Click here if you are having trouble logging into the forums Cloudy Nights - Official Forums of the 2009 International Year of Astronomy Privacy Policy | Please read our Terms of Service | Signup and Troubleshooting FAQ | Problems? PM a Red or a Green Gu.... uh, User   You are not logged in. [Login] Entrance · Main Index · Search · New user · Who's Online FAQ · Calendar Astrophotography and Sketching >> Sketching Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Pages: 1 rodelaet Carpal Tunnel Reged: 04/28/06 Posts: 2655 Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium) Binocular Icon 6 : M3, a fine Springtime Globular.       #2344591 - 04/22/08 02:18 PM Attachment (45 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   One of the finest Springtime globular clusters is M3 in the Hunting Dogs. M3 was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764. Messier saw a circular nebula without stars, but with a bright core. This 6th-magnitude cluster is also considered to be a challenging naked eye object. The view in a pair of binoculars looks very similar to what Messier saw : a little nebula with a brighter center. The core looks stellar to me in the 8x56. I can see the core with direct vision. The easiest way to find M3 is to draw a line from Arcturus to Cor Caroli. You’ll find M3 at about halfway the distance between these two bright stars. While you admire the view of this distant (34,000 l-y) city of light, imagine that this cluster of half a million stars orbits the galactic centre of our galaxy once every 300 million years. Observing data: Date : April 11, 2008 Time : around 22.30UT Binoculars : Bresser 8x56 FOV: 5.9° Filter : none Mount : Trico Machine Sky Window Seeing : 3/5 Transp. : 2.5/5 Nelm : 5.0 Sketch Orientation : N up, W right. Digital sketch made with PhotoPaint, based on a raw pencil sketch. -------------------- Rony My Astronomy Sketches My Binocular Sketches Edited by rodelaet (04/22/08 02:56 PM) Post Extras:       frank5817 Post Laureate Reged: 06/13/06 Posts: 3045 Loc: Illinois Re: Binocular Icon 6 : M3, a fine Springtime Globular. [Re: rodelaet]       #2345553 - 04/22/08 10:59 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Rony, I really like this sketch of M-3 you have the field stars perfectly positioned. The bright core is magnificent. Nice write up and classic pointing method for finding M-3. Frank Edited by frank5817 (04/23/08 09:11 AM) Post Extras:       starquake member Reged: 02/02/08 Posts: 135 Loc: Nádasdladány Re: Binocular Icon 6 : M3, a fine Springtime Globu [Re: frank5817]       #2345937 - 04/23/08 04:25 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Rony, congrats, wonderful sketch. I always thought that Benelux skies are more light-polluted. May I ask what's your NELM on an average night? Frank, I think your last sentence is in the wrong post. -------------------- "At night astronomers agree." /Matthew Prior/ "Astronomers, like burglars and jazz musicians, operate best at night." /Miles Kington/ 10x50, 114x900, 300x1500 My astronomical sketches: Graphite Galaxy Don't take my words too seriously, I might be wrong. And sorry for my English. Post Extras:       frank5817 Post Laureate Reged: 06/13/06 Posts: 3045 Loc: Illinois Re: Binocular Icon 6 : M3, a fine Springtime Globu [Re: starquake]       #2346210 - 04/23/08 09:13 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Starquake, Thank you for bringing my mistake to my attention. Frank Post Extras:       rodelaet Carpal Tunnel Reged: 04/28/06 Posts: 2655 Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium) Re: Binocular Icon 6 : M3, a fine Springtime Globu [Re: starquake]       #2347187 - 04/23/08 04:31 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Frank and Ferenc, thank you for the kind words! Ferenc, on a typical night, the nelm in my backyard is 5.0. -------------------- Rony My Astronomy Sketches My Binocular Sketches Post Extras:       xfile101 professor emeritus Reged: 12/08/07 Posts: 739 Loc: Ocean Gate, NJ Re: Binocular Icon 6 : M3, a fine Springtime Globu [Re: rodelaet]       #2348882 - 04/24/08 11:18 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   This is one of my favorites. I got my first "real" good look at it (for this year) last night and was again WOWed. I caught it about 1/2 hour after dusk and watched it get brighter as the sky got darker. I love this cluster and your sketch is a wonderful representation of this excellent spring glob! -------------------- Orion XT8I Celestron 114EQ Firstscope Meade 70mm Astroscan Post Extras:       rodelaet Carpal Tunnel Reged: 04/28/06 Posts: 2655 Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium) Re: Binocular Icon 6 : M3, a fine Springtime Globu [Re: xfile101]       #2355233 - 04/27/08 03:07 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hey Frank, Thanks for the kind words! I look forward to your future sketches. -------------------- Rony My Astronomy Sketches My Binocular Sketches Post Extras:       rodelaet Carpal Tunnel Reged: 04/28/06 Posts: 2655 Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium) Re: Binocular Icon 6 : M3, a fine Springtime Globular. [Re: rodelaet]       #2407703 - 05/20/08 07:36 AM Attachment (8 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   A comparison with my observations of M5 and M13 has convinced me that I rendered M3 too bright. Here is a more appropriate impression of M3, which should replace the sketch at the start of this post. -------------------- Rony My Astronomy Sketches My Binocular Sketches Post Extras:       Pages: 1 Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Extra information 1 registered and 4 anonymous users are browsing this forum. 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