Viewing from near home on the 24th of April, DSO’s were noticeably easier to see and make out detail in. The clearest for a very long time.

Thought I’d tackle a Monster too. This one’s been taunting me for some time. Teasing through the mushy viewing during the last year. It’s “Eye” staring back in defiance.

Here is my shot at Omega Centauri using my 17.5″. So mind numbingly complex in structure. It’s core shows it’s “eye” looking back, which is washed out in long exposure photos. This is Omega’s most outstanding signature feature.

Alex M.

Object: Omega Centauri, NGC 5139
Scope: 17.5″ push-pull dob
Gear: 16mm Unitron Konig, 125X
Date: 24th March 2012
Location: Sydney, Australia
Media: Pastels, charcoal and white ink on A4 size black paper.
Time: 2.5hrs

Crater Furnerius

Beautiful evening with the 4 day old Moon above Venus and the planet Jupiter above the crescent Moon. After a careful look at the crescent Moon through the telescope at low power, I needed to decide if I should attempt a sketch of the beautiful view of western Mare Crisium or the crater Furnerius which was the easier target. Considering the air temperature which was cold, I took the easy way out and sketched Furnerius.

With the terminator well past this region, I knew I would have time to go indoors and warm up if I got too cold. I centered the eyepiece on my target and turned on the equatorial drive platform. Furnerius is a large 125 km. crater that has the appearance of the old pre-Nectarian period crater it is. Its walls and floor are battered with many small craters and Rima Furnerius was detectable on the northern side of the floor. Crater Fraunhofer (57 km.) another old crater was sketched to the south and much younger Stevinus (77 km.) was showing off its central peak to the west.

Sketching:
For this sketch I used: black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper, white and black Conte’ pastel pencils and a blending stump.

Telescope: 13.1 inch f/ 6 Dobsonian and 9 mm eyepiece 222x
Date: 02-26-2012 00:30 – 01:40 UT
Temperature: -6° C (21° F)
Clear, calm
Seeing: Antoniadi III
Colongitude: 315 °
Lunation: 4 days
Illumination: 15 %
Altitude of Moon about 33°

Frank McCabe

Heveluis

2012 01 07, 0200UT – 0340UT Hevelius, Lohrmann, Cavalerius
PCW Memorial Observatory, OH, USA, Erika Rix
www.pcwobservatory.com
16” Zhumell f/4.5 on a non-tracking Dobsonian mount, 24-8mm Baader Planetarium Mark III Hyperion, 225x, Moon filter
Temp6.5 C, 58% humidity, S: Antoniadi I-II, T: 4/6
Eyepiece sketch black Strathmore Artagain paper, Conte crayon and pastel pencil, charcoal pencil
Phase: 25.8 deg, Lunation: 13.35 d, Illumination: 95.0%
Lib. Lat: +01:33, Lib. Long: -04:22
Az: +206:07, Alt: +30:18

The trio of Hevelius, Lohrmann, and Cavalerius were the first to catch my eye along the terminator tonight. After a quick tour near the terminator, I settled on the trio and their surrounding area for a closer study. Grimaldi’s western rim was etched south of Lohrmann and had begun to fill with sunlight creeping over the waxing edge. The small central mountain of Hevelius and crater Hevelius A were spotted easily and the only hint of Hevelius rimae was a softened dark line reaching north to south just east of the central mountain. I didn’t realize it was even there until I came inside after my session and compared my sketch with an atlas of the area. The tormented outer slopes of the crater chain were very clear and sharp, making them very enjoyable to study and even more so to draw (in my feeble attempt to capture all the detail as accurately as I could). Cavalerius was completely filled in with shadow.

The fantastic find of the night was the Hevelius D 1 (dome) along the wrinkle ridge between Reiner and Hevelius. Reiner and Reiner Gamma were added as the sketch progressed, as they were too tempting to leave out.

Messier 96

Messier 96
A spiral galaxy in the constellation of Leo
Rush Valley, Utah (West Desert)
February 17, 2012
Pastel on Black Paper, contrast refined in GIMP.

I had some frustrations as my main dark site was muddy and though I could get to it with my 4WD, my observing companions could not. So I called them since I was the first out to the site and we opted for a secondary site and I got there at dusk to set up, after my friends had already set up. After completing setup and collimation, I went to work on open clusters in Puppis and after doing these for a couple of hours, I was tired so I took a break. I then went to work in Hydra on some objects there and decided as I looked up and noticed that it was late in the evening, and both Mars and Leo were up high in the sky so I decided to work on a project that I really want to sink my teeth into. This project is to take some of the Messier and other brighter objects and sketch them from a really excellent dark site and then sketch them again at home in the backyard under light pollution. The goal is to hopefully have some newer people and perhaps some others compare and contrast the sketches to see the difference in detail objects have at a dark site versus when they are observed in a light pollution zone.

So this night I picked several of the galaxies in Leo and in this case, I was pleased with how the sketch of Messier 96 came out, which I present here. I’m still working on the Mellish method though I much prefer it overall then any other method I’ve tried. Now I need to sketch M96 from my backyard if the weather will permit! Skies this night were an Antoniadi II when the sketch was made and the LM was about 6.6 to 6.7 I would estimate (I left my thermometer and my SQM at home along with several other items. It was one of those nights initially). The scope was my Orion XX14i with a 10mm and 7mm Pentax.

Total Eclipse of the Moon – December 10, 2011

After careful plans to observe the total lunar Eclipse of Dec 10th 2011 in the Portland city center, fog formed late, so plans to relocate were rushed at the last minutes as we drove fast from the city to the Columbia River Gorge Crown Point Oregon Vista House, yet only to find a hundred people, photographers, etc, most were ensconced in their cars with engines running, while Gorge east winds gusted to 60 mph with 25 degrees F.

So I set up my Celestron Nexstar 5i telescope anyway, huddled into the wind-shielded side of the Vista House with a few brave other photographers. I made quick mental notes of the image at medium power through the telescope and began to photograph crudely as the wind buffeted the scope and my Sony NEX5 camera poised high and teetering on its tripod over the telescope eyepiece. It was difficult at times as I began to speak as my hands froze and unable to operate the telescope or the camera, worse, many people approached then asking me if I could tell them what was happening as I appeared as the only professional with serious equipment in the grueling wind and freezing temperatures. They heard in the media and then recalled all the hoaxes of misunderstanding of the moons image as a rare visible sight setting in the west while the sun rose in the east. I had to explain the atmospheric effects of light bending through a natural lens. It was fun and although the constant fumes of diesel engines running for those who would not disembark from their warm cars, a few of us weathered the bitter cold, ironically lady friends of mine stayed until sunrise, where my professional photographer friend dressed in Alaskan outback parka and full proper clothing, refused to get out of the car.

Much in post preparation was then later made in the past week at home to produce this accurate large technical documentary dry pastel sketch onto 19″ X 25″ black Strathmore pastel paper completed today, December 19th 2011. It comprises a time span of possibly an hour as the moon was also observed at speed in my Mercedes side view mirror as I drove out the I-84 highway at super-legal speeds, the earths red shadow on the moon changed fast. So the sketch is possibly at just before full totality. Then daylight began to creep up in the east just as I arrived and set up the telescope [as depicted in the reflection of the old historic gas street lamps at Crown Point. Portland’s city lights 30 miles to the west are seen under a shroud of fog. This is also rendered in the sketch and as a final artist’s conception, the still deeper reflection of the moon as an image seen in a mirror within a mirror, on the Vista House windows.

– Mark Seibold

Sunrise over Copernicus

Object Name: Copernicus crater
Object Type: Lunar crater
Location: Deventer, The Netherlands
Date: Februari 1st, 2012
Media: White pastel pencil on black paper

I made this pastel sketch of crater Copernicus from my backyard in Deventer, The Netherlands. It was very cold (15,8F) but the seeing was pretty good. I observed from 18.00UT till 19.00UT. Sketch is made with white pastel on black paper. The telescope I used was my old 3″ f/16 Polarex/Unitron refractor.

Clear skies,
Roel Weijenberg
www.roelblog.nl

Viewing the Crater Line Linne

Crater Line Linne (Move mouse over image to view labels)

This clear, cold evening provided from my location the opportunity to observe and sketch the straight line row of small craters from Linne A to Linne G. All five of these craters range from three to five kilometers in diameter. Other yet smaller craters were spotted during brief moments of good seeing but were not included in this sketch. Near the top center of the sketch the sixth bowl shaped crater Banting (5 km.) is clearly visible. South is up in the sketch so the Little Linne sequence from top to bottom is A ( 4 km.), B ( 5 km.), F ( 5 km.), H ( 3 km.), and G ( 5 km.). What especially caught my eye here on the floor of Mare Serentitatis were the fine, long shadows from each of these little craters.

Sketching:

For this sketch I used: Canson Black Ingres textured paper 8″ x12″, white and black tone pastel pencils and crayons, blending stumps, white pearl eraser

Telescope: 10 inch f/ 5.7 Dobsonian and 6 mm eyepiece for a magnification of 241x
Date: 01-30-2012 1:20-2:00 UT
Temperature: -4°C (24° F)
Clear, calm
Seeing: Pickering 5/10 – Antoniadi III
Co longitude: 347.3°
Lunation: 6.74 days
Illumination: 39.6%
Frank McCabe

Mare Imbrium

Aloha!

I submit my most recent sketch of a close up detail of Mare Imbrium of 1/1/12. First observation of the New Year for me & first attempt using white pastel & black artist paper for a moon sketch. I found it a bit frustrating at fist since I have always sketched in black charcoal on white paper for the moon. After I got the hang of it I really enjoyed the texture & detail I could create with the black paper.

I am currently working on an Astronomical League Certificate for the moon and I am amazed how much more detail I must learn to sketch. I want to know what every crater & peak of light is that I am recording on paper.

On this night I used my 8” Dobsonian & 14mm Explore Scientific EP
Seeing was excellent, Temperature 65 degrees F from 4000 ft elevation
Maui, Hawaii

Thia Krach

Comet Lovejoy

Hi,

My name is Peter M Moriz. I live at Moonee Beach, Australia. I’ve just started to do sketching. This is my third sketch I’ve attempted. The other 2 were of small g/c’s…..

This sketch was done at Nana Glen west of my home town to get a little darker skies to see more of the comet’s tail. It was done naked eye and it goes from horizon to crux, say around 30 to 35 degrees. I put the milky way in the top of sketch to get some idea of how big the comet has become. The Coal Sack is there as well….it was done on the 28th of December 2011 and around 3.30am and had taken me around 45 minutes to do..I hope you enjoy the sketch–Alex, a fellow sketcher here in Australia, said I should submit it.

Media: black sketch paper A4 size with white pastel and white ink pen

Thanks for the time to read and view my sketch.

Peter (Mozzie) :my nickname