Jupiter Showing Off Its Spot

Sketch and Details by Serge Vieillard

At an Astronomy gathering (Astrociel Valdrôme 2010) to view the deep sky early in the night, the second part of the night became a time for pointing at planet Jupiter as the atmosphere settles down.
Serge writes: [roughly translated]
“Jupiter introduces a new aspect, with his well shaded off Northern equatorial belt, which further emphasizes the great red spot in a very original way. … four color drawing were made directly at the eyepiece of the 460mm telescope with some supplementation using the 600mm scope over two nights (August 11 and 12, 2010).”
Here are two of those sketches.

Serge Vieillard

A Stellar Jewel Box

NGC 4755
Location: R.A. 17h 22min.;Dec. -38° 29′

Sketch and Details by Serge Vieillard

Translation from French with Google Translator

Observation during my travels in Chile 2010 … Although the galaxies which we are familiar with parade at the zenith, I’m focusing mainly on those unknowns….
During the twilight, I felt the black night drawing my arms to open the “jewel box”. Despite the colorful and sympathetic vision of the object, I confess I do take great pleasure in this kind of exercise.

Serge Vieillard

A Perfect Ring Planetary in Scorpius NGC 6337

Sketch and Details by Serge Vieillard

Location: R.A. 17h 22m; Dec. -38° 29’ (J2000)

Translation from French with Google Translator

An extraordinary adventure with the club. We started three weeks in May 2010 in , a journey of 5,500 km from to San Pedro, making many raids on the slopes of the Andean altitude. The sky was not perfect as we expected. But in the camps on foot domes of La Silla Paranal or lost in the middle of the pampas, we made some excellent observations with our own travel gear. For my part, the use of T400-c is a real pleasure, gear totally adapted to this kind of situation….. NGC 6337 is watching shamelessly, provided you push the magnification on this ring almost perfect.

Serge Vieillard

The Ghost of Jupiter (NGC 3242) Near the Zenith

Sketch and Details by Serge Vieillard

This was an extraordinary adventure with the club. We spent three weeks in May 2010 in Chile, a journey of 5,500 km from Santiago to San Pedro, making many raids on the slopes of the Andean to altitude…. For my part, the use of T400-c (16 inch) is a real pleasure, gear fully adapted to this kind of situation…. The last (night) seems the most faithful to reality, the big globe including the central star was superimposed on the weak part of the expanding debris. The opportunity of the “Ghost of Jupiter” at the zenith was irresistible. The equipment was pushed to the maximum with 575x.

Object: NGC 3242 Planetary Nebula “Ghost of Jupiter” – Artist: Serge Vieillard – Sketch Date: May 2010

NGC 6744
By Serge Vieillard

French-English translation using Google Language Tools:

My travels took me to Chili in 2010. Although the galaxies with which we are all familiar paraded at the zenith, I’m focusing mainly on those unknowns. However, I would remember this long and sumptuous Sombrero (NGC 4594) absorption band very finely serrated. I spent several nights trying to analyze NGC 6744, this large galaxy in the Peacock. We can see the huge thing, with arms complex, but extremely weak and diluted. The sketch is difficult to achieve. I added my print bit by bit on the sheet, but never quite sure of contours and exact proportions. But ultimately, the result is not totally meaningless.
16 inch telescope (T400-c) observation and sketch

Object: NGC 6744 face on barred spiral galaxy – Artist: Serge Vieillard – Sketch Date: Early in 2010

Messier 101
By Serge Vieillard

It was a Spring weekend with the club at Mount Beuvray in Morvan, [France] and superb weather, despite a strong wind, refrigerating and annoying us. I was prepared for a beautiful feast of Messier galaxies with the T400-c….
… M101 was my main goal of these nights. I spend long hours and redid a second drawing on a pre-field star for greater rigor of proportion. The finale is a composite of these two drawings

Object: M 101 (NGC 5457) face on spiral galaxy – Artist: Serge Vieillard – Sketch Date: Early in 2010 Sketch Location: Movan, France

Saturn – March 8, 2010
Sketch and Details by Serge Vieillard

On March 8, 2010, it was off to the Observatory of Paris, on the venerable 380 mm glass (to see “Mars). We passed under the plane of the rings and they are currently well closed and gray in color. The crepe ring is thus particularly obvious. The vision is very white, very bright, with a yellowish and suspicion sometimes of a greenish tinge. G 750X.

Mars 2010 Composite
Sketches by 24 Observers
Composite by Serge Vieillard; Description and Submission by Christian Gros

I am attaching a board of the 2010 opposition of Mars, realized by Serge Vieillard. He gathered the drawings displayed on the French sites AstroSurf and Webastro and made this beautiful spiral. The drawings of the most experienced ones are alongside the beginners (the youngest artist was only ten years old), which makes such a collective approach so worthwhile. It is interesting to note the style of each, and he has been very careful to position the drawings so that we can see the rotation of the planet!

Object Name: Mars
Object type: Planet
Location: France
Date: April 12, 2010

(French-English Translation using Google and other online dictionaries)

Original French description:
Je vous joins une planche de l’opposition martienne 2010 réalisée par Serge Vieillard. Ce dernier a recensé les dessins présentés sur les sîtes francophones Astrosurf et Webastro et en a fait cette belle spirale. Les dessins des plus chevronnés cotoient ceux des débutants (le plus jeune dessinateur n’a que dix ans), ce qui fait tout l’intérêt d’une telle démarche collective. Il est intéressant de remarquer le style de chacun, et Serge a bien pris soin de positionner les dessins de telle sorte que l’on peut voir la rotation de la planète !

Artists:
Yohan Archambaud
Jean-Marc Beraud
Nicolas Biver
Fred Burgeot
Xavier Camer
Cricri
Youenn Daniel
Pierre Desvaux
Sebastien Graziani
Christian Gros
Christophe Gros
Vincent Gros
Vincent Jacques
Daniel Paletti
Emmanuel Pelegrin
Ptit Prince 974
José Rodrigues
Gérard Sirven
Daube Sonne
Pierre Strock
Bruno Thien
Julien Vandermarlière
Serge Vieillard
Vvastro

Eclipse at Totality July 22, 2009
Sketch and Details by Serge Vieillard

Back in China for the eclipse of the century, that of July 22, 2009 and again a great trip… At the end of monsoon, the place of observation is very difficult to choose. The weather statistics make us prefer the area near Shanghai. Very wisely, we provided a bus to have a certain latitude of mobility to adjust our position at the last moment. The day before the eclipse, a violent storm broke out as the announced schedule. It is imperative to move towards the southwest and 300 km. away. A cloud deprives us of the sunrise but ascending into heaven, the sun finally appears in an area spared…. The lights dim and the lighting of the sodium lighting of the highway rest area where we were was depriving us of the special ambiance of this characteristic pale light before totality. Planets and stars are invisible. In contrast, the 2nd and 3rd contacts are beautiful, gently attenuated by the clouds. I have seen without the filter L80x20 the last ray of light and fabulous appearance of the pink chromosphere. Only very low crown pierces and irradiates the nearby clouds, showing a certain luminous flows. It is almost impossible to guess the general form and extensions of various plumes, drowning, tangled and modifying themselves to suit the rapidly changing clouds. At the maximum, the urge to stop everything takes me to this sketch… But then there is a magnificent chromosphere, a protuberance which only extends to the approach of the 3rd contact giving me the urge to continue this work and transcribe this unusual vision. Diamonds are beautiful, followed by a string of fine grains of Bailly, easy to follow without a filter for several seconds. Although at the time, I felt some disappointment at this show ruined by clouds, I savored the benefit-post, glad to have been among the privileged few to have seen in its entirety.

Translation by Frank McCabe

Mars – January 30, 2010
Sketch and Details by Serge Vieillard

Just after the opposition of 2010, opportunity to draw the planet finally arrives. It is necessary to compromise with a cloud covered sky these last months and a lack of certain spirit. It is necessary to force ones self to use the rare opportunities, the cold being particularly lively this year. But I decided not to let this nice night of ice on January 30th get away. When I took out the T250 (10”) and installed it on the equatorial plate the show began. The planet rides high up in the sky but the atmosphere is a bit turbulent. I contented myself to use 300x with an orange filter from time to time. Others magnifications of 500x were welcome for this tiny planetary disc of a little more than 14″ of arc.

Translation by Frank McCabe