Category: Pencil

Globular Cluster Pair

A comparison between two globular clusters, M15 in Pegasus and M13 in Hercules - September 24, 2014 and September 27, 2014
A comparison between two globular clusters, M15 in Pegasus and M13 in Hercules – September 24, 2014 and September 27, 2014

Hi,

Please accept my sketches of this beautiful pair of globular clusters, M15 in Pegasus and M13 in Hercules. Both globular clusters are spectacular objects by themselves but I thought it was interesting to pair them side-by-side to compare and contrast. M15 is smaller, has a more densely packed core and a more symmetrical shape M13 is larger, has a more loosely packed core and meandering streams of stars. The sketches were made on the nights of 9/24/2014 and 9/27/2014 respectively from a fellow club member’s observing field near Green Bay, WI using my 10” Discovery Dobsonian telescope at 120x. They were made using white paper with HB and 2B graphite pencils and blending stumps to smooth. Image colors were inverted using Paint.NET. I hope you enjoy it.

Object Name – M15 & M13
Object Type – Globular Cluster
Location – Near Green Bay, WI US
Dates – 9/24/2014 and 9/27/2014
Media – graphite pencil, blending stumps and white paper. Image colors inverted using Paint.net

Taoism on an Anomalous Lunar Phase Night

Lunar mountains as they appear along the limb - December 6, 2014
Lunar mountains as they appear along the limb – December 6, 2014
Anomalous December 6, 2014 libration illustrated
Anomalous December 6, 2014 libration illustrated

The night on December 6 , 3;00-4;00 am was great to observe the 15day moon.

After study some pdf Taurus-Littrow Valley ,NASA, in web, l looked through the eyepieces and soon l found the position of the 15day lunar shade terminator was wrong and strangely for, l remember the lunar phases on 15day moon were always [East-West]ward apparent, this time it was anomalously [North-South] ward.

l think it was not because by libration definitely but by some unknown force pushed the moon downward against the flat normal orbital plane of moon-earth system. l was so tired that night that l had only one hour observation not enough time to check how the limb shade was changing even l could’nt sketch reasonably well the old China or Korean Taoism like landscape and this magnificent similarly scenery was stretched along the limb almost 350km long and of course my limitation was only 70km span , yes-, l have also experienced the Grand Canyon like scenery once with the 8′ og in Dec 2013, twice was recently with the 13″ og 1.5months ago. Now is a Taoism scene.

—————-

320mm homemade refractor x420

2014, 12. 6th

Transparecy,seeing together superb ,8/10;.8/10

White paper, graphite pencils, black acrilic

Shot with a Olympus d-camera

K.S.Min S. Korea

Mooncrater – Thebit

The Lunar crater Thebit - November 1, 2014
The Lunar crater Thebit – November 1, 2014

Hello,

in this night I used my TMB 115/805 to observe the moon.

After half an hour (I have started around 19:00 clock) I decided to hold the crater “Thebit” for my log. Partly it has not occurred to me somehow and I took more than an hour before I could go on for fine work. The proportions did not want to go out of hand and the many subtleties difficult to carry auf’s paper today. Everything was pretty numb, pins “dashed” strange and haze-winding soaked the paper so that it rippled.

All in all I am very happy to have seen it. It was a great Show.

CS Uwe

Date: 01.November 2014
Object: Moon
Object Name: Crater Thebit
Telescope: 115/805 TMB
Eyepiece: 3,5 mm Nagler
Magnification: about 230x
Location: Near Tauberbischofsheim Germany

Surprise Libration

The lunar crater Gauss and environs seen in different librations on January 16, 2014 and December 8, 2014
The lunar crater Gauss and environs seen in different librations on January 16, 2014 and December 8, 2014

Last night I made a sketch of Lunar crater Gauss and its surroundings. While archiving the sketch this morning I realised I already sketched this part of the Moon almost a year ago, so I got the idea of a side by side comparison to show the effect of lunation. To my surprise I found out these sketches were made at the exact same lunation: 15.5 days. The difference in lighting therefore had to be caused mainly by the Moon’s libration; the slow wobbling of the Moon in its orbit. A pleasant suprise to find out I sketched this phenomenon totally unintentionally!

Both sketches were made using a 3″ Polarex Unitron refractor at 171x, with a white pastel pencil on black paper. Orientation and size were matched using Photoshop.

Object Name: Gauss
Object Type: Lunar crater, libration
Location: Deventer, The Netherlands
Date: December 8, 2014
Media: white pastel pencil, black paper

Clear skies!
Roel Weijenberg
www.roelblog.nl

Nebulosa de Orión (Orion Nebula)

Messier 42, "The Great Nebula of Orion", a giant stellar nursery in the constellation Orion
Messier 42, “The Great Nebula of Orion”, a giant stellar nursery in the constellation Orion

Object Name: M42.
Object Type: Nebula.
Location: Pergamino, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Date 05/12/2014, 00:15am.
Media: White paper, pencil and photoshop to invert colors and make minor tweaks.
Equipment used for the drawing: Helios 114/900 (reflector).
Ocular: Huygens 25mm.

Craters Billy and Hansteen

Lunar craters Billy and Hansteen with the mountain Mons Hansteen - December 4, 2014
Lunar craters Billy and Hansteen with the mountain Mons Hansteen – December 4, 2014
Billy, Hansteen and Mons Hansteen labeled
Billy, Hansteen and Mons Hansteen labeled

Craters Billy and Hansteen

It has been cold in Chicagoland and although it was sunny most of the day, high cirrus clouds moved in after sunset to block out all stars fainter than 3rd magnitude. Ice crystals at high altitude generated a colorless halo around the Moon. Not the best conditions for sketching but the first chance in 4 weeks for me. My target for this sketch was the pair of craters at the southern edge of Oceanus Procellarum. Crater Billy (46 km.) with its dark smooth lava covered floor and crater Hansteen (45 km.) with its hilly, irregular floor and terraced walls present contrasting looking craters of similar size and age. Between these craters is a large arrowhead shaped volcanic extrusion feature called Mons Hansteen. This object always looks very bright at or near full Moon.

Sketching:

Black Canson paper, white and black Conte’ pastel pencils, white Pearl eraser, blending stumps
Telescope 13.1” f/6 Dobsonian telescope on an equatorial drive platform at 222x with 9mm eyepiece

Date: 12-04-2014, 02:00 – 03:00 UT


Temperature: -7°C (20° F) 
mostly cloudy, calm

Seeing: Antoniadi IV (poor)

Colongitude: 54.2 °

Lunation: 11.4 days

Illumination: 92.5 %



Frank McCabe

Sirio

The double star Sirius, its companion, a white dwarf is lost in the glare of the giant which the brightest star in the night sky
The double star Sirius, its white dwarf companion is lost in the glare of the giant which the brightest star in the night sky

Object Name: Sirio (Sirius).
Object Type: Star.
Location: Pergamino, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Date 04/12/2014.
Media: White paper, pencil and photoshop to invert colors and make minor tweaks.
Equipment used for the drawing: Helios 114/900 (reflector).
Ocular: Huygens 25mm.

Crater Posidonius at Sunset

Lunar crater Posidonius and environs at sunset - August 7, 2012
Lunar crater Posidonius and environs at sunset – August 7, 2012

Crater Posidonius at Sunset

On this night I watched the sunset terminator creep slowly toward ring-plain crater
Posidonius; in addition I sketched the crater and other features on the floor of Mare Serenitatis. Posidonius (96 km.) is an old upper Imbrian era impact remnant. Its age is underlined by the way shadows penetrate the rim at numerous points betraying impact damage there. The highest part of the rim is on the terminator side of this crater. Sunlight was still reaching Posidonius A and other high points on ridges including one on the inner ring. Beyond this crater to the west and south the great serpentine ridge could be seen in best light. This ridge is made up of dorsa Smirnov and dorsa Lister.

Sketching:

For this sketch I used: black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper 9″x 12″, white and black Conte’ pastel pencils and a blending stump. After scanning, Brightness was decreased just slightly using my scanner.

Telescope: 10 inch f/ 5.7 Dobsonian and 6 mm eyepiece 241x

Date: 08-07-2012, 06:30 – 07:40 UT

Temperature: 29°C (85° F)
clear, calm

Seeing: Antoniadi III

Colongitude 147.9 °

Lunation 19 days

Illumination: 73.4 %



Frank McCabe

Lunar craters Aristoteles and Mitchell

Lunar craters Aristoteles and and Mitchell - November 28, 2014
Lunar craters Aristoteles and and Mitchell – November 28, 2014

Hi,

Tonight I could do yet another lunar crater sketch:

Object Name: Aristoteles and Mitchell
Object Type: Lunar Crater
Location: Germany, Dusseldorf area
Date: 2014-11-28, 1910-1940 CET
Media: chalk pencil and charcoal pencil on black sketching cardbox
Telescope: Celestron Nexstar 127 SLT
Eyepiece: TS HR Planetary 7mm
Clear skies!

Achim