The Crescent Nebula

NGC 6888, "The Crescent Nebula", an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus
NGC 6888, “The Crescent Nebula”, an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus

Object Name: NGC 6888(Crescent Nebula)
Object Type: Wolf-Rayet Nebula
Location: Bercedo, Burgos (Spain)
Date: 17/10/2014
Media: Graphite pencil, white paper, scanned and inverted with paint.
Equipment: Dobson 8″ + 25mm plössl (48x) + OIII Filter
Sky Conditions: windy, regular/bad seeing, no light pollution

Notes:While I manage to not fall over the telescope because of the gusty wind, I try to sketch that nebula. It shows really faint at the eyepiece field and without the OIII filter is barely visible. The nebula has an elliptical form (I would say it is like a potato) and I can discern the NW nebula’s elliptic edge (supposing that the North and East are 12 o’clock and 3 o’clock respectively at the eyepiece field’s edge) and the nebula’s interior is dark.

Best Regards

The Aristarchus Plateau

The Aristarchus Plateau, the lunar crater Aristarchus and environs - October 5, 2014
The Aristarchus Plateau, the lunar crater Aristarchus and environs – October 5, 2014

The Aristarchus Plateau, the lunar crater Aristarchus and environs – October 5, 2014[/caption]The Aristarchus plateau is one of the biggest and most spectacular volcanic regions in the Moon. With good seeing and the Moon high above the horizon, the region was impressive on October 5th, when it was near the terminator. Vallis Schröteri, the giantic lava channel meanders through the plateau starting from the famous Cobra Head vent, which is now mostly under shadow. The Aristarchus crater has a very bright wall with two dark bands; and to its north, Rupes Toscanelli stands out nicely. Finally, to the south of the plateau, the Herodotus Omega dome is easy to see, thanks to the oblique illumination.

Sketch: 2HB graphite pencil on white paper, scanned and processed with Photoshop CS3
Object Name: The Aristarchus Plateau
Location: Asturias, Spain
Date: October 5th, 2014 21:30-22:30 UT
Instrument: 120mm f/8.3 refractor + Barlow 2x + UWA 6,7mm (300x)
Observing report (in Spanish): https://sites.google.com/site/astrodgonzalez/observaciones/201410-aristarco
Best regards,
Diego González

Triple and Double Stars

Struve 2816, a triple star system and Struve 2819, a double star in the constellation Cepheus
Struve 2816, a triple star system and Struve 2819, a double star in the constellation Cepheus

Hi Asod! My sketch is about a triple and a double stars, in the same field. The triple is STRUVE 2816 and the double STRUVE 2819 and they are both part of the wide open cluster “Trumpler 37″ in Cepheus. I observed the two multiple systems with my Dobson 10” f/5 with a 14mm eyepiece, 82° for a 180x magnification. The observation is great!

Object Name: STRUVE 2816 and STRUVE 2819
Object Type: Triple star, Double star
Location: Copertino (LE), ITALY
Date: 23:40, 19-10-2014 (Local)
Media: India Ink on white paper, inverted

The Cat’s Eye Nebulae

NGC 6543, "The Cat's Eye Nebula", a planetary nebula in the constellation Draco
NGC 6543, “The Cat’s Eye Nebula”, a planetary nebula in the constellation Draco

• Object Name (NGC 6543)
• Object Type (Planetary nebulae)
• Location (OAB – Bauduen – Verdon – France)
• Date (October 16th 2014)
• Media (graphite pencil, watercolour, white paper, inverted via Paint.net)

To obtain this sketch I use the following optical combinations via the 24” f/d 3.3 on equ. mount of the OAB (Observatoire Astronomique de Bauduen)
An OIII filter to obtain better contrasts. Under a magnification of 240X and the OIII filter the nebulae center darkening is clearly visible.
With the same magnification but without the filter we can easily see the central star with direct vision; anyway we are a little dazzled by the close light of the nebula.
With a magnification of 120X we can observe the structure of one or two of the outer rings.
A 550x magnification allowed me to discern one of the two jets that extend the basic ellipse.

http://astro.aquarellia.com/

Michel Deconinck

M27 – The Dumbbell Nebula

M27, "The Dumbbell Nebula", a planetary nebula located in the constellation Vulpecula
M27, “The Dumbbell Nebula”, a planetary nebula located in the constellation Vulpecula

Object name: M27, The Dumbbell Nebula
Object type: Planetary Nebula
Instrument: 6″ Newtonian reflector, 6 mm eyepiece, UHC filter
Location: Gladbeck, Ruhr area, Germany
Date: July 19, 2014
conditions: 23 °C / 73 °F, clear and calm, fst = 5,2 mag
Media: graphite pencil (4B) on white paper, graphite powder and cotton swab, inverted and edited with GIMP 2.8
Clear skies,
Michael
www.sternsucher.com

Spiraling Prom

Solar prominences including a spiraling prominence - October 12, 2014
Solar prominences including a spiraling prominence – October 12, 2014

Aloha!

Todays Sun was bursting with excitement along the eastern limb. The more northern triple arch was very bright and dense in appearance. There was some activity near the equator that as I watched began to develop a bright spike. Then to the south, so beautiful and delicate in appearance, a spiral shape twisting off the limb. This was very exciting to sketch and time was spent creating and erasing to get it just right, trying to capture the spiraling effect.

I have been trying different techniques to capture the Sun recently. Graphite pencil on white paper is my current favorite method to get the smallest details my eye can see. A brush with charcoal was used to get the mottled surface of the solar disc.

Modeling after Erika Rix, I added a Tilting Sun graphic to show where the 2 major prominences were located on the solar disc.

Cindy (Thia) Krach

Solar Prominences
10/12/14 0900-0950 HST
Lunt 60mm PT
35x-83x
White paper and graphite pencil
Inverted & colorized in Photoscape
Tilting Sun software

Maui, HI

The tropical Scorpion

"The tropical Scorpion", the constellation Scorpio as seen over South Vietnam
“The tropical Scorpion”, the constellation Scorpio as seen over South Vietnam

Last month my family visited the home town in southern Vietnam where (my) wife’s mother lives. Several days and nights passed too fast as (they) always did to appreciate enough the tropical life and nature. The feeling of daily life here is always bright , busy, active,pleasant ,greenish,abundant and warm and noisy, the sun shines far intensely than in Korea, every roads every rivers flooding with motorcycles , boats , peoples, …. One late afternoon we visited a near temple to pray, have a conversation with a Buddhist priest ,rest until the sun set and ate noodles in a small restaurant near the temple . When the darkness spread on the west horizon where still remained in vermillion hue, I could see the magnificent Scorpion in full of stars, constellation rising 40 degree altitude which I always could only see the scorpions head in Korea, my location. Reaching mother’s house I aimed my hand binocular at the scorpion’s tail and I saw 7-8 globular, 8-10 open clusters. On the other nights I saw the Sirius hang on almost 75 degree altitude and the Altair hang on the zenith. I love Vietnamise song much, that helps artwork,astronomy together . —————-

Object; Constellation scorpio

Observe/ Sketch for 2 hours; (September) 9, 2014

Water color painting for 4 hours ; (September) 10, 2014

naked eye (with eyeglasses) , x1 power

Location ; Southern Vietnam ,T.P.Cantho near Equator [ ca 5 degree N]

White paper [50 x35 cm] with pencils , watercolors with brushies

Mel 20 the Alfa Persei Cluster

Mellote 20, Collinder 39 aka "The Alpha Persei Cluster"
Mellote 20, Collinder 39 aka “The Alpha Persei Cluster”

• Object Name: Mel 20
• Object type: Open cluster
• Location: Pelayo de la Presa Spain
• Date: December 22, 2013
• Media: Graphite Pencil HB 2 and 130g drawing sheet
• Inverted Color and processed: GIMP 2.8

– Search 9×50, 5th TFOV. Pedro Villamiel.

The image offered by this huge and remarkable cluster is, for me, the most rewarding of heaven.

Quietly watching him with binoculars is a pleasure.

October 8, 2014, Alcorcon-Madrid, Pedro Villamiel.