M14 Globular Cluster in Ophiuchus

[DarkerSky]

My first sketch of a globular in quite a while. This was in my 12" at x192 magnification. Got some stars resolved in the outer halo, as you can see from the sketch. Moments of good seeing revealed parts of the disc to be resolved into fractured clouds of light, especially on the southern and western sides where I felt the globular's stars were on the verge of resolution.

I suffer from lots of LP down to the SE, so my sky wasnt particularly dark for this one.

12" x 192 Magnification

Seeing: II - III

[Doc]

Awesome sketch DS, I k now how hard this one is as it's pretty low.

[Talitha]

Looks great! Very nicely done, especially considering the LP and low altitude.

[Moonshane]

this is great. how do you get the grainy effect? is it 'just' a case of hundreds of dots with a very sharp pencil or do you outline the extent of the haze on the sketch and then edit it in using software?

[Doc]

this is great. how do you get the grainy effect? is it 'just' a case of hundreds of dots with a very sharp pencil or do you outline the extent of the haze on the sketch and then edit it in using software?

DS might have a different way but I use the smudge tool in PS.

[Talitha]

Shane, the dot-method you described is called 'stippling' and is the best way to sketch resolved globulars.

I don't see any graininess, though. Just a teeny bit of unavoidable noise created by the scanner... happens to me too.

[DarkerSky]

Thanks for the comments all.

this is great. how do you get the grainy effect? is it 'just' a case of hundreds of dots with a very sharp pencil or do you outline the extent of the haze on the sketch and then edit it in using software?

I've not drawn many globulars so Im still experimenting with different ways of doing things tbh. For this one I began with building up the halo with a couple of light pencils - a 4H and a 3H. I then applied a bit of darkness to it with a 2H and a H. I spread the pencil around by smudging with my fingers.

I then did some stippling as Carol metioned to try and interpret the fractured clouds, and then finally plotted the resolved stars I could see.

Once the sketch was scanned and inverted to negative, I put it into .png format and brought it up in MS Paint. From there I gave some of the pixels a bit of an extra whitening to try and emphasize the fracturing.

There is another globuar sketch that I have started differently of M12. I have started by plotting the resolved stars - could be a mistake as it might get a bit messy when I try to get the background halo down. I'll see how it goes!!

[stefski]

Great sketch there, Seb:icon_salut:.

.....After a little lay off, I'm coming back into sketching but haven't had the courage to try a glob yet:p!

Didn't realise you were in Toddington....You're literally down the road from me - near Whipsnade!

Stef