First Light and First Moon for 35 Years

[Bizibilder]

I Finally have the Observatory up and running!! This is my first drawing of the Moon for 35 years - Its pretty much a brief sketch done in somewhat non-ideal conditions - still I hope its the first of many.

200P at 200x mag Seeing slightly hazy. 28.12.2009 17.00 GMT

[Talitha]

Excellent! I'd have recognized the features even if you hadn't labelled them. Why so long since your last lunar sketch? You certainly haven't forgotten how, that's for sure.

[Bizibilder]

I've just spent another hour freezing outside to do a sketch of Schiller - I'm just "refining" it now, if that is what you call redrawing it from rough sketches and scribbled notes.

Why 35 years? Well I got interested in my teens (late 60's early 70's - something to do with a chap called Armstrong....) and then lost interest - I had made a 6" reflector, including the mirror, but lived in west London 5 miles from Heathrow all I ever saw was lights, lights and more lights!!!!

Now I'm in Norfolk with reasonable skies (mag 5 on a good night after the neighbours have gone to bed!) I've started up again.

[Bizibilder]

Went out again this evening for a second drawing attempt. It was COLD. By the end the scope was covered in ice! Never mind I was enjoying myself!!!! This time its Schiller and the surrounding area.

[DarkerSky]

They are super sketches. Really, really good . I have never sketched detail on the moon before. Tempted to give it a go