Vega and Epsilon Lyrae

I chose Vega in the constellation of Lyra as my first sketch study, as it was the brightest star in my visible night sky (… and 3rd brightest star in the Northern hemisphere night sky after Sirius and Arcturus). I threw the towel in on several sketches before arriving to this one. It sure is different to sketch in the dark! My first attempts had severely mis-plotted star fields, and even though a sketch of the night sky is never 100% perfect, it wasn’t even looking close to what I was seeing in my field of view! An hour and a half later, I was satisfied enough to call this one my first.

I was able to spot the famous “double double” stars of Epsilon Lyrae very easily, as well as a light blue tint to Vega, and some various stars with a light tint of orange. Even though winter is coming along, I could still see part of the “Summer Triangle” asterism with Altair and Deneb.

Object: Vega in constellation Lyra
Date: November 15th, 2013 – 6:30 – 7pm CT
Location: New Braunfels, Texas – back yard
Conditions: 62°F, Clear
Instruments: 10×50 Wide-Angle Binoculars
Medium: Graphite on white sketch paper, inverted
(see the original sketch)

Thank You,
Jen Bishop

Stars of Jen
http://stars.jenbishop.com