Amateur and professional astronomers around the world were galvanized by the recent news of the discovery by Koichi Itagaki of a nova in the constellation Delphinus. The star (actually a binary system) went from about 17th magnitude to a magnitude of 4.5 over a three day period, putting it in the ranks of the 30 brightest known novae.
I had to wait patiently for the clouds to thin enough for me to get this view of the “new star” with my 108mm reflector. A small planetary nebula, NGC 6905 (also known as the Blue Flash) was in the field of view winking in and out as the clouds thinned and thickened.
This observation was made as the nova was still increasing in brightness. By comparing the nova to two nearby stars, eta Sge (mag 5.0) and 29 Vul (mag 4.8), I was able to estimate its magnitude at about 4.9.
A nova occurs when a white dwarf draws enough fuel from its companion star to start an explosive runaway hydrogen-fusion reaction. The resulting cataclysm can be 50,000 times brighter than our Sun (or more)..
I made this drawing at the eyepiece on Canson Pure White drawing paper with 2B and HB pencils and a loaded blending stump.
Name: Nova Del 2013
Type: Nova
Location: Friars Hill, WV USA
Date: 16 August 2013
Hello all sketchers,
here is my sketch of very nice planet actual on the evening sky – Venus.
Last Saturday was very inspirating for me, so I decided to observe Venus in the evening. Seeing was not very good – 5/10 and it was windy. But i saw some atmospheric detail on Venus how you can see. It was very dificult but I made it!
I used my 8″ dobson with magnifications 150x and 200x and Celestron planetary filter – #15 (yellow).
At first I used OIII Astronomik filter but Venus was not so bright and filter killed all details …
Let’s check the sketch and write your opinion =))
Tom Perdoch
Hlucin (Czech republic)
3.8.2013
20.20-20.30 CEST
Dobsonian 200/1200mm
8mm Hyperion (150x), 6mm Omegon LE (200x)
Celestron #15
Seeing: 5/10. Windy.
Object Name: Meteor
Object Type: Perseid
Location: Sketched at a dark sky sight in Bristol, UK
Date: 13th August 2013; 00:40am; conditions – very good
Media (graphite pencil sketch and then digitized using graphics tablet and Photoshop)
I usually sketch in some detail (mainly HB and 2B). I then scanned the result into Photoshop and sharpened the sketch.
Observing Details
Had intended to spend an evening under dark skies watching the Perseids. Started out at 11:30pm but after numerous bright meteors over the next hour or so I decided it might be worth trying to accurately sketch one. This meteor came out of Cassiopeia and headed towards Andromeda Galaxy and broke in two as it trailed away. Frustratingly while I was sketching the background stars (and looking down) my pad was illuminated by a flash and on glancing up I realised I had missed a monster heading towards Pegasus – I could see the smoking trail for a good 2 secs. Suffering for my art? Perhaps!!
Itajobi, Brazil
S21°19′ / W49°03′
April 11th, 2013
04h30 (U.T.)
180mm dobsonian reflecting telescope f6 dob mounted (ATM Sebastião Santiago Filho)
Antares 10mm Super Plossl eyepiece
Orion Single Polarizing Filter
GSO 2.5x Three-Element Barlow Lens
Magnification: 270 x
Seeing: Antoniadi II (good, 2/5)
NELM: 4.0
Media: Faber Castell 6B pencil on white paper (BAA form)
Hi, my dear friends. One year later I am back with a Saturn sketch.
I made this sketch in April this year, but only now I found some time to scan and submit it. I hope you astronomers and enthusiasts enjoy.
No clouds, no Moon and no wind. The night would be perfect, wasn’t by the seeing (Ant. 2) and the city lights (NELM 4.0). I decided to observe from my backyard instead of moving all the equipment to the farm.
Despite the limitations, the favorable position of the giant planet revealed several typical features, like Cassini Division, rings’ and globe’s shadows on each other and five of its numerous moons. C-Ring was not visible.
The five visible moons were Japetus, Rhea, Tethys, Dione and Titan.
Object Name: Stephan’s Quintet (NGC7317, NGC7318A, NGC7318B, NGC7319, NGC7320)
Object Type: galaxies in Pegasus
Location: Jodłów – small village in southern Poland (picture made during StarParty Jodłów 2011)
Date: 29.09.2011
Media: graphite pencil, white paper, color invert
Telescope: Columbus 320UL (320/1384 Newtonian) + Meade 5000UWA 8,8mm
Seeing: 2/5 (good)
Transparency: 2/5 (good)
NELM: 6,4 mag
One of the most popular “challenge objects”. If you want to observe this objects, one thing is very necessary – clear dark sky. Why? This objects are vey faint so good contrast between galaxies and sky is the most important thing. After few minutes of eye adaptation you can observe four very faint galaxies on the longest side of triangle of three bright stars (it is quite easy to find because it is near very bright galaxy NGC 7331). Very interesting objects – you must have it on your observation list under really dark sky.
NGC 1325 Spiral Galaxy in Eridanus
Spiral Galaxy
Location: Rush Valley, Utah
December 26th, 2011
Pastel on Black Paper, white pencil for the stars
Conditions on December 26th, 2011 made it so that my friend Mat and I went observing for the night in the West Desert of Utah. Conditions were clear, cold, about 15 degrees F at the time. While we were setting up there was a wonderful Sun Dog in the Western Sky which we took as a good omen and sure enough, we had a wonderful evening. I would rate the sky at an Antoniadi II this night when I sketched this object. I used my Orion XX14i, a 14 inch truss dob, a 27mm Panoptic as a finder and a 10mm Pentax XW to sketch the object. This galaxy has a very stellar nucleus with a bright inner core that is surrounded by diffusion. Nice star to the west of the galaxy and the southwest end of the galaxy tappers and thus had more detail located there. Not a particularly well known or observed galaxy, but one in the Eridanus cluster and worthy of a look if one is there. Who says winter isn’t galaxy season?
PCW Memorial Observatory, Texas – Erika Rix www.pcwobservatory.com
Temp: 17.2°-27.8C, calm-N 5mph, clear.
Seeing: Wilson 4.8-4.6, Transparency: 5/6, 50x.
Maxscope DS 60mm H-alpha, LXD75, Baader Planetarium Hyperion 8-24mm Mark III.
Sketches created at the eyepiece with black Strathmore Artagain paper, white Conte’ crayon and pencil, white Prang color pencil, Derwent charcoal pencil, black oil pencil.
As of this morning, there were 8 active regions on the Sun. Plage and filaments scattered over three quarters of the solar disk with sunspots popping in and out of view crisply as it moved in and out of the scope’s sweet spot. A large diffuse quiet region filament, similar to the one observed on May 6, 2012, was to the SE quadrant reaching out over the limb. Two large bright prominences were located at PA 70 and 115 with several smaller ones scattered around the limb. The prom at 70 degrees had very faint wisps of structure reaching between the three brightest regions.
I had started to draw the full solar disk when a faint pair of prominences to the NW caught my eye. I had accidentally kicked the adaptor that was plugged into my power pack and the mount turned off, allowing the disk to drift across my field of view. When this happened, a huge billow of plasma floated above the limb. It was attached by very slender lines of plasma to the thick fainter prom at the 315 degrees position angle. It had the appearance of a large balloon being blown to the south while tethered to the ground. Tossing my larger sketchpad to the side, I grabbed the smaller pad and quickly sketched this prom. As the course this morning’s observation went on, the billowed top of the prominence changed quite dramatically. I almost expected it to either break free or collapse on itself before my session ended but by the time I completed the full disk sketch, it was still there.
The prominences near 1476 were dense and compact. The plage was very brightly formed as several slender lines within that active region. The main sunspot in 1476 was very easy to spot in h-alpha although the ARFs were very thin and few.
1479 is reminiscent of 1476 several days ago, although the preceding spot standing alone is on the opposite end. Of course, another difference that the sunspots in 1479 are smaller. They may develop more as the days go on. Here’s hoping for beautiful weather so we can keep an eye on it.
Solar Prominence – May 16, 2012, 1345 UT – 70° PAH-Alpha Sun – May 16, 2012, 1550 UT
after only a few good nights since November, I could say that this winter is really terrible for hobby astronomers in Germany. Yesterday it was my sixth night under clear sky. The temperatures and the cold wind do not just stop. The forecast say, that the sky should be covered by the end of next week and so, this Jupiter is probably the last for me in this season.
In a few weeks he is already too low on the horizon. Then Saturn is the object of the night.
I used my 115/805 TMB Apo (No. 83) and enlarged from 130x to 200x. Towards the end I could even observe the gas-giant with the 3.5 mm eyepiece (230x).
The air was very quiet and many fine details were visible. I hope you enjoy the sketch of our biggest neighbour in solar-system.
It was a great feeling, to catch all these particulars.
Best wishes and clear sky
Uwe
Location: near Tauberbischofsheim (Germany) 335m above sea level.
Telescope: TMB 115/805 Apo Refractor
Eyepieces: 3,5mm Nagler, 4mm Williams UWAN, 6mm Baader Genuine Ortho
Air: very quite / best observing conditions
Temperature: – 8°C, strong Wind
