Hello friends:
Planetary conjunction at dawn: Mars in The Beehive (M44)
Graphite drawing on white paper (inverted Ps).
Binocular 12×80 (4,2º) at 4:30 UT (height of Mars 21º over horizon)
Mars is within the cluster and framed by the four stars of
Cancer (Asellus Borealis, Asellus Australis, 31 Cnc and 33 Cnc). Its colour was bright orange between blue and white stars.
On 31 July, we had the best observation conditions. The air was as good as ever before. At the beginning of the night I was looking for the Blue Flash Nebula NGC 6905.
At low magnification, the bright trapezoid fit into the field of view and the pretty star chain that led to the fog was beautiful to see.
The night was wonderful and I could look at many beauties of heaven. The transparency was excellent and everything in warm temperatures and little wind.
Object: NGC 6905 “Blue Flash Nebula”
Telescope: 10 “ACF
Eyepiece 31mm Nagler
Magnification: approx 80x
Location: near Tauberbischofsheim Germany
Aloha,
I send to you a sketch created last year of a favorite region of the lunar landscape. Rupes Recta, latin for “Straight Fault” or “Straight Wall” is a lunar fault at the southeastern region of Mare Nubium. This sketch was created at ~8 days lunation when the angle of the Suns light casts deep shadows across the linear fault giving it the appearance of a very steep cliff.
In spite of appearances, Rupes Recta is not a sheer cliff, though still relatively steep. It rises above the mare plain ~250 to 300 meters high with ~20 degree grade as reported by some authors. The fault runs NW to SE for ~120 km terminating at the south end as a jumble of rubble and then a smooth curved wall. This creates the appearance of a sword as likened by 17th century Huygens, the curved region being the sword handle with the cliff edge being the sword blade.
Seeing was very good on this night but the angle of light at the terminator did not illuminate the “handle” as well as on other nights of observing. When this region is observed days later the steepness of the fault vanishes and appears as a step transition instead. The light plays amazing tricks on the eye.
Sketched in relief to the west of the fault is crater Birt just becoming lit. Thebit and Thebit A are sketched to the SE of Rupes Recta.
Cindy (Thia) Krach
Maui, Hawaii
4,000 el.
12.5” Portaball
14mm 109x, 9mm 169x
Object: 20 Trifid Nebula
Location: Mt. Nerone
Date 3rd Aug 2013
Pencil on white paper
This nebula is quite low at my latitude and thus is always submerged in the light pollution halo from cities in the south. This makes it a quite difficult object without a nebula filter. I have obtained the best results with an UHC-S filter. I also tried with an OIII filters which gives outstanding constrast on Lagoon Nebula, which is just nearby, but it is not the best for the trifid.
Regards, Immagine in linea 1
Aldo
Object Name (Nova Del 2013)
Object Type (Variable Star)
Location (Provence France)
Date (sept 5th, 2013)
Media (graphite pencil, water colour, white paper, paint.net to invert and compil)
Hi sketchers
I like things moving in the sky, and the Nova Del 2013 was the kind of progression that I like to chase.
A little bit less artistic, you can find the curve made of 30 magnitude estimations I did during 20 successive nights, no one single cloudy night!
The original sketch was done during the first night (Aug. 15th) the Dolphin constellation is easily visible.
The observation was made via 10×50 binoculars and then with a 80/400 refractor, received from my friend Yvan, to follow this observation . The sketch of the nova story, on the upper let corner, was made with inverted watercolour.
Hope you like, it’s difficult to make an artistic curve, isn’t it?
Michel Deconinck (from Polaris83 Forcalqueiret)
Michel Deconinck
http://astro.aquarellia.com/
Plato and Archimedes craters
Lunar craters
Eastbourne, UK
28th Aug 2013, 01:15 – 03:15 UT. Temperature 12C
Meade LX90 8″ Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with 26mm super Plossl eyepiece, 77x
White and black pastel on Daler Rowney Canford black paper
As a little summer holiday project I made a pledge to myself to sketch lunar craters at every opportunity, casually assuming that the usual poor British summer weather would make this an easy commitment to keep. However, I have been kept busy over the last couple of weeks!
I have been inspired by the quality of the sketches on your website and as you can see I am still some way off those standards; however, I am pleased to see (I think) some improvement in my efforts. I sketched this at the eyepiece using the pastels and just my finger as a blending tool.
Yours faithfully,
Oli Froom
Did some observing and sketching in the Sagitarius region on 8/24/2013. Very “crowded” area of the sky … so much to see and sketch. What caught my eye was the view of M20/M21, both easily visible in the FOV of my rich field scope. Hope I did it justice.
Mike
M20/M21 Nebula/Open Cluster
8/24/2013
Warren County NJ
Orion Astroview 100 Refractor
Sketched on a laptop computer
Object Name: The Moon and Beta Scorpius
Object Type: The Moon and a double star
Location: Haleakala Summit on Maui, HI
Date: August 14, 2013
Media: Pencil on a white sketch notebook page, reworked in GIMP and color inverted.
Because this event occurred over a short period of time, I was not able to make a detailed sketch of the moon. I’ve added details to one crater that lies near the double star which I’m guessing is Moretus. If anyone knows differently, please make a note of it in the comments.
The information about the equipment and the objects are included in the sketch submitted.
I give permission to display this sketch anywhere as long as I’m credited.
Thank you.
Steve McGaughey
Hello artists, how are you? i’m in last day of holyday….tomorrow i start with work…..Three days ago i made my last sketch of Moon behind my home, i’m in sleep but i jump from my bad and go to backyard. The Moon was two days after fool phase, i take.at first ,my bino 10×50 and i see the shadow at right border.
I take my refractor Vixen 90/1300 (old perfect instrument) and made this sketch. The zone are near Crater Petavius and Mare Crisium. I see the particular of crater Balmer with Mountain shadow…..incredible vision, very steady and clear in this scope.
I hope like you.
Best regard at all and clear sky.
Ciao, Giorgio.
Site: Pergola, Marche Region, center italy
Date: 23 August 2013 from 11,30 p.m. to 01,20 a.m.
Moon phase: waning (17,2 days of age)
instrument: refractor 90/1300
eyepiece: 6,2mm (12,4 with barlow 2x)
Magnification: 210x
Technics: Graphite pencill (from 4H to 3B) on sketch Fabriano Paper.
NGC 5907 Draco
16 ” 180-240x fst:6m3 SQM 21,42
Kreuzleshöhe 1100m, Germany
