MZack

Super sketches. Hope to see more from the observing list!

Appreciated. Shadows at that time were really long, especially from the mountains on Mare Imbrium

Cheers. It was a stunning view in the eyepiece.

Thank you. Complicated area in the dawn.

Another cold evening but you have to make the most of it! First attempt in many years at Plato as it appears on the terminator and the lunar dawn over Mare Imbrium. Challenge to catch the details around the crater itself but a nice jagged shadow on the floor. The nearby mountain peaks of Tenerife mountains, Pico, Pico Beta and Piton all stood out. Lovely area, one of my favourites.

Fantastic set of sketches and well done for doing such a long stretch in the cold! Liked them all. Nice one of M42 especially.

Really good detail in your four inch! Great drawings.

Had some time tonight before the clouds rolled in. Atlas and Hercules near the terminator and Mare Figoris. Pastels; white, aluminium grey, graphite grey on black paper. 200mm Cassegrain in hazy cloud below zero with 12.5mm Orthoscopic x195

Hi Thanks for the comment I used two pastels for this one. Both from Derwent. Aluminium Grey and Aluminium White. The grey was built up slowly by adding light layers, spreading it about using either my finger tip or a blending stump. I then added white on top to capture the brighter structure. I used the tip of the white pastel pencil for the stars. That can be a problem as its difficult to get a round shape with pastel. Took a couple of goes to avoid smearing. I may try a harder tipped material next time as it may be easier to get a more star like result. I try to avoid pens as once its done, its done!

First sketch of the season of M42 in Orion. 8 inch classical Cassegrain x135 including use of filters. Pastels on black paper. Malcolm, Chigwell Essex

Thank you. Much appreciated. Actually there are very few straight lines on the moon - so have a go!😁

Thank you. I enjoy sketching - not only the moon but other objects too. Most of my colleagues at my local Astro soc are imagers and produce some amazing shots but somehow for me it’s not quite the same as observing at the eyepiece.

Thank you. Yes just need the right timing to catch the details.

Drafted this yesterday evening with the X right on the terminator. Lots of deep shadows in nearby craters of Le Callie , Blanchinus and Werner. Tricky area to capture with pastels.

Really good sketch. I had a go a few days back myself in moderate seeing through the 8 inch classical Cass with 12.5 Orthoscopic x195. Some haze and light clouds. I’m impressed at the detail within the bands you pick up in the FS128

@Bosun21 Thank you for your very kind comments. To be compared to one of the best known practical observing books out there ( I have an older copy myself, not the latest edition), is unexpected praise. I hope you continue to enjoy the book as much as myself, Andy and John ( with the assistance of several of our friends at Loughton Astronomical Society) did putting it all together. Best and clear skies! Malcolm

Hi. My recent sketch of the Pleiades through my APM 120s x27. White pastel on black paper, drafted at the eyepiece. Bortal 7 skies on edge of London.

Thank you for your kind comments. It’s easier than it may look. A white pastel pencil on black paper is all you need really. A finger can be used to spread out the limb of the sun to create a sense of gradient. The rest is a direct observation in just a few minutes drawing what you see.

One I meant to add with the others. Single plume on the solar limb earlier this weekend with 60mm Lunt

The 4 inch F15 shares a Skywatcher AZEQ5 mount which currently also holds an 8 inch Cassegrain in my observatory. The Lunt can also go on there but is currently on a grab and go AZ4 manual mount

Thanks. Not sure why the images got posted twice! Did this on my phone rather than on the pc.

A recent sketch of Copernicus through my 4 inch F15 Refractor. A difficult and complex target I’ll need a bit of practice on this one! The other two are of prominences through my 60mm Lunt earlier the same day on April 29

Hi Thought I'd share my first attempt at sketching the full moon with binoculars. This is through my 7x50 Fujinons mounted on a parallogram mount. October 11 2022 Managed to capture the main maria, although I think Crisium is a little oversized!

Quite possibly. This is the prototype that was in the 2010 Astronomy Now write up. I have a copy of the article.

I managed a first session a couple of nights ago albeit under hazy conditions. Superb crisp views of the moon low in the north east. Quick iPhone 7 shot and a sketch of Jupiter from my log book attached. Did a few double stars in Aquila too. Trying out my different eyepieces to see how they each perform. My old volcano top 18mm Orthoscopic was a clean and clear view and bettered the TV 19mm Panoptic. My APM UFF eyepieces were just as good with a wider field of view. More observations to come.. weather pending. Best. Malcolm.