#121  
Old 21-11-2011, 04:06 PM
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mozzie (Peter)
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Mozzie, very, very good start! Straight into the deep end with nothing less than two GC's!

You have achieved a nice amount of depth in the cores giving them a lovely glow. And the painstaking effort with the hundreds of surrounding stars is gold.

Please, do keep them coming.

Alex.
thanks alex,yes i was trying to remember everything you taught us but like everything in life it is trial and error....i have been so keen to do some sketching but the weather has been sad and also full moon.....no viewing for awhile down to newcastle for a couple of weeks to lay bricks, bugger
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  #122  
Old 27-11-2011, 08:21 PM
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mental4astro (Alexander)
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Pig headed stubborn

Hi folks,

I wasn't able to get to a dark site this November New Moon, but I also wasn't about to let the best evening sky Sydney's just about had all year go unexploited.

I've been wanting to see how a large sketch would go using A3 paper, so I aimed for a three in one combination of M42, M43 & the Running Man (NGC 1977) nebulae. Being done from my backyard at home in Sydney, the full potential of the trio wouldn't quite be there, but the exercise was to push the envelop composition wise and see what to look out for when I revisit the trio from a dark site.

Using my 17.5", the field of view in the sketch is approximately that seen with my 30mm TMB Paragon, a bit over 1degree. This leaves the Running Man half cut out, and M42 also cropped, but the full extent of it wasn't visible from home.

I also mixed up the pastels used too, this time employing white, green and blue pastels.

There's something not quite right with the depiction of M42. I'll leave it to having done the sketch after midnight and fatigue being a factor.

I hope you still enjoy it.

Objects: M42, M43 & NGC 1977
Scope: 17.5" push-pull dob
Gear: 16mm Unitron Konig, 125X, & OIII filter
Date: 27th November 2011
Location: Sydney, Oz
Media: White, blue & green pastels, black charcoal & white ink on A3 size black paper
Duration: 2hrs.
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  #123  
Old 29-11-2011, 09:46 PM
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michaellxv (Michael)
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Wow an A3 sketch, that's a big undertaking. I would think this is best done over more than one night. Maybe from your backyard do the first layers and capture the bright stuff, get the star placement right. Then from a dark site you can add the finer detail over the top. That way you are not trying to work the finer detail with tired eyes.
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  #124  
Old 01-12-2011, 06:15 AM
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mental4astro (Alexander)
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Thanks Michael.

It is a good suggestion that of doing the sketch in stages. It is a good idea when you know that a particular sketch is going to take many hours to complete, such a staggered sketch is a good fatigue control mechanism. Three hours at the eyepiece does leave me rather stuffed by the end. Not so just the eyes at times, but also the body with all the resticted, controlled movement.
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  #125  
Old 05-12-2011, 11:26 PM
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M42

I had a work trip to Sydney last month and was able to catch up with Alex. He gave me an impromptu personal lesson which was great. It was very nice to see his sketches for real. There is something a bit different about holding a piece of paper than looking at a scanned image.

While in Sydney I found time to drop into Bintel and drool. And picked up a UHC filter. Anyway last friday I finaly took it for a spin and was very impressed with the difference it makes. There is now more structure in M42 and the Tarantula that wasn't there before.

Here is my sketch of M42 from that night.
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  #126  
Old 06-12-2011, 06:16 AM
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Michael, very nice sketch there mate, . You've managed to lay down so much faint and expansive detail. Nicely done with M43 too. It is surprisingly textured too.

Next new Moon, have another look at M42, and spend some time with higher powers on it. You should be able to pick up more details that you may want to add to your sketch. You'll be amazed what you'll pick up at around 125X and 200X, particularly around the dark pillar and the Trapesium.
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  #127  
Old 06-12-2011, 06:24 PM
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Very nice sketch Michael. You are catching up to the master. Well done.
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  #128  
Old 06-12-2011, 08:55 PM
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Originally Posted by mental4astro View Post
Michael, very nice sketch there mate, . You've managed to lay down so much faint and expansive detail. Nicely done with M43 too. It is surprisingly textured too.

Next new Moon, have another look at M42, and spend some time with higher powers on it. You should be able to pick up more details that you may want to add to your sketch. You'll be amazed what you'll pick up at around 125X and 200X, particularly around the dark pillar and the Trapesium.
Thanks Alex.
Next new moon is Christmas day, I see that going down really well

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Very nice sketch Michael. You are catching up to the master. Well done.
Thanks Paddy, that's very kind of you. As long as I am improving I'm happy.
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  #129  
Old 06-12-2011, 09:17 PM
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First Sketch SN in NGC1404

OK everyone, please be gentle. I have a had a first go a a real life sketch. Did a few practice ones before trying in the dark. First thing I have discovered is that the dark adds a whole new dimension to the difficulty of rendering a sketch. Much harder to get nice round stars, spacing of objects is much harder. So anyways I decided to have a go at Stu Parkers SN in 1404 as I had observed the field only a fortnight ago over 3 nights so could find it without even a chart.
Attached is my result, the second one has the SN marked.

Malcolm
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  #130  
Old 06-12-2011, 09:52 PM
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OK everyone, please be gentle. I have a had a first go a a real life sketch. Did a few practice ones before trying in the dark. First thing I have discovered is that the dark adds a whole new dimension to the difficulty of rendering a sketch. Much harder to get nice round stars, spacing of objects is much harder. So anyways I decided to have a go at Stu Parkers SN in 1404 as I had observed the field only a fortnight ago over 3 nights so could find it without even a chart.
Attached is my result, the second one has the SN marked.

Malcolm
Well done Malcolm. You have all the major elements of what you set out to sketch so nothing wrong there. You now have a permanent record of your observation of that SN.

To get pin point round stars make sure your pencil is sharp. Put it down once on the paper and roll it between your thumb and fingers then lift. Don't attempt to go over it, you will miss in the dark. Touch it up once inside if needs be.

Use a seperate pencil for galaxies and nebulae. I got myself a range of pencils to experiment with, they are cheap enough.

You might also find that inverting the image gives a more pleasing final result. Gimp is sufficient for this, you don't need anything fancy.
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  #131  
Old 07-12-2011, 10:18 AM
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Yaayyyyy Malcolm!!!! Very nice sketch. It is certainly a challenge to manage all this in the dark and you've done a great job. I agree with Michael's comments about how to get stars as points and it does often require some post-processing. Nice obs as well given that you must have had some serious LP from the moon.

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  #132  
Old 07-12-2011, 12:30 PM
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Thanks Paddy.
The obs itself was tough. Really only the core of 1404 was visible which is why the SN is showing right on the edge. That may have helped a bit as the moonage reduced the visibility of the low surface brightness outer envelope of the galaxy allowing the SN to stand out more
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  #133  
Old 07-12-2011, 12:37 PM
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Nicely done Malcom. Interesting to read how the Moon in a way worked to you advantage. I am really pleased that you've been inspired to have a crack at rendering a sketch. And as Michael mentioned, a wonderful record of what in a short amount of time will never be visible again!

I hope we get to see some more sketches from you here.
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  #134  
Old 07-12-2011, 07:56 PM
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Thanks Alex. I will be interested to see how the SN looks when we have a little less moon (if it lasts that long!) to see if the the effect I thought was there exists. Certainly the galaxy appeared larger a couple of weeks ago when I observed it so hopefully the effect is true.

Not sure if I have the patience for sketching. Only time will tell!

Malcolm
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  #135  
Old 07-12-2011, 08:26 PM
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Malcom, an astro sketch doesn't need to take three hours. Some, such as of faint galaxies can be done in a few minutes! I had recently shown Michael how easy it is to use the Mellish technique. The sketch you've posted could be done in less than 5 min. Something like the Mararian's Chain of Galaxies could be done in less than 20! You'll be pleasantly surprised.
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  #136  
Old 16-12-2011, 11:17 PM
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NGC 1514
Well had another go at a sketch tonight. Pretty happy with it, stars look a bit nicer. Not sure about the DSO itself, think I may have it a little big!
Anyways this is a nice PN in Taurus, very bright central star with the neb itself only really coming out with the OIII filter.
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  #137  
Old 18-12-2011, 03:09 PM
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Well done Malcolm, agrees very well with the DSS image
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  #138  
Old 18-12-2011, 03:12 PM
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Supernova 2011iv in NGC 1404

Got a brief bit of clear dark sky the other night to sketch the supernova in NGC 1404, reworked with Mellish technique, 16" dob 250X
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  #139  
Old 18-12-2011, 04:05 PM
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Nice one Paddy. The positioning within the halo is abit closer to what I saw on Thursday night. When I did the sketch the moongae was making most of the halo disappear. If corse your site and 16" helps a bit as well.

Must remember to put directions on my sketches!

Thanks for comments re NGC 1514.

Malcolm
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  #140  
Old 29-12-2011, 04:36 PM
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i have done a sketch of comet lovejoy....i had driven a little north and west of my home moonee beach to get away from coffs harbour light pollution and went to nana glen.my sketch was of naked eye though i did look through my binos as the comet is a ripper to see,it is from ground level up into crux say 30 to 35 degress trying to get as much in as possible.this is my third sketch iv'e attempted so i tried to get the milkyway in as well to give some perspective of how big the comet's tail has become.
the sketch had taken around 45 minutes to complete and i was very nervous trying to sketch it and to keep things in proportion.hope you enjoy my sketch it's a path i wish to take in astronomy.....
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thanks mozzie

Last edited by mozzie; 29-12-2011 at 04:38 PM. Reason: spelling
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