Galaxy – Page 23 – Astronomy Sketch of the Day

Interactions

Object name: NGC 4038/4039 (Arp 244), in Corvus
Object type: Interacting Galaxies
Location: Texas Star Party, Fort Davis, Texas, USA
Date: 12th May 2010
Media: Graphite pencil on white paper, scanned then inverted in
Photoshop Elements 6.0
Equipment: 36″ (91.5cm) f5 Dob, 13mm Televue Ethos (352x),
Conditions: NELM 6.9, Good seeing (Ant II), transparency II-III (where I
=excellent, IV = poor)

I was at the 2010 Texas Star Party and got the opportunity to use a
variety of large scopes, from an 18″ up to a 48″. This sketch of the
Antennae was made while observing with Larry Mitchell’s 36″ f5 Obsession.
Notes: Huge in the eyepiece, bright and full of detail. HII regions are
bright and the tidal tails are seen with relative ease. 4038 is the
larger of the two and its tidal tail is more obvious than that of 4039
which is barely seen.

Faith Jordan

Beautiful Collision

NGC 4038/4039
“The Antennae”
Interacting galaxies
Corvus
13/05/10
Ilford NSW Australia
56cm f5 dobsonian telescope
Field: 17′
Magnification: 354x
Sky Quality Meter reading: 21:35

Black Canford paper
White oil pencil
White pastel pencil
White pastel chalk
White pen
Blending stump

The interacting galaxies NGC 4038/4039 are always good value in any size
telescope.

In the 56cm dob there was subtle detail visible without using averted
vision, I just wished the sky conditions were a bit better on the night.

The the protruding “Antennae” that are so spectacular in images were not
visible (which is not surprising).

When you look at the magnificent HST image of this object with all its
associated colours, and then look at the object in a large aperture dob
at fairly high magnification, its shape and form is not too dissimilar.

Scott Mellish

An Open Pinwheel

Hey !

I send you M. 101, “The open pinwheel”.

This is a very difficult galaxy with bright nucleus, but very
faint spiralarms.First I could observe a circular , big halo around the nucleus, but
after a time of observation I detected brighter areas in this diffuse halo.
I think the sketch shows the best I can do with this galaxy with my telescope!
I used pencil on white paper and inverted. The observation was made outside Trondheim city, Norway. More info
on my sketch!

Thank you very much for your comments!

Best wishes from Per-Jonny Bremseth, and very clear sky to you all!!

So Many Bright Galaxies in One Field

NGC 4268/4272/4277/4281/4270/IC 3153
Galaxies
Ilford NSW Australia
14/05/10
56cm f5 Dobsonian telescope
Field: 17′
Magnification: 354x
Sky Quality Meter reading: 21:43

Black Canford paper
White pen
White pencil
Soft white pastel chalk
White oil pen
Blending stump
Fine tip paint brush for smoothness

Whenever Virgo is well placed in the southern sky I always try and tick
a few more objects off my observing list.

I noticed an interesting group of galaxies as I was checking my charts,
and I marked them down for observation.
I was most impressed when I finally managed to get them in the eyepiece
of the 56cm dob.

It is quite a rare treat to have so many bright galaxies gathered
together in the one field.

I have included a duplicate reference sketch with details.
Hopefully I have got all the designations correct.

Scott Mellish

Edge On Irregular

NGC 55
Irregular Galaxy
Sculptor
16/11/09
Chillagoe, Queensland Australia
TeleVue 76mm Apo Refractor
Magnification: 32x
Field: 128′

Black Canford paper
White pen
Soft white pencil
Blending stump

Last November I went to visit my sister who lives Cairns in
Queensland.

My travel scope is a TeleVue 76mm Apo and it fits into a large
duffle bag, along with the Telepod mount and drum stool, eyepieces
etc.
It stows well for airline travel.

We hired a car at Cairns and took a trip to outback Queensland and
the mining town of Chillagoe
We stayed at the Eco Lodge resort and Observatory which was rather
comfortable considering it is made up of ex mining dongas.

The Lodge had an observatory/shed which housed a C-8, in front of
which was a nice flat dry and dusty expanse where I set up my scope
for what
turned out to be two nights of clear skies.

Lots of nightlife punctuated my observing as creatures scurried
about and argued amongst the trees.

I completed three sketches out at Chillagoe, one of which was NGC
55. This large galaxy looks good even in a very wide field using
low magnification.

Scott Mellish.

The Globular and the Galaxy

Object Name: M 13 and NGC 6027 (Constellation of Hercules)
Object Type: Globular Cluster and Galaxy
Location: Bonilla-Cuenca SPAIN
Date: May 15, 2010
Media: graphite pencil, white paper, inverted GIMP 2
Telescope: SCT 8″
Eyepiece: 31 mm Hyperion-Aspheric
Mag.: 65X

Mariano Gibaja

Spanish-English translation using Google Language Tools:
The globular cluster M 13 is my favorite to teach my friends. When my
friends look through the eyepiece you always hear the cry: Ohh! How
beautiful! No doubt this cluster is of the most beautiful and
impressive from the sky. It is located at a distance of 24,000 light years.
When I look at M 13 I never forget the small galaxy NGC 6027. It’s very nice to
see a galaxy and a globular cluster at a time.

Spiral Through a Window of Stars

2010 June 8, 0330 UT

NGC 6207, H701, Galaxy type SA(s)c III
Lens-shaped spiral in Hercules just 28í NNE of M13
Stellar nucleus, 3.0í x 1.1í, magnitude 11.6v

PCW Memorial Observatory, Zanesville, Ohio USA – Erika Rix
16î Zhumell, 8mm TeleVue Plossl, magnification ~225x
Temp: 10C, Humidity 74%
Seeing: P 7, Transparency: 3/6

Sketch created scopeside with Rite in the Rain paper, black
ballpoint ink pen, #2 pencil then the stars cleaned up in Photoshop
and inverted with adjustment to brightness and contrast.

The light pollution was terrible tonight. There were five houses on
the hillside of the neighboring road with security lights on rather
than just the farm across the fields. And even though the trees
from the top of that hill block Dollar Generalís warehouse, the sky
above it lit up like a bright dome. Seems to be worse this year and
I was forced to put up the southern drop down wall of the
observatory to block out the excess light.

Nevertheless, it was a very enjoyable night under the stars and the
Milky Way was still visible. M13, olí faithful, was the first to be
viewed. I always kind of thought it looked like a stellar version
of a sarcoptic mite with the legs and tiny hairs sticking out at
the sides. I started off with a 13mm Ethos and then dropped down to
an 8mm TV Plossl. The number of individual stars in the globular
cluster that popped out was amazing.

Switching back to the 13mm, pushed the scope across slightly to NGC
6207, and then switched back to the 8mm again for a closer look.
The nucleus was stellar, but I was unable to really pinpoint
exactly where the brightest area was. I had to view with averted
vision and believe I have it placed fairly accurately.

Globular Cluster M13 and Galaxy NGC 6207

Messier 13 and NGC 6207
By Mariano Gibaja

Spanish-English translation using Google Language Tools:
The globular cluster M 13 is my favorite to teach my friends. When my
friends look through the eyepiece you always hear the cry: Ohh! How
beautiful! No doubt this cluster is of the most beautiful and impressive
from the sky. It is located at a distance of 24,000 light years. When I look
at M 13 I never forget the small galaxy NGC 6027. It’s very nice to see a
galaxy and a globular cluster at a time.

NGC 6384

NGC 6384
By Erika Rix

2010 June 8, 0457 UT

NGC 6384, Galaxy type SAB(r)bc I, Ophiuchus, ~80 million light years away
Hazy oval with a brighter oblong middle, 6.4’ x 4.3’, magnitude 10.4v

PCW Memorial Observatory, Zanesville, Ohio USA – Erika Rix
16” Zhumell, 13mm Ethos and 8mm TeleVue Plossl, magnification ~138x – 225x
Temp: 8C, Humidity 92%
Seeing: P 7, Transparency: 3/6

Sketch created scopeside with Rite in the Rain paper, black ballpoint ink pen, #2 pencil then the stars cleaned up in Photoshop and inverted with adjustment to brightness and contrast.

At first glance, this spiral galaxy looked small and oblong nesting with a triangle of stars. Putting a dark cloth over my head and studying it further, I was able to make out a larger fainter portion of it extending to nearly two of the stars in the triangle. I couldn’t make out any structure on the outer portion other than it was almost oval. The inner, brighter portion was more oblong and the density was uneven.

During this observation, two satellites crossed the lower portion of my FOV, traveling west to east. The second one came through about half hour after the first. It seemed to be moving a little slower and was not as bright as the first. The second was at 0440UT. The courses were marked on my sketch by the dashed lines.

Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 6744 in Pavo

NGC 6744
By Serge Vieillard

French-English translation using Google Language Tools:

My travels took me to Chili in 2010. Although the galaxies with which we are all familiar paraded at the zenith, I’m focusing mainly on those unknowns. However, I would remember this long and sumptuous Sombrero (NGC 4594) absorption band very finely serrated. I spent several nights trying to analyze NGC 6744, this large galaxy in the Peacock. We can see the huge thing, with arms complex, but extremely weak and diluted. The sketch is difficult to achieve. I added my print bit by bit on the sheet, but never quite sure of contours and exact proportions. But ultimately, the result is not totally meaningless.
16 inch telescope (T400-c) observation and sketch

Object: NGC 6744 face on barred spiral galaxy – Artist: Serge Vieillard – Sketch Date: Early in 2010