Star – Page 12 – Astronomy Sketch of the Day

Explosion in the Keel

Observation of eta Carinae

Object information

Object name:

eta Carinae

Object type:

Star

Magnitude:

-0.80

RA:

10h 45m 30s

Dec:

59Â° 44′ 39″ S

Constellation:

CAR

Observation details

Date of observation:

12 avr. 2010 19:05 UT

Length of observation:

58 min

Object position:

Alt: 52.0Â°, Az: 166.8Â°

Weather conditions:

Day: ++/- (33% cumulus) Wind V2-3, temp 30Â°, humidity 31%, Transparency 1 (on a scale from 1, best, to 5, very bad

Observation conditions:

Nught: SQM 21.57 in Crv (60Â° high), limited nake eye mag in Crv 7.2, seeing quite good S2/156 3/280 4/520 4-5/725

Observing site:

Namibie Tivoli

Instrument:

TN 508 Dobson Tivoli

Main eyepiece:

Televue Nagler 9mm Type 6

Barlow:

(None)

Magnification:

282x

Notes:

x282 Nagler 9mm, then

x529 Nagler 4.8mm, then

x725 Nagler 3.5mm

I have to increase gradually the power in order to have a deep and detail view of the object, then decrease it to improve the contast, and the color.

with 282x, The two small lateral “mustaches” are obvious, and precisely analysable, with the luminosity of their end decreasing regulary. The two dark spots of the SE lobe are well separated, and also analysable, including their shape, and orientation. The NW lobe is as large as the opposite one, but much less luminous, L3 instead of L6, in a scale from 1, limit, to 10, extremely bright.

The color is fantastic: deep, vivid, and strong orange. The star, itself, is even more saturated ! Probably the most beauteful orange anywhere in the sky

This drawing is the third I did.: Eta Carina is an extraordinary object, very much detailed, and each time, you discover new features.

Pencil and ink of China on Canson paper 21 x 29.7 cm, 200gr/cm2, then scanned, and some improvements with Paintshop Pro.

Much more details on my website: www.deepsky-drawings.com

Bertrand Laville

Globular Cluster M5 and STF 1930

Messier 5 and STF 1930
Sketch and Details by Mariano Gibaja

Object Name: M 5 (NGC5904) and STF 1930 in Serpens constellation.
Object Type: (Globular Cluster/Double Star)
Location: Bonilla (Cuenca) SPAIN
Date: 2010-April-10; UT: 23;30
Medium used: Graphite pencil one white paper. Photoshop:inverted
Equipment used: SCT 8″ (64X)

The observation of this globular cluster is very rewarding. It finds itself
in Serpens’ constellation, approximately 25.000 light years away. M5 and M13
are the two most brilliant globular cluster in the northern hemisphere. It
has a very thick core and it can be observed how ramifications of starts
have their origin in it, the famous ‘spider legs’ that give to the cluster
its elliptical shape. The image of this beautiful cluster is completed with
the star 5 SER, with a magnitude of 5. But actually, if we observe closely
we can see that it is a double star. In this case it is the STF 1930, make
up of the star of magnitude 5 and its partner of magnitude 10, with a
separation of 11,4”.

I have done this draft in the observation area of the Astronomical
Association of Madrid (Agrupación Astronómica de Madrid) in Bonilla, Cuenca.
The weather was good and the temperature was around 3º C.

Do not miss the spectacle that this globular is offering and that will be
with us during the warm summer nights.

Unsheathing the sword

Orion’s Sword: NGC 1980, Messier 42 and 43, NGC 1977, NGC 1981
Sketch and Details by Peter Mayhew
Move cursor over image to view labels.

Location: York, UK
Date: 17th January 2010

How do you do justice to Orion’s sword? Whilst photography can reveal what the eye cannot see, it cannot easily record what the eye does see. Here is my attempt at the winter showpiece of the Northern skies. The more you linger and let the photons work over your retina, the more shades of grey and ripples of dark and light emerge: the scene really sucks you in. The sketch covers two degrees of arc top to bottom, and I viewed through a 25mm eyepiece on my Skywatcher Skyliner 152mm f8 Dobsonian, which gives a field of view of about half the sketch. The sketch was done in graphite pencil on white paper at the eyepiece and then scanned and inverted. Labels added later.

Vesta visits the neck of the Lion

Vesta and Algieba
Sketch and Details by Jef De Wit

Asteroid 4 Vesta reaches opposition on 20 February when it will be opposite the Sun in the sky, making it well placed for observation. At mag. +6.1, this 530 km-diameter space rock is right on the threshold of naked eye visibility from a site with very dark and clear skies (not the case for my backyard L).
Vesta looks just like a star when seen through a telescope and is easily confused with other stars in the area. But on 16 February the asteroid was very easy to spot. It passed almost exactly between Algieba (gamma Leonis) and the fainter 40 Leonis (mag. +4.8) that lies just to the south.
Algieba is nice double star (mag. +2.2 and +3.5, separated by 4.4”) that was easily split. I had trouble seeing colour in the double star. Although both stars are reported as yellow, only the western part looked a little bit yellow to me. The eastern star looked rather bluish.

Source: Sky at Night, February 2010

Clear skies
Jef De Wit

Object Name: Vesta
Object Type: asteroid
Location: Hove, Belgium (51°09’ north lat. 4°28’ east long.)
Date and time: 16 February 2010 around 22.30 UT
Equipment: Orion Optics UK 12” Dobson
Eyepiece: 13mm Nagler T6 (magnification 92x)
FOV sketch: approx 25’
NELM: 4,5 mag
Medium: graphite pencil HB/n°2, printing paper, scanned and inverted, some cleaning up was made with Paint

Mists of the Huygens Region

Messier 42
Sketch and Details by Robert Gudański

M42
Newton 8″
LVW 13
Lumicon OIII
22.01.2010
Stepnica, Poland
Robert Gudański

Moon over Armagh

Moon over Armagh on Christmas Eve
Sketch and Details by Miruna Popescu

This painting depicts how the southern sky looks on 24 December 2009 at 5.30 pm, when the Moon’s phase reaches first quarter. The next brightest celestial object at this time is the planet Jupiter, which this year is the “Christmas Star” for the Royal School, Armagh. Jupiter is seen here just before it disappears behind the school. The painting shows stars in Pisces, Pegasus, Aquarius and other constellations, and the location of the planet Uranus (visible through a telescope) about a third of the way from the Moon to Jupiter. Uranus was found in 1781 (seven years after the old building of the Royal School was completed) by the astronomer and musician William Herschel, the discovery constituting the first identification of a planet since ancient times and earning Herschel the post of King’s astronomer from George III.

In 1609, the year after the founding of the Royal School, Galileo Galilei used an early telescope to map the Moon and discover satellites of Jupiter. To mark the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first use of the telescope to observe the sky, 2009 is being celebrated worldwide as the International Year of Astronomy.

Dr Miruna Popescu from Armagh Observatory is the coordinator for the International Year of Astronomy 2009 in Ireland.

A New Visitor to the River

Nova Eridani 2009
Sketch and Details by Jef De Wit

Nova Eridani 2009

A nova is a cataclysmic nuclear explosion caused by the accretion of hydrogen onto the surface of a white dwarf star. Novae are not to be confused with supernovae or luminous red novae.

Astronomers estimate that the Milky Way experiences roughly 30 to 60 novae per year, with a likely rate of about 40. The number of novae discovered in the Milky Way each year is much lower, about 10.

An 8th-magnitude nova was discovered on November 25, 2009, by Koichi Itagaki of Yamagata, Japan. The new star lies in northeastern Eridanus, 6.9° west-southwest of Rigel. Prediscovery images suggests the star became as bright magnitude 5.6 in mid-November. Unfortunately, nobody noticed it then.

I had no trouble in finding the nova by using a finder chart from the American Association of Variable Star Observers. This chart contains comparison stars for magnitude determinations. My guess is a magnitude of 9.4.

Clear skies

Jef De Wit

Sources: www.wikipedia.org and www.skyandtelescope.com

Object Name: Nova Eridani 2009

Object Type: nova

Location: Hove, Belgium (51°09 north lat. 4°28 east long.)

Date and time: 6 December 2009 around 22.15 UT

Equipment: Orion Optics UK 12 Dobson

Eyepiece: 35mm Celestron Ultima (FOV 77 and magnification 34x)

NELM: 4,5 mag

Medium: graphite pencils HB/n°2 , printing paper, scanned and inverted, some cleaning up was made with Paint

Stellar Lantern: Another Gem From La Palma

Sketch and Details by Serge Viellard, translation by Frank McCabe

On the second night of observing (using the 16″scope at La Palma), it is the splendour of Orion that held my attention. The Orion nebula, Horsehead nebula, and also the Rosette will remain tremendous observations with regrets for lack of time to sketch them…..
With only a very limited amount of time (minutes) I was able to sketch the Hubble Variable nebula (NGC 2261)….