What to do with observations?

[mikeDnight]

I'm not certain this is the right place for this, but as its to do with observations it'll do!

It's been cloudy here for far too long and Im getting withdrawal symptoms! You see, I love to sketch at the eyepiece and try to make a sketch of at least one object each time I observe. If I don't manage a sketch, I feel the session has been unfruitful, even though that's not really the case.

Throughout last year's Mars apperition I couldn't sleep, and had to get up every night/morning to see if it was clear. Often it was, and I'd soon be stood out in the garden sketching the, not so easy to see, detail. I had a plan! I wanted to see and record as much detail as I could from Mars northern hemisphere, which was well placed for observation, or at least it would have been if Mars had been higher in the sky.

The detail in the eyepiece wasn't always thrilling, but I persevered, eventually collecting 36 observational sketches showing the planet rotating, and revealing a wealth of detail that wasn't immediately obvious. Eventually I plotted the features on each individual sketch onto a cylindrical grid, locating the features at their correct latitude and longitude. The resultant map is quite pleasing! At the telescope, I no longer worry about presenting my sketches south top, but rather do all things for ease. I use a refractor with a prism diagonal and so i present my drawings with a north top orientation but E W reversed. The map is presented that way!

Now on to the purpose of this post! Last summer a friend gave me a 5" steel ball for the purpose of making a globe of Mars. I put the ball to one side and forgot about it. While its been cloudy I found myself getting a bit agitated for lack of something to do. Yesterday I rediscovered the steel ball and remembered the globe project I once contemplated doing. So, off to the shops i went and came back with some spray paint to cover the globe. I spent around 12 hours in total trying to transfer the detail on my map onto the globe. Its still a work in progress but im pleased with the results so far!

As with my map, the detail I added to the steel globe represent the view through a refractor using a diagonal. That's not the way it should be done, but I thought carefully before deciding to do it that way. I want my Mars globe to be user friendly at the eyepiece, so that I don't have to flip my brain around to try and make head or tail of what I'm seeing. As its also a thing of beauty, I added the Martian moons to the stand, which is actually a kitchentowel holder that's been chopped down and painted. "Blue Peter eat your heart out!" 

Take a look and see what you think. 

Mike 

 

[michaelmorris]

Love it!

[DirkSteele]

Absolutely fantastic!  What a great project

[Alan White]

Mike, what a great idea.
Oh you can tell it's been cloudy for far too long, can't you!

Alan

[nightfisher]

Very smart, an unusual project nicely done

[Floater]

That's simply wonderful, Mike.

You have clever hands. Well done. I couldn't contemplate such a project.

However, no 'e4' available ... ?

[JOC]

It's a thing of beauty, but I particularly love the idea that you have created it from your own observations, that makes it a very special work of art.  Feel proud of it - you should be.

NB.  How about putting it on a base that rotates at a suitable rate?

[mikeDnight]

Thanks Chaps, I'm pleased you're pleased! 

Mike

[Saganite]

Absolutely love it Mike, a great idea well executed. I have always wished that I could somehow capture what I see through the eyepiece, other than written notes.

Love the chess set by the way, a different take on Staunton pieces that I find both attractive and acceptable. 

 

[Paz]

Excellent idea, you also seem to have invented a new chess piece!

[laudropb]

That's looking really good Mike and is a fantastic record of all your hard work at the eye piece. I like the chess set as well lol

 

[Pondus]

Brilliant work! Looks fabulous  

 

Although I think the black King and Queen are in the wrong set up position

 

Rune

[mikeDnight]

21 minutes ago, laudropb said:

That's looking really good Mike and is a fantastic record of all your hard work at the eye piece. I like the chess set as well lol

 

Everybody likes the chess set!  I've been teaching my grandson how to play several different board games, chess being one of them.  Hes just turned six and has only been playing for about three months, but he's getting pretty good at it. He still cries though when I beat him, and the more I laugh the more he cries. I can't help it, Cruel grandad! We're still best friends really! 

I'm glad you like the globe though!

Mike

[johnfosteruk]

What a great idea Mike, may I suggest ......ahem.....Jupiter......ahem......

to scale relative to your Mars of course

 

[Swoop1]

Mike, that is fantastic.

If you were presenting this to Gene Kranz in Mission Control you would be christned 'A Steely Eyed Missile Man'. 

[Astro Imp]

I've come to realise you are a talented observer and recorder now you show us your skill as a model maker.

As @johnfosteruk says we await your interpretation of Jupiter, we'll accept just the Gallilean moons 

Well done and thanks for sharing.

[colin2007]

Very impressive Mike. 

I want to do some lunar observing when the skies clears (and I got my new scope next week), so today I hunted through some magazines for some images and been practising drawing lunar craters all afternoon. They are not brilliant, but I`m impressed with what I achieved

[mikeDnight]

I've googled the Martian moons today and changed the small round globes for little replicas that I've made from milliput. 

Thanks so much for all the kind comments I've received from this little project. ?

Mike ☺

 

[niallk]

That was a very thoughtful gift from your friend! Amazing result Mike: both the cylindrical projection map and then transferring to create the globe. The patience, skill and perseverance it must have taken - that's real astronomy like the great pioneers of the past.

[mikeDnight]

4 hours ago, niallk said:

That was a very thoughtful gift from your friend! Amazing result Mike: both the cylindrical projection map and then transferring to create the globe. The patience, skill and perseverance it must have taken - that's real astronomy like the great pioneers of the past.

Thanks for that! ☺

The globe took me about 12 hours to complete, though I spent some time just pondering over it between each stage of the process. I could probably do it again in around half that time if I were to make another one at some stage. I can't remember how long it took me to transfer my original sketches onto the cylindrical grid, but I'd imagine it would have been around four hours in total. It's just a bit of fun at the end of the day, but both the map and the globe have proved themselves to be useful in determining which features are visible, as both were purposefully made to be practical by representing the view through a diagonal. 

Looking back at the faint smudges of detail on each of the 30+ sketches, I would never have guessed I'd end up with such a detailed record of observations from such a low apperition. As you say "real astronomy," proving that adventures even with a small scope can be worthwhile.  

Mike

 

[timwetherell]

What a fantastic achievement Mike. I think this really encapsulates the spirit of observational astronomy. It's art in the highest sense because it's your personal impression of Mars in the same way Van Gogh's Starry Night Over the Rhone is his impression of Ursa Major. Well done sir!

[smackie1973]

That is awesome mate. Well done