Mike JW

Hi folks, For about two years I have pondered doing a full moon sketch using dots/squiggles. With this poor run of weather I have spent the time giving it a go using a photograph. It has been absorbing to try it. I cannot say that I am totally pleased with the result. I am in awe of the true artists who use this technique but fun to try it. It has made me really look hard at the moon and appreciate the subtle colour changes (greys) all over the surface. The well known craters are reasonably accurate. For the polar regions I have tried to give an impression of the complex pattern of craters and hills. The main Mares are about right. How to depict the mountain chains - I have no idea. Any suggestions are most welcome. Three ink pens used - 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3. Mike

Very good observations and presented professionally. Totally envious of your achievements and inpsired. Thanks for posting. Mike

Hi Bill, Just enjoyed a read and a detailed look at your observations. I had forgotten all about the flat/thin galaxies - another challenging list to enjoy. There is always something special about seeing edge on galaxies. Thanks for posting. Mike

Thanks Mark, appreciated.

Thanks Ruud.

Just for a change I fancied doing a galaxy sketch from my exploits with EAA. I like to try out different techniques and objects. This sketch is a mix of white gel pen, white pastel and white crayon and blended with a blending stump. This is a fascinating pair of galaxies. NGC 474 at the top and is a shell galaxy (not that I captured the shells using the EAA technique). Well worth a read about how "shell galaxies " form. Its partner is a spiral with rather thick uneven arms. I was pleased to get a hint or two of the dark dust lane and a hint of a star forming region (right hand side of the galaxy). Doing the sketch has made me look carefully at the screen shot that I did using EAA.

Not only is your sketch accurate but you have captured the "softness" of the view as seen at the eyepiece. Mike

Fascinating to read about your achievements with your set up. Thanks for posting. Mike

Thanks David for your thoughts and encouragement. I tried installing Jocular but failed owing to my lack of understanding computers and how software works. Plate solving - such poor download speed I cannot download it the software. Mike

Hi David, I have just enjoyed reading your post. I will need to read it several times to pick up all your thoughts, experience. It is amazing what you are achieving from such a light polluted site. Your shot of NGC 7345 is impressive. This is more than I would see using my 20" Dob under mag 5.6/5.7 skies on a good night. Re Sharp Cap, When I have tried it I have found it way too complicated to achieve anything of worth. I much prefer Starlight Live - so simple, but it limits my choice of camera. Thanks for posting. Mike

Pointed the set up again at Uranus last night. i think the moon labels are correct. Mike

So busy looking at Arp 157 didn't think to check out what else I might have captured. You are right UGC 957 is just lurking in the shot - thanks Elpajare for pointing it out. All the best, Mike

Great to have another Arp shot come onto the forum. I tried for this a few weeks ago with the C11/ultrastar. See below. I only just got the tidal stream going N (up). 37 x 5sec subs. Great to see a colour version of it. Mike

Geoff (Cosmic) has inspired me to point the C11/ultrastar at Uranus The moon to the left of Uranus is Ariel. The bottom three moons left to right - Oberon, Umbriel ,Titania. Miranda at mag 16 would have been lost in the glare. Mike 0.5 second shot 1 second shot 6 x1 second stack

Marvin, that is kind of you expressing your appreciation. Mike

Well done. You are inspiring me to give this a go with my set up. Mike

Thanks Nick and for the extra info. Mike

Hi Geoff, Your set up should easily get the moons. Personally I favour doing short 1 to 2 second exposures and stacking. The free software WinJUPOS will show you where the moons are for planets. Good luck, Mike Sky & Telescope needs to define what it means by amateur telescope - I have seen 3 of them in a 20" Dob.

Hi Bill, I agree that it has not been a particular good run of weather. Here is my shot of NGC 750 with other galaxies circled. Mike

I failed to ID Kr 60 a few years ago with the OMC 200. A few nights ago using the Obsession 15 confirmed the correct star but conditions were too poor to attempt to split the pair. Last night 22/10/19, I split it at x 171 using the 15” but I did need to look carefully to pick it up. Component A is mag 9.4. Component B is mag 11.4. Currently separated by 1.8” Kruger 60 is a fascinating double. The pair are just 13 lyrs away, the companion orbits in about 44 yrs. The pair being so close to our solar system have a high proper motion. They are both low mass red dwarfs. Kruger 60 is less massive than our sun. Component B is a flare star and is one of the lowest mass stars known. When B flares it outshines the main star. It is not easy to split the pair. Experts suggest that not even an 8” refractor will not split them under GB skies. A 10” scope with high quality optics is probably the minimum size and a dark transparent steady night is required. WDS catalogue lists various other components but they are all not true components. Mike

My current push on lunar sketching continued last night. This time I wanted to have a go at the Lunar Alpine Valley. I have often observed it but never sketched it because it is hard to pick out details. I had to race against the fast approaching cloud to make a quick outline. I have not got the scale correct - the valley needs to be longer........needs a revisit. In a previous posting I was asked how I do these sketches so below the completed sketch is a pictorial guide. Feel free to ask questions but I am no expert. Mike The Lunar Alpine Valley Here's how I did it. Eyepiece notes and outline Re draw and do shadows in ink Next do shading with 4B pencil Use a blending stump to smooth the shading Initial blending completed Add dark areas and blend Adding details to the valley Pencil marks to indicate rough ground, enhancing white More rough ground added, more 4B added/blended Finally I check each area, making sure the tones are correct, that the black transitions to a dark grey, enhance any mountain tops with the white gel pen, make sure the blending goes neatly to the crater, mountain, feature - any gaps are picked up by the eye.

Hi Rob, I either use a 7" Mak Cas (on an Ioptron Minitower pro) or the C11 (on a iEQ45 Pro). Your 102 Vixen is fine for lunar sketching. EPs - various but mainly Televue Delite. I use magnification between x100 to x250. Sometimes I will go higher to check out details. Sketch time - at the EP 30 to 60 mins to get the basic outline, mark in the black shadows, make any notes. I often have the laptop near by with the current moon view to ID features. Back indoors finishing sketch can take from 1 to 2 hrs. (my posted "dotty technique" took 5 or 6 hrs to do) Mainly Pencil (various grades and makes). To get black for small areas I will use black felt (0.1 to 0.5 width, and normal chunky felts for big areas). To get the smooth look I go over the shading with blending stumps. To get bright white I use a white gel pen. Scan the sketch which frequently does not look as good as the real sketch, so I will then darken it in Photoshop, sometimes scanning give a speckled effect to the black areas so I either blacken then lightly and/or use the blur facility in Photoshop. Sometimes I will improve the white mountain, crater rims with white in Photoshop. Paper - photocopy type paper in a sketch pad. My general advice - give it go, make lots of mistakes, look at what others do, give it a go, make more mistakes, get cross, break a few pencil leads but stick with it........... I am not artistic - I was thrown out of art at school. The technique I use I developed through dogged persistence. Ask me to draw a house and it would be like a child's picture....... Mike

I was actually planning to hunt out a nearby galaxy cluster and needed to be at a faster focal ratio so I did not want to to find Neptune and then have to add the focal reducer and refocus.......but you are right I should have gone for it at f 10. Next time....... Mike

Last nights target was the Bessel Ray, in Mare Serenitatis. Actually quite difficult to pick up. Some folk say that this mysterious ray could be ejecta from Tycho, others say its source is unknown. I enjoyed teasing out its presence. Amazing that it passes straight through Crater Bessel, which came first the ray or the crater? I could not decide. Crater Bessel lacks a central peak and is about 15/16 Km across. Although my target was the ray I could not help noticing the amazing "dark snake" lying close to the terminator - really quite spooky. The low lighting really highlighted this sizeable wrinkle ridge. Also of interest was the strip of larva plain close to the edge was a definite lighter colour. Reading around apparently near the edges of Serenitatis there is a different type of rock so maybe I was picking this up? Mike

Ultrastar Camera.