Planetary – Page 40 – Astronomy Sketch of the Day

Sunday Sun

Solar Prominences on September 13th, 2009
Sketch and Details by Erika Rix

2009 Sept 13, 1531UT – 1631UT
Solar prominences in h-alpha
PCW Memorial Observatory, Zanesville, Ohio USA
Erika Rix

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

Temp: 24.4° -25.8°C, Humidity 74%-61%
S: Wilson 4 dropping to 1.5, T: below average
Clear to lightly scattered, breeze <7mph SE Alt: 45.8-51.8, Az: 138.3-159.2 Plenty of smaller prominences, concentrated on recordings of the four most prominent areas. Very minimal surface details with respect to filaments, ARs and plage. Chromospheric network was stunning.

The King’s Scar

Jupiter and Wesley Impact Scar
Sketch and Details by Michael Kießling

Two times I could see the Wesley Inpact Scar, first time on Aug. 1 at 3:55 CEST, second time on Aug. 4 at 0:45 CEST. Seeing was poor, (4-5/10 Pickering), but there were some useful moments for drawing. I used my TMB 130/780 refractor, magnification was 195x. I saw the Impact Scar as a faint spot, a little diffuse on its west margin and sharper in east. – In the lower sketch you see right beside the NTB/GRS the 5m.9 star 45 Cap minutes before its occultation by Jupiter.

Object Name: Jupiter with Wesley Impact Scar
Object Type: Planet
Location: Melbeck, Germany
Time: 2009 August 1 and 4

CS and best regards,

Michael Kießling

The King is in the House

Jupiter on September 4th, 2009
Sketch and Details by Bill Prueter

This is Jupiter. I drew this 9-04-09. My location is Chesterland, Ohio. Because I use a binoviewer in a refractor, North and South are oriented correctly but East is switched with West. I am not sure that it will be visible after sending but there was a smudge in the southern hemisphere of Jupiter. The shadow is that of Io. The orb of Io itself is near the middle of the middle band. It too may not transmit well. Other notes are visible on the drawing.

I have always used pencil. Seems to work well for me. I enjoy so much sitting in a relaxed setting, forearms on thighs, just gazing.I made, a few years ago, an astronomy chair. This has made life outside so pleasant. I also made a chest and stand for eyepieces, etc. All this keeps confusion to a minimum. (My website has more information about my set up.) I have a 127mm refractor with Altazimuth mount. I switched a couple years back to a Binoviewer. I have no regrets. I have no regrets about the altazimuth either. I enjoy sensing the movements of the earth.

I thank ASOD for this opportunity. I have been drawing for three years now and just learned of this site. It sounds wonderful.

Best Regards,
Bill

vita vigilia est. Pliny the Elder

Mercury in Broad Daylight

Daytime observation of Mercury
Sketch and Details by Carlos E. Hernandez

Daytime Observation of Mercury

I was able to make a daytime observation of Mercury on August 22, 2009 (20:00 U.T.) using an 8-inch (20-cm) F/15 Maksutov-Cassegrain (286x). I was with a friend and suggested that we try hunting Mercury down in the daytime sky. There was a thin haze in the daytime sky so we thought that we may not be able to see it. We first centered his instrument (fitted with a solar filter) on the Sun then offset it by approximately two hours in right ascension (RA) and Mercury was in the field. Mercury was visible at a quarter phase (55%) and albedo features were noted over the illuminated disk.

My observation reminded me of the historic observations made by Antoniadi and Schiaparelli over the end of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. These classic astronomers made their observations of Mercury in the daytime as observing this planet is difficult in a darkened sky as it is never more than 28 degrees from the Sun. Schiaparelli and Antoniadi erroneously believed that the rotation period of Mercury was 88 days (instead of 58.6 days) and therefore locked in with it’s revolution period. It was not until 1965 when the radio telescope discovered the true rotation period.

A digital image produced in Photoshop CS3.

BE CAREFUL TO NEVER OBSERVE MERCURY IN THE DAYTIME UNLESS YOUR INSTRUMENT HAS A SOLAR FILTER PLACED UPON IT UNTIL THE PLANET IS IN THE FIELD OF VIEW!

Carlos E. Hernandez

Moon and Jupiter on a Summer Night

Conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter
Sketch and Details by Carlos E. Hernandez

I was able to view the Waning Gibbous Moon (it was full yesterday) and Jupiter over the western horizon while experiencing intermittent thunderstorms. The pair was striking as they appeared to be floating between cumulus clouds over the western horizon. The Moon was approximately 5 degrees and Jupiter ~10 degrees above the western horizon.  A digital image produced in Gimp.

Jupiter’s blemish Shearing Away

Jupiter and Wesley Impact Scar
Sketch and Details by Michael Rosolina

I made another observation of the Wesley impact site in the early morning hours of August 3rd. Jupiter was rising but still low as the impact scar neared the preceding limb so I did not get the best view of the King of Planets. In spite of conditions, I could see that the impact plume had expanded and dimmed. I haven’t tired of seeing this debris cloud in the Jovian cloudtops.

The sketch was done at the eyepiece with 2B and HB pencils on photocopy paper. I flipped the drawing digitally to give the “classic” south up, preceding to the left view before I added the text. Notes are with the sketch.

Thanks,

Michael Rosolina

Jupiter and Wesley Impact Scar
Planet
Friars Hill, WV USA
03 August 2009

Jupiter Wearing its New Mark

Jupiter and Wesley Comet Impact Scar
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

Finally after several attempts I was able to capture the new look of Jupiter with its Wesley impact scar still visible. Clear skies were predicted for my area but it wasn’t looking good when I set up at sundown. Scud clouds were moving across my area most of the night and when they went through the sky near Jupiter’s position they made the planet boil. I increased my chances for success by using an aperture stop on the 18″ inch scope, to more than double the f ratio and reduce the aperture to an unobstructed 8 “.
The scar was well past the ideal viewing position at the time I began sketching but it was clearly visible in intervals of average seeing.

Sketching:

8/5/2009 5:15 – 6:00 UT
Scope used 18″ f/5 masked to 8” f/10.5
Eyepiece used: 9mm UO ortho. For 222x
Sketch made on copy paper using graphite pencils
HB, 4B and 6B, and a blending stump.
Contrast increased +2, brightness decreased -2 using the scanner
Seeing: 5/10 for short intervals
Transparency 2/5

Frank McCabe

Jupiter and WCIS in the Limelight

Jupiter, Callisto and the Wesley Comet Impact Scar
Sketch and Details by Jeremy Perez

Jupiter put on a great show tonight!

The impact feature is still hanging on and was readily visible through my 8 inch Dob at 120X and 240X. The best part was the addition of a beautiful shadow transit with Callisto hanging just outside Jupiter’s following limb. It also provided a nice contrast for comparison of the two spots. Callisto’s shadow was strikingly black, while the impact scar appeared more as a soft feature that seemed to take on the brownish color of the surrounding clouds. I spent more time getting a feel for the impact site itself, and did detect a horizontal elongation and slightly condensed appearance.

I had a couple moments of incredibly good seeing that showed up a lighter patch north of the impact scar and corresponded well to the position of a white spot in the area. I did not detect this as a hard oval, just as a subtle brightening in the area. Midway through my observation, high clouds moved in and foiled my attempts to finish up detail on the preceding edge before it rotated out of view, so the equatorial belts are a little plain in that part of the sketch. I finished the observation just as Callisto was dipping into Jupiter’s profile. What a great view!

Subject Jupiter, Callisto, Impact Scar and Shadow Transit
Classification Planet
Position* Capricornus [RA: 21:49:16.7 / Dec: -14:15:27]
Size* 48 arcseconds (Equatorial diameter)
Brightness* -2.8
Date/Time JUL 23, 2009, 2:00 – 3:30 AM
(JUL 23, 2009, 09:00 – 10:30 UT)
Observing Loc. Flagstaff, Arizona, USA – Home
Instrument Orion SkyQuest XT8 Dobsonian (203 mm dia./1200 mm F/L)
Eyepieces/Mag. Pentax XW10 + 2X Barlow (240X)
Conditions Mostly clear, occasional high clouds, humid
Seeing Ant. II-III
Transparency Mag 5.8 NELM
*Sources Starry Night Pro Plus 5.8.2

Jupiter and Wesley Comet Impact Scar

Jupiter and the Wesley Comet Impact Scar
Sketch and Details by Carlos E. Hernandez

I made an observation of Jupiter showing the Wesley Comet Impact Scar (WCIS) over the South Polar Region (SPR) of Jupiter. The impact scar appeared bi-lobed with extensions and a tail.

Date (U.T.): July 24, 2009
Time (U.T.): 05:00
L1 231.5, L2 206.1, L3 298.8
Ds 0.5, De 0.2, Diameter 48″ (Equatorial)
Instrument: 9-inch (23-cm) F/13.5 Maksutov-Cassegrain
Magnification: 248x and 388x
Filters: None
Seeing (1-10): 7, Antoniadi (I-V): II
Transparency (1-6): 4

Notes:
North Polar Region (NPR): Appears dark to dusky (3-4/10) and mottled. No other detail is visible within.
North Temperate Zone (NTZ): Appears shaded to bright (6-7/10) without any detail visible within it.
North Temperate Belt (NTB): Appears to be divided into two thin, dusky (4/10) components (North and South) with a bright (7/10) middle zone. A dark (3/10) elongated condensation is noted along the northern border of the northern component towards the preceding limb.
North Tropical Zone (NTrZ): Appears bright (7/10) without any detail visible within.
North Equatorial Belt (NEB): Appears dark to shaded (3-4/10) with dark condensations (3/10) and bright rifts (7/10) noted within it. Dark (3/10) barges (rods) are noted along the northern border (NRB-N) and blue festoons along the southern border (NEB-S).
Equatorial Zone (EZ): Appears bright (7/10) with a thin, dull (5/10) band over the middle portion (equator). Very bright (8/10) ovals are noted over it’s northern half along the North Equatorial Belt (NEB).
South Equatorial Belt (SEB): Appears dark to dusky (3-4/10) with the southern component (SEB-S) thicker than the northern component (SEB-N). The South Equatorial Belt Zone (SEBZ) appears a pastel orange color with thin, dull (5/10) columns extending between the northern and southern components.

South Tropical Zone (STrZ): Appears bright (7/10) with a thin, angled dusky (4/10) projection over it’s preceding half extending from the northern border of the South Temperate Belt (STB-N).
South Temperate Belt (STB): Appears dark to dusky (3-4/10) with a thin, shaded (6/10) section (zone?) over it’s southern half which contains four bright (7/10) ovals within it’s southern portion.
South Polar Region (SPR): Appears dark to dusky (3-4/10) and mottled. The Wesley Comet impact Scar (WCIS) noted along the central meridian (CM). The WCIS appears very to extremely dark (8-9/10), bi-lobed (smaller southern component than northern), with dusky to dull (4-5/10) projections (“wings”), and thin, dusky (4/10) projection (“tail”) to the north. The WCIS reminds me of the impact scars produced by Shoemaker-Levy 9 in 1994.

The Galilean satellites visible are (preceding to following) Ganymede (4.48m), Callisto (5.51m), Io (4.90m), and Europa (5.17m).

I made a sectional sketch of the Wesley Impact Scar (WCIS). The impact scar appeared as described above (bi-lobed, projections (“wings and a tail”). The preceding end of the impact scar was timed at 05:00 U.T. (L2 206.1/L3 298.9), center (05:09 U.T., L2 211.6/L3 304.3), and following end (05:22 U.T., L2 219.4/L3 312.1).

Jupiter and Wesley Comet Impact Scar closeup

Sectional view of Jupiter and the Wesley Comet Impact Scar
Sketch and Details by Carlos E. Hernandez

The best of luck in your own observations/imaging of Jupiter and the Wesley Comet Impact Scar (WCIS).

Digital images produced in Photoshop CS3.

Carlos

A Smudge on the King’s Face

Jupiter with Wesley Comet Impact Scar
Sketch and Details by Richard Handy

About mid evening, Jupiter was a bright beacon of pale yellow as it rose over the rocky ridge covered in sagebrush in the small border desert town I now call home. Somewhat disappointed at the boiling image presented by the telescope, I resolved to return in a few hours. I hoped by then that my instruments would thermally stabilize and the seeing would improve so I could attempt a sketch of the Wesley Comet Impact Scar (WCIS). After hearing about this very rare impact cloud only a few days previously and seeing all the fine photographs and a few excellent sketches, I very much wanted my chance to draw it. When I resumed my session early in the morning the following day, Jupiter was nearly at culmination, it’s highest elevation as it crosses the meridian, so I started my sketch. In the south polar region the impact scar was an easily visible though subdued feature, it appeared as a dark lobe with with a “tail” like trail that faded to the south east. As I finished my preparation sketch, I thought about the impact and how just about every object we see, whether a star, planet, moon, asteroid or comet is created in a process of accretion. The sheer size and power of an event like this is a sobering reminder that the same power that creates all these bodies can destroy as well. I certainly I hope that you are able to observe or sketch this incredible event while it lingers in the shearing winds of the Jovian atmosphere.

Webmaster’s note: Generally, the webmasters here at ASOD are reluctant to post their sketches because we would prefer to showcase the talents of others. However, due to the strong interest in the Jupiter Wesley Comet Impact Scar, and the special request of teacher, astro sketcher and good friend Michael Rosolina, I decided to submit my sketch. Please consider taking the time to sketch this event and submit it to ASOD so that we can help document it’s evolving appearance.

My special thanks to Carlos E. Hernandez for his help with the photoshop adjustments to the final sketch image.