Well, I got the position of the terminator all wrong, , meaning that the shadows across Copernicus not as prominent as I had hoped, .
I wasn't too enthused with this prospect, and viewing the crater through my scope showed it a little flat, and I had to use stacked polarising filters to tone down the glare. I contemplated sketching something else too, and stuffed around for an hour before deciding "what the heck, just do it".
So here it is. Two hours worth, and a pot full of tea to keep the cold at bay. I was so impressed to make out the patterns of the ejecta radiating out, in some cases, the surrounding lunar scape had 'shadows' behind it where the feature had blocked the ejecta.
Conditions were pretty good too. While the image quality did come and go at 222X, it was very stable though, more good than poor for once, .
Object: crater Copernicus
Scope: C8
Gear: 9mm TMB Planetary Type II, 222X, two polarising filters
Date: 14th May 2011
Location: Sydney
Conditions: fair
Media: White & black charcoal pencils, grey soft pastel & white ink on black paper, A5 size.
Great sketch Alex, I really like it. The last one you posted and this have great detail and you really capture the light beautifully. You must be building up a great collection of sketches.
Been a pretty rotten time of things lately, . If you believe the Weather Man, this weekend should be a good one, if a little cold. Anyone like to brave the elements with a Lunar target? How about the crater complex Aristarchus & Herodotus, along with the extensive valley Schroteri. One item or the whole lot.
Will mean setting my alarm clock, but this phase of the Moon needs some attention.
Not done a Lunar sketch before? Just have a go. It's more the experience of giving it a shot. Should you be not too pleased with your first effort, I'm sure the second will be much, much better as the experience of the first will feed the second.
Tonight was cold, breezy and far from ideal seeing conditions, but I did get a sketch done. Seeing came and went, but went really pear-shaped by the end.
This is a rather large area of the Moon. The central features are the crater Eratosthenes and the Apennine Mountains. The large crater on the bottom right is Archimedes, and the smaller one below it closer to the terminator is Timocharis. The top half includes the craters Gambart B & C, Schroter, Mosting & Sommering.
This was another take on using pastels and charcoal pencils. I tried to add some drama to the sketch with the angled terminator. It was a dramatic view through the scope, and hopefully this 'tilted' sketch helps evoke some of that drama. Two hours' work.
Object: Lunar craters and mountian range
Scope: C5, f/10 SCT
Gear: GSO Superview 15mm + 2X barlow, 167X
Date: 9th July, 2011
Location: Sydney, Australia
Media: Soft pastel, white & black charcoal & white ink on A5 size black paper
I also shouldn't forget my sketching buddy for last night, Peter (aka hickny). Having a mate there made the cold a bit more tolerable. Peter knocked out a few beautiful sketches too.
This is my first Moon sketch (and second astro sketch ever) under the guidance of Mental4Astro.
The Straight Wall Escarpment. It looked interesting and not as dramatic as some of the other features on view last night. I was amazed at how good an afocal image taken on my smartphone through a 30mm eyepiece turned out.
It was cold but it was fun all the same.
My first astronomy sketch ever was of the Jewel Box also done last night.
Its attached also.
Thanks Alex for the guidance.
What brilliant sketches, Alex and Peter. I am pretty used to Alex producing such amazing work, but your sketch of the moon as a first astronomy sketch, Peter, extraordinary.
I guess I was overly optimistic that the weather man got the forecast wrong whent the early evening cleared up. So, I pulled out the C8, and wouldn't you know it, no sooner am I ready to put pencil to paper, freaking clouds appear!
Only managed 30 minutes at the eyepiece. Damned shame as atmospheric conditions were the finest I've seen for quite some time. The crater Hipparchus barely showed any image shimmer at 222X.
Anyway, I thought I'd still post this sketch. Shows some of the way I work too, showing some reference markings, and a little criptic note to help me identify the crater on a chart later on.
Such a shame I couldn't get this finished. I don't get to see such stable conditions often.
, meaning that the shadows across Copernicus not as prominent as I had hoped, 
.
.
. If you believe the Weather Man, this weekend should be a good one, if a little cold. Anyone like to brave the elements with a Lunar target? How about the crater complex Aristarchus & Herodotus, along with the extensive valley Schroteri. One item or the whole lot.
big respect!
Alex,Amazing.
to you both.
