CN FORUMS ARCHIVE Telescope Reviews: September monthly target

First Try at The Double Cluster in Perseus NGC 869 NGC 884 200mm/35mm/34X 10/09/07 Conte, Gel Pen. 20:10 UT – 21:00 UT Seeing 2

My plan was to make several sketches of this difficult open cluster; besides this one I managed a pencil on white on the 16th September. I think the view in binoculars is exquisite so I will have a go at it some lovely cold evening, but it will be in October.
I will add them here later on. I just have not had the time lately to do all the sketching projects I would like to, so this is my contribution to this quest.

I used my big fat 35mm eyepiece to give me a nice wide but yet full on view.
The thing to notice in these clusters is that one has a bow shape bunch of stars as its main feature like those charity bows. The other has a question mark shape as its main feature.
There are several bright stars close together that have parallel matching stars below to the left in the bow pattern. There seems to be fewer stars around the question mark shape even though both clusters have thousands of stars and are several light years apart.
Its fun to think that you can see, all those miles apart in your telescope before your eyes.

To start this sketch I looked long into the middle of both clusters to get a good look at the shapes and patterns of the stars. I looked at the background stars to see the general scattering of them. I took a mental note of everything and came indoors to begin.

I used black Cranford paper as it seems to be blacker than the paper I usually sketch on.
Then I grated white conte at a height above the black paper in such a way that it landed in more or less the shape of the background stars in the double cluster. I used a circular metal section of a coffee percolator for a fine grater.

When I was happy enough with this background, less is more, then I fixed it with a light spray from a distance. I used masking tape to attach the paper to a board and went back outside to get my eyes adjusted again. I used a white gel pen to place in the stars, some of which were very striking pin pricks of light. I did my best to place everything in context to each other.
I took a mental note of any color in the stars; this will have to be a written note in future as it’s hard to remember everything when you get indoors again.
Inside, I just over laid color gel pen above the white, for the stars, well the few that I remembered their color. What a difficult very big set of clusters, one to try again and again and for sure one to try in a dark place instead of suburbia.

Dee
www.deirdrekelleghan.com

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Edited by Dee (09/28/07 06:32 AM)