Category: Colored Pencil

Mars – December 16, 2009

Mars
Mars – December 16, 2009, 9:45 – 10:15 UT
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

Mars December 16, 2009

It was a cold, clear, moonless, early morning with Mars high in the southern sky. The mirror of the telescope took some time to cool down as the temperature continued to drop on this night and early morning. Mars was very bright at visual magnitude -0.4, 93% illuminated and 77.5 million miles from us.
My fingers were numb in just 10 minutes of sketching so I was inside at 10 minute intervals to thaw them.
I decided to make a graphite field sketch and when I finished I converted it to a color pencil sketch indoors. After completing the color sketch I returned to the scope with the sketch to check for accuracy and then concluded.
I did not spend any time trying filters and the seeing was about average (Antoniadi III). Mars is inverted in the sketch with the north polar cap down and the preceding side to the left.
Don’t miss a chance to have a look.

Sketching:

White sketching paper 8″ x 11″; HB graphite pencil, soft charcoal pencil for sky background, blending stump for blending orange and yellow Crayola pencil shavings. Brightness decreased at scanning by -2 using scanner
Date 12/16/2009 – Time 9:45-10:15 UT
Telescope: 13.1 inch f/6 Dobsonian and 9mm eyepiece 222x
Temperature: -19°C (-2°F)
clear, calm
Transparency 4/5
Seeing: Antoniadi III

Frank McCabe

Mars

47 Tucanae

NGC 104/47 Tucanae
NGC 104 / 47 Tucanae
Sketch and Details by Scott Mellish

NGC 104/ 47 Tucanae
Globular Cluster
Ilford NSW Australia
17/10/09
56cm f5 Dobsonian Telescope
Field: 17′
Magnification: 354x
Sky Quality Meter reading: 21:78

White pen
Soft white pencil
Hard white pencil
White pastel chalk

I have made numerous attempts at sketching this remarkable globular cluster over the years, mostly in small telescopes at low power where it is just a bright ball. At higher magnification in my 56cm dob it is a vastly different object.

I had a dose of the Flu while I was away observing, but the sky was clear so I spent a solid two hours at the eyepiece sketching this globular, and it nearly done my head in. Every time I looked in the 8mm Ethos there seemed to be more and more stars to add, plus the 100deg FOV of this eyepiece was almost to much to handle.

The following night was clear again so I spent another 40mins just dabbling with the sketch to try and get as accurate eyepiece view as possible.

I have never been 100% satisfied with the sketches I have done previously of NGC 104 and most made the bin. This one however came out fairly good, it is certainly the best I could do with 47 Tuc.

I do not like to overdo eyepiece sketches, especially with size and brightness as one can be tempted to get a bit carried away, and detract from the visual perspective.

There has been no processing done with the sketch.

I do not think I will be doing NGC 104 again any time soon.
Too many stars!

Scott Mellish.

Late November Mars

Late November Mars

Mars on November 29th, 2009
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

As the month of November closes Mars appears larger (9.8” arc) in the eyepiece than earlier in the month. The distance to the red planet at the time of the sketch was 143,600 km. (89, 200 miles). It is nice to see Mars so high in the morning sky, growing bigger and brighter each day as the distances continues to close.

The central meridian was at about 10° lomgitude at the time of the sketch. When I finished I checked a Mars map to identify features I was seeing during moments of good seeing. From north to south they were: the North Polar cap, Mare Acidalium, Niliacus Lacus, central Chryse, the side by side sinuses of Margaritifer and Aurorae, and finally Mare Erythraeum. If you are up before daybreak on a clear morning step outside and take a look at Mars as its disk gets bigger and brighter.

Sketching:

White sketching paper 8″ x 6″; HB graphite pencil, soft charcoal pencil for sky background, blending stump for blending orange Crayola pencil. Brightness decreased at scanning by -2 using scanner
Date 11/29/2009 – Time 8:00-9:15 UT
Telescope: 10 inch f/5.7 Dobsonian and 6mm eyepiece 261x
Temperature: 9°C (39°F)
partly cloudy, humid, calm
Transparency 4/5
Seeing: Pickering 7/10

Frank McCabe

The Will to Sketch: Trifid and Eagle

The Will to Sketch: Trifid and Eagle

Emission/Reflection nebulae M-20
Sketch and Details by Serge Viellard, translation by Frank McCabe

Superb stay organized by the astronomy club in La Palma from the 9th to the 18th of October, 2009. We spent 3 nights at the top of the volcano (2400 m), next to the professional domes in a universe under a very good sky, well above the seas of clouds. This stay will remain marked by the will to carry out the portrait of the nebulas known as the Trifid and the Eagle. Both were marvelous to observe so well in the 16 inch scope, the vision abounds in details, differently highlighted according to filters used which allows these colorized drawings L, R (H-beta), V (OIII). I was encouraged to remake the drawings of the first night on pre-drawn star fields made during the next two nights, that in order to gain more precision. I appreciate in the Trifid the incredible complexity of the various dark channels, noting their particular forms, the meanders and their notches. I would have spend more time on the lower parts of nebula but the object was visible only a little of time at the beginning of night. Then comes the time to observe the Eagle with its notable and significant “pillars of creation” and incredible detail. Their perception varies according to the magnification employed and filters used. They are well highlighted with the UHC-S filter and a magnification of 220x.

The Will to Sketch: Trifid and Eagle

Emission/Reflection nebulae M-16
Sketch and Details by Serge Viellard, translation by Frank McCabe

Mars Glides Past the “Beehive”

Mars Glides Past the “Beehive”

Mars and “The Beehive Cluster”
Sketch and Details by Michael Rosolina

The clouds parted over West Virginia the other night allowing me to view Mars shortly after it passed in front of Messier 44, the Beehive.

I made this widefield sketch in order to capture the star cluster and its two attendants, Asellus Borealis–the Northern Ass and Asellus Australis, the Southern Ass. In Galileo’s time (about 180 years before Charles Messier catalogued it), M44 was known as Praesepe, the manger, where the Aselli ate their hay.

Praesepe was one of the objects that Galileo scrutinized with his new telescopes, discovering that it was a star cluster and not a nebula or cloud as previously thought. One of his scopes had about 15x, although he didn’t enjoy nearly the field of view that I had with my modern binoculars.

I made this sketch in the field with color pencils on black paper. I couldn’t give Mars the luminous appearance that I observed using color pencils on black paper, so I tweaked it a little digitally.

I am dedicating this drawing to a friend who passed away not long ago. Eric realized his dreams of astronomy by becoming an operator of the 100 meter radio telescope at Green Bank, West Virginia.

Best regards,

Michael Rosolina

Mars and M44
Planet and Open Cluster
Friars Hill, WV USA
3 November 2009 0830-0900 UT

Mars in the “Beehive”

Mars in the “Beehive”

Mars moving through the Beehive Cluster
Sketches and Details by Giorgio Bonacorsi

Hi all , how are you? I see yesterday the last sketch of Jeremy Perez and i say to myself: “I made the same sketch from home in the same day!” and i decide to sent you my last four sketches of “Mars in the Beehive” made with my bino bresser 10×50. I observe Mars also with my refractor 80/1000 at 333x and i see only the polar white zone but no partycular of surface.The best image of this event was throug bino 10×50, very stereoscopic and magnificent vision.
This is all for this moment.Thank you for your kind words, i’m o.k. at the moment, i hope next to sent you my new sketches of deep sky with my Dobson 10″.
Clear sky and good new sketches to all artists!!!

Ciao, Giorgio.

Name:Giorgio Bonacorsi
Site:Pergola,Marche,Center Italy
Date:from 31 October to 3 November
Instrument:Bino Bresser 10×50
Seeing:Good
Temperature:Cold,humidity,no wind.

Mars in the “Beehive”

Mars moving through the Beehive Cluster
Sketches and Details by Giorgio Bonacorsi

Mars in the “Beehive”

Mars moving through the Beehive Cluster
Sketches and Details by Giorgio Bonacorsi

Mars in the “Beehive”

Mars moving through the Beehive Cluster
Sketches and Details by Giorgio Bonacorsi

Southern Highland Spectacle

Southern Highland Spectacle

Lunar crater Maurolycus
Sketch and Details by Tamás Ábrahám

Hello,

here is a sketch about Crater Maurolycus.
Details
Date: September 9, 2009
Equipment: 8 inch f/5 Newtonian reflector with 4 mm SW Planetary eyepiece
Location: Zsámbék, Hungary
Technique: black paper, white and black pencils

Regards,
Tamás Ábrahám
www.vadakcsillaga.hu

Morning Mars

Morning Mars

The Planet Mars on the morning of September 12, 2009
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

Morning Mars Sketch

I was up very early in the morning observing and sketching the moon. When I finished I noticed the planet Mars was nearby the old crescent moon in the sky and since the atmosphere was producing good seeing I thought I’d have a look.
I was pleasantly surprised I could see a little more than the last time I looked so I decided to make a sketch at high power (362X). When I finished the sketch I later found I was looking at a central meridian on Mars of 36°- 40° longitude. So I was looking at: Mare Erythraeum, Chryse/Xanthe and Mare Acidalium on down to the North polar hood. From my sketch you can tell I was not seeing much detail but Mars is already getting interesting with four months to go until opposition.
At 6.1″ of arc and 229 million kilometers (143 million miles) away Mars remains a small target but soon it will be a regular observing target again.

Sketching:

6″x 8″ sheet of white sketching paper, a set of Crayola colored pencils, clean blending stump, and plastic eraser.
Telescope: 10″ f/5.7 Newtonian on a drive platform with a 4mm orthoscopic eyepiece at 362x
Weather Conditions:
Clear, humid, calm
15°C (59°F)
Seeing: 7/10
Transparency: 4/5
Time:
10:00-11:00 UT 9-12-2009
Location:
Oak Forest, Illinois

Frank McCabe

Jupiter and Moons Do a Double Take

Jupiter and Moons Do a Double Take

Jupiter and transiting moons, Ganymede and Europa
Sketch and Details by Serge Vieillard

Serge made these remarkable Jupiter sketches on the evening of August 19, 2009 while attending an Astronomical meeting in Valdrôme, France. He was using a 600mm scope and was sketching Jupiter and its moons and shadows as they crossed in front of the planet. The larger moon and shadow is Ganymède and the smaller one is Europa.

Jupiter and Moons Do a Double Take

Jupiter and transiting moons, Ganymede and Europa
Sketch and Details by Serge Vieillard

Serge’s remarks roughly translated are, “Then, Ganymède leaves the planet, Europe having about the same luminosity that the planet has, disappears between the two shadows which are oval in appearance due to perspective. The effect of relief is seizing, one feels the 3D, and the height of the satellites compared to Jupiter which are accentuated by the presence of shadows. Then Europe appears and cuts out in the darkest zones of the limb. It bites the shadow of Ganymède for it is its turn to leave the disc of Jupiter. At this time, the relief is total”.