Quick sketch of Jupiter - January 4, 2012

[mellowgeorge]

Had a 2 hour break in the clouds last night. The waxing gibbous moon was dominating the sky around 7pm.

Here's my first attempt at sketching.

Wasn't too confident with sketching in the negative yet.

HIP 8887 was visible only with averted vision.

[AlexxxAA]

Hi George. Great first sketches. I haven't felt confident enough to sketch Jupiter because I don't get much details through my 8" here in LA. Can only see the two bands. Sometimes I think I see the red spot, but I'm not sure. What scope did you use for your observations? And how did you recognize the other objects? What chart/website did you use for reference?

[mellowgeorge]

I am using a teeny 3" reflector as a starter scope. So that's probably all I will ever see, most of the time. When the Great Red Spot is facing us, I'll try to observe and see if I can make it out.

After my observing session, I use Stellarium (free program) as my planetarium software to identify the objects that I saw.

The nice feature of the planetarium software is to go backwards/forwards in time. Great for planning ahead.

[SPOD]

This is a joke section..isn't it ?

Spod

[mellowgeorge]

This is a joke section..isn't it ?

Spod

you lost me.

[AlexxxAA]

Don't worry about it George....

What you did right here, is exactly what Galileo did 400 years ago when he discovered that Jupiter had moons.

[Steve]

Sketching what you see through the eyepiece might seem a bit odd to a beginner in this age of CCD cameras but it is a very worthwhile excercise. When sketching you tend to notice more detail than casual observing alone. Many astronomers find sketching improves their ability to 'see' and the sketches are a useful reference when comparing views through different telescopes.

AlexxxAA makes a good point when he mentions Galileo's sketches. Lowell, Huygens and Cassini also sketched. It was state of the art science back then.

A pencil and pad are also a lot cheaper than a CCD, laptop and image processing software. Personally I hope we see more sketches here on SGL.

[kniclander]

it's a nice sketch and you've captured one of the barges/knots in the NEB.

[mellowgeorge]

Steve, you are right with what you said. Sketching 'forces' you to look and look and look. Sometimes, you catch moments of good seeing and you see more detail.

knickander, the barge in the NEB was seen through those few seconds of good seeing. It was exciting to see it and then to confirm it via software.

Since I have no plans on doing astrophotography anytime soon, I'll be doing a lot more sketches.

[SPOD]

Sketching what you see through the eyepiece might seem a bit odd to a beginner in this age of CCD cameras but it is a very worthwhile excercise. When sketching you tend to notice more detail than casual observing alone. Many astronomers find sketching improves their ability to 'see' and the sketches are a useful reference when comparing views through different telescopes.

AlexxxAA makes a good point when he mentions Galileo's sketches. Lowell, Huygens and Cassini also sketched. It was state of the art science back then.

A pencil and pad are also a lot cheaper than a CCD, laptop and image processing software. Personally I hope we see more sketches here on SGL.

I genuinely did not know this sort of excersise was carried out by astronomers ( by experts or beginners ).

I also did not think that such a comment would upset anyone, however, I have received notification of a complaint and im my reply I have offered unreservedly an apology to him/her or those that were aggrieved by my comment.

It won't happen again.

Regards

M Stevens ( Spod )

[1crash70]

Very nice sketch.

am trying to keep a journal of nightly observations, including some very tiny sketches of moon locations, etc.

[todd8137]

cool

[dweller25]

Thats a great drawing, you caught all the main features - Mars and Saturn will be in the evening sky soon .......