Sharp Shadows Over the Caucasian Mountains

Sharp Shadows

The Caucasian Mountains of the Moon
Sketch and Details by Krzysztof Jastrzębski “Jarzbi”

Hi.
This is my first astronomy sketch made with pencils. It’s too hard as
for the first time.
Object Name:
* Object Type (Moon Craters)
* Location (Skawina City in Poland)
* Date (04 January 2009)
* Equipment: Synta 8” Dob, Eyepice LV 5.

Greetings,
Krzysztof Jastrzebski (Jarzbi)

A Real Hoot

The Owl Nebula

M97 (NGC 3587), The Owl Nebula
Sketch and Details by Ferenc Lovró

M97 (The Owl Planetary nebula)

M97 (NGC 3587), also known as the Owl-nebula, is a very spectacular, famous planetary, in the vicinity of M108. It’s a nearly regular circle, slightly elongated in E-W directions. Also on the Eastern and Western corner one can find two darker spots, the eyes of the owl. The planetary itself is quite an easy object, looks much brighter than the 11th magnitude as listed in catalogues, a homogenous shape with sharply fading edges. Discovering the eyes is a bit harder: especially the Western spot which tends to blink. Using your averted vision helps a lot to see the details. I was using my Baader UHC filter to finish this sketch, however according to my experiences a slightly better seeing helps much more than the filter.
This is an inverted pencil sketch.

Sky location: R. A.: 11h 15m: Dec.: 55° 1′: Constellation: Ursa Major
Date/time: 2008.04.24 20:30 UT
Equipment: 12″ f/5 Newtonian
FoV: 20′
Magnification and filter(s): 167x + UHC filter
Seeing: 3/10 Transparency: 3/5
Sketching Location: Nádasdladány, Hungary
Observer: Ferenc Lovró

A Belgium Moon Mapper and a Thirteenth Century Theologian

Mercator and Campanus

Lunar Craters Mercator and Campanus
Sketch and Details by Dale Holt

Mercator and Campanus

I scanned the terminator with my 6” refractor, looking for a feature that caught my eye just a little more than the next, that formation that shouted out “sketch me”.
I was drawn to a pair of craters on the terminator, delightfully lit by the Sun and filled with shadows of the moment.
The upper of the two craters in my sketch is Mercator named after a Belgium Moon mapper (1512-1594). It is a flooded crater of 46km diameter with a flat and smooth floor which contrasts well with the very similar sized Campanus just below which is 48km in diameter but has a central peak and more dramatic terraced walls was named in memory of Giovanni Campano a Thirteenth Century theologian, astronomer and astrologer a common combination for the time. A considerable amount of research through my lunar library has led me to identify the small but bright crater to the right of Mercator as likely to be Marth, a German Astronomer 1828-1897, illumination prevented observation of its interesting double wall.  
 
Telescope 6″ F9 Triplet refractor by Superscopes
Magnification 338X
Sketch made on Daler Rowney black paper with Conte Pastels, Derwent Pastle & watercolour pencils with plenty of blending stump action for effect
 
Dale Holt
Chippingdale Observatory
Chipping
Hertfordshire
England

Lulin From El Mirage, Arizona

Comet Lulin

Comet C/2007 N3 Lulin
Sketch and Details by Juan Perez “Juanchin”

Object: C/2007 N3 LULIN
Date: Jan 29, 2009
Time: 06:15 LST / 13:15 UTC
Location: El Mirage Arizona
Instrument: Orion 25×100 binoculars 2.5deg FOV
Detector: Visual Observation
Magnitude: ~7.5 –8
Weather : clear skies, biting winds, temp. 45degF

Comments:
I’ ve been keeping an eye on Lulin for the past few days and, I have yet to discern whether a tail is visible from this semi-urban town. Averted vision is playing tricks with me. I’d like to say that I see a tail pointing East but I’m in doubt. The diffused coma appears to have an oblong shape to it. Somehow this comet is supposed to brighten but today it seemed to be in the magnitude of around 8. Last week the comet was like in the magnitude of 7 and looked compact and pronounced on my binoculars. As I was sketching an Iridium flare passed right through my view from a West to Northernly direction. – Awsome!

A Fine Reflection

M78

M78 (NGC 2068) reflection nebula in Orion
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

Reflection Nebula M-78 (NGC 2068)

This Orion gas and dust cloud extends 5 light years across and is illuminated by the two hot 10th magnitude B class stars (HD 38563A&B) that appear in front of this dust cloud. For comet hunters of the 18th century, this was an important entry made to the Messier catalog shortly after Pierre Mechan’s discovery in 1780, because it looks very much like a comet. At 1600 light years away this cloud of dust may best be seen without the use of a filter of any kind at least that is from my urban/suburban sky. It shines at about 8th magnitude and is rated as a bright diffuse reflection nebula. A great deal of star formation is taking place in this region. Dark light blocking gas and dust create the sharp edge at the top of the Northwestern margin of the nebula in the sketch. You will find the nebula at R.A. 5h 46.7m: Dec. 0° 3m.

Sketching

Date and Time: 1-25-2009, 1:15-2:00 UT
Scope: 10” f/5.7 Dobsonian. 21 mm Hyperion eyepiece 68x, no filter,
8”x11” white recycled sketching paper, 2H, 2B graphite pencils, blending stump, eraser shield, scanned and inverted, some star magnitude adjustments and background made after scanning using Microsoft Paint.
Temperature: -14°C (7°F), calm, partly cloudy
Seeing: Pickering 4/10
Transparency: Below Average 2/5

Frank McCabe

Double The Pleasure

NGC 869 and NGC 884

NGC 869 and NGC 884, The Double Cluster in Perseus
Sketch and Details by Daniel Stępniak

Wonderful Double Cluster

This double cluster is one of my favourite objects. It’s visible with
every equipment, even naked eye. The view is really impressive so I made
a decision to sketch it.

Something about the sketch:
Obiect name: NGC869 & NGC884 in Perseus
Equipment: Dobsonian 6″, Kellner 25 (48x)
Location: Sochaczew, Poland
Time: 17 January 2009
Technique: Graphite pencil

Spectacular Digital Plato

Plato

Lunar Crater Plato
Sketch and Details by Bognár Tamás, text by Rich Handy

114 km walled plain Plato is portrayed with incredible detail by Hungarian amateur astronomer Bognár Tamás in his digital represention. Plato is of Upper Imbrium age (about 3.8 to 3.2 billion years old). It’s broken and collapsed west rim speaks of a history of modification by lavas that have risen to nearly fill it’s now somber floor.

The data of the drawing:
Plato
Telescope: 3″ F/11 Newton and 7,5 mm Super Plossl eyepiece

Date: December 2008

This digital drawing preparated ArtRage 2.5 programs.

Observing Location: Zakany – Hungary, 46° 15′ N 16° 57’E elev.: 129m

–
Üdvözlettel !
Bognár Tamás

2009. január 24.

Linx with a Bear’s Claw

Bear’s Claw

NGC 2537, the Bear’s Claw Galaxy
Sketch and Details by Jeff Young

I spent quite a bit of time viewing this one, trying as I might to eek out the bear-paw shape. In the end, I managed the 4 bright knots, but the dark lane which defines the paw eluded me. The rather poor seeing might have been in play here, although my transparency for the night wasn’t great either.

The Bear Paw’s unusual shape also contributed to its interesting history. William Herschel compared it to a planetary in his original (1787) observation: “… almost of an even light throughout, approaching to planetary, but ill defined and a little fainter on the edges…”. His son John, evidently having resolved some of the knots, thought it a globular cluster: “…very nearly uniformly B[right], but hazy at the edges. It is a resolved globular cluster. Being a remarkably fine night, I see the stars; they are 20th mag….” In the end, it took Lord Rosse’s 72” Leviathan and several observations during the late 1840’s and 1850’s to identifiy it as a “spiral nebula” (i.e.: galaxy).

Bear Paw Galaxy / Arp6 / NGC2537
Dwarf galaxy in Lynx
Sketched Jan 23, 2009 from County Louth, Ireland,
as viewed through 16” Mak-Cass @235X; Pickering 3, NELM 5, SQM 20.4
Daler-Rown ey HB Graphic pencil on white cartridge paper. Scanned and inverted in Photoshop.

Cheers,

— Jeff.

Lulin Under Clear Dark Skies

Comet Lulin

Comet C/2007 N3 Lulin
Sketch and Details by Michael Rosolina

C/2007 N3 (Lulin)
Comet
Friars Hill, West Virginia
23 January 2009

I got up early Friday morning before the waning crescent moonrise to get a fresh look at Comet Lulin under clear, dark skies. Except for images and Jeremy Perez’s sketch, I hadn’t seen the comet since early January and I was curious to see what changes had occurred visually. Lulin is still in the constellation Libra, but it is much brighter and higher in the sky now, an easy binocular object. The coma appears elongated due to the near head-on perspective from our point of view here on Earth and to the comet’s unusual orbital geometry. After viewing Lulin with my 12×36 image stabilized binoculars, I used my 108mm reflector and graphite pencils on white paper to make this field sketch which I later inverted digitally.

Best,

Michael Rosolina