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Old 23-04-2012, 11:38 AM
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mental4astro (Alexander)
kids+wife+scopes=happyman

mental4astro is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: sydney, australia
Posts: 4,979
Eta Carina complex

Thank you Peter and Paddy.

This next sketch I've had to keep close to my chest for a little while. It is one of my entries to the Scott Mellish Sketching Competition.

The Eta Carina complex is a staggering region of the sky. Within the field of view of the sketch there is so much happening. Not only is the star that lends its name to the nebula there, but its associated "death throe's cocoon" is visible - the Homunculus Nebula (the white blister to the left of the Keyhole), three separate shockwave fronts (the Keyhole feature being one of them, which in turn is being pushed towards us by the wave produced by Eta Carina too), and six individually named open star clusters.

I've been wanting to do this sketch from a dark sky site for a long time. Conditions and circumstance ment I had to be happy with doing this sketch from my backyard in Sydney. I'll need to wait a little longer to revisit this region from a dark site.

I normally do not restrict my sketches to sit within the "circle of death", but as this work was to be one of my entries to the competition, the "circle" exists.

I hope you enjoy this piece. It took just over two hours to complete. Two very enjoyable hours.

Mental.

Object: Eta Carina complex
Scope: 17.5" push-pull dobsonian
Gear: Unitron 16mm Konig, 125X, OIII filter
Date: 13th March, 2012
Location: Sydney, Oz
Media: White pastel and charcoal on black paper. "circle" diameter is 16cm.
Duration: just over 2hrs.
Attached Thumbnails
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Last edited by mental4astro; 24-04-2012 at 02:06 PM.
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