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rodelaet
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 2655
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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The first sighting of M101, a large face-on spiral galaxy, was reported by Pierre Méchain in 1781. Charles Messier described M101 as a large, faint nebula without a star. He noted that the galaxy disappeared when he illuminated the crosshairs of his scope.
While M101 is easy to locate, it is a difficult test object for small binoculars. You can star hop from Mizar, following a chain of four 5th and 6th magnitude stars to the southeast. Now put the 4th star in the southwest corner of the field of view. M101 should appear near the centre of the binocular field of view. I find M101 hard to see under a mag 5 sky. Averted vision is needed to glimpse the faint glow of this galaxy. It is my impression that the glow is slightly oval. The listed magnitude of 7.9 has deceived many observers who attempted to find the galaxy with small scopes. The surface brightness of M101 is 14.8. Dark skies are mandatory to enjoy the view of this face-on galaxy in a small scope or a pair of binoculars.
Observing data:
Date : April 11, 2008
Time : around 23.30UT
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.
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Rony
My Astronomy Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
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frank5817
Post Laureate
Reged: 06/13/06
Posts: 3045
Loc: Illinois
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Rony,
Most impressive and beautiful sketch of this great face on spiral galaxy.
If your sky brightness dropped your NELM half a magnitude the galaxy would disappear into the sky glow. Let us hope that never happens.
Excellent capture.
Frank 
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starquake
member
Reged: 02/02/08
Posts: 135
Loc: Nádasdladány
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Wow, I had to use averted vision to find M101 on your wonderful sketch.  Can't wait for the next bino icon (makes me want to piggyback my 10x50 on the dobson). Congrats!
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"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.
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james royce
member
Reged: 03/28/08
Posts: 28
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great eye to paper drawing!! i almost have to use averted vision to see it on drawing!! very realistic 
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rodelaet
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 2655
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Frank, Ferenc and Jim, thank you for the compliments.
Frank, you are right about the nelm. Any moonlight or moisture does erase the galaxy from within my backyard.
Clear skies,
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Rony
My Astronomy Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
Edited by rodelaet (04/23/08 04:35 PM)
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PhilH
sage
Reged: 01/27/05
Posts: 233
Loc: Long Island, NY
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Rony's sketches are among the finest I've seen anywhere. After reading of his technique, I thought I'd try my luck based on a past pencil sketch of M101 through my 10x50s. It doesn't have quite the subtlety as Rony's (I think my M101 is too bright compared to the star field), but it's my first attempt. 
Comments welcome...
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Phil Harrington
"Binocular Universe" Columnist, Astronomy magazine
Author: Star Ware || Star Watch || Touring the Universe through Binoculars || et al...
http://www.philharrington.net
http://www.observingsites.com
"Two eyes are better than one!"
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rodelaet
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 2655
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Hi Phil,
And welcome to the sketching forum!!
I'm very pleased that you 'try your luck'. I'm quit surprised that this fine rendering is your first sketch. Well done. It look very promising for your following sketches. 
As for the subleties : I've had to learn to use multiple layers to build up the sketch. The starfield has a layer and the DSO'object another layer. The advantage is that every layer can be brightened or darkened, without influence on the other layer. Maybe you can try that also?
Phil, I just received my copy of your excellent book : Touring the universe through binoculars! And I'm very pleased with it. It will be my guide for the next month when I try to observe the milky way.
Phil, I really look forward to see more of your observations posted in the sketching forum. 
Clear skies,
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Rony
My Astronomy Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
Edited by rodelaet (07/10/08 06:32 PM)
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PhilH
sage
Reged: 01/27/05
Posts: 233
Loc: Long Island, NY
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Quote:
I'm quit surprised that this fine rendering is your first sketch.
Thank you, Rony. I should have been clearer. This isn't my first sketch. Far from it. I have 40 years worth of deep-sky sketches in several notebooks here in my office. By "first sketch," I meant the first time I've tried your technique of taking a pencil drawing, scanning it in, and then creating a digital rendering. I know that you discussed your method in the Binocular forum some time back, which I reread this afternoon and thought I'd give it a go. What you see here is the end result of that (2-hour) process. *Whew* I'm exhausted -- to saying nothing of being bleary-eyed playing around in Photoshop. 
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Phil Harrington
"Binocular Universe" Columnist, Astronomy magazine
Author: Star Ware || Star Watch || Touring the Universe through Binoculars || et al...
http://www.philharrington.net
http://www.observingsites.com
"Two eyes are better than one!"
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rodelaet
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 2655
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Quote:
By "first sketch," I meant the first time I've tried your technique of taking a pencil drawing, scanning it in, and then creating a digital rendering.
Phil,
I understood it like you meant it. But still, the first time trying a new technique is challenging. The learning curve can be steep. With practice, Photoshop will work easier, and you'll find new ways of rendering things quicker. Once you have created a template for your future sketches, they will be finished sooner.
I also use a small digital drawing board. It uses a pencil instead of a mouse to move the cursor around. That way, drawing feels more natural, and you can apply all your pencil and blending techniques in Photoshop. Especially nebulae are easier to render, just like working with pencil on paper.
Phil, I hope you'll enjoy digital sketching as much as I do. I'm glad that you joined the sketching forum. Your expertise along with the new 'digital skills' that you gain, can become a very worthy contribution to the whole sketching community.
I'm looking forward to more of your sketches. So feel free to share them with us.
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Rony
My Astronomy Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
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PhilH
sage
Reged: 01/27/05
Posts: 233
Loc: Long Island, NY
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Rony,
I tried using the layering technique for that rendering of M101, but I couldn't get away from it having a "ring" around the outer edge. The only way I could get rid of it would have been to go with a pure black background, but I find your gray effect much more natural. Like you say, it all takes time.
Incidentally, I'm actually bouncing between a couple of programs to create the final sketch. After scanning in the original, I bring it into a program called Corel Presentations, which I have used for years to create all the line art in my books. After I correct the stars so that they are round, etc., I bring it into Photoshop to adjust brightness and contrast, and finally to invert it to white-on-gray.
You mentioned that you use Photopaint. I thought that was a Corel program, too, but I was confusing it with Paint Shop Pro. Who makes Photopaint, and do they have a trial version?
Thank you also for your kind words about Touring the Universe through Binoculars. I hope you enjoy it. I had wanted to include sketches in it, the printing process and the paper it's printed on just didn't do them justice. I do, however, have sketches in two later books, Star Watch and The Deep Sky: An Introduction. And I am currently working on a new book that will have sketches for just about all of the targeted objects, rather than photos.
Best regards,
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Phil Harrington
"Binocular Universe" Columnist, Astronomy magazine
Author: Star Ware || Star Watch || Touring the Universe through Binoculars || et al...
http://www.philharrington.net
http://www.observingsites.com
"Two eyes are better than one!"
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CarlosEH
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 3115
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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Rony,
An excellent observation and report of M101 (NGC 5457) in Ursa Major. This is an interesting face-on galaxy. Thank you for sharing it with us all.
Links;
http://www.maa.clell.de/Messier/E/m101.html
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2006/10/
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.skyhound.com/sh/archive/may/NGC_5474_03.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.skyhound.com/sh/archive/may/NGC_5474.html&h=435&w=433&sz=4&hl=en&start=56&um=1&tbnid=UEeT0hMoG3XKyM:&tbnh=126&tbnw=125&prev=/images%3Fq%3DM101%2B%252Bgalaxy%2B%252Bchart%26start%3D40%26ndsp%3D20%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN
Carlos
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rodelaet
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 2655
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Phil,
I guess that Photoshop also uses layers. My Photopaint (from Corel, yes) is obsolete.
Maybe the following technique can be helpful : First make a template with a circle and the appropriate background glow. this wil be the background for the sketch and should remain untouched during the whole process. Import your scanned sketch as a separate object or layer in front of the template. Stretch the layer to cover the circle. Now there should be a ruler to change the opacity of each object/layer. Set the scanned sketch layer at about 25% opacity. Now the layer will look transparent. Instead of working on this layer, create a new layer on which you copy (not really copy and paste, but draw from skratch) the stars as seen on your scan. Repeat this process for a 'nebulae' layer, a 'halo' layer, a 'glare' layer. Once all layers are rendered, delete the scan layer. Now ajust opacity for each layer according to your taste and combine them with the background for the final drawing. Never use a dark color to darken a lighter feature, use the eraser tool instead. The dark color will show up on the final sketch as an artefact, while the eraser will make the feature more transparent.
I hope this whole process makes sense to you? Your scan only serves to anchor the elements on the other layers. Any defects on the scan don't interfere cause the scan will be deleted anyway.
Clear skies,
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Rony
My Astronomy Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
Edited by rodelaet (07/11/08 05:56 PM)
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rodelaet
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 2655
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Carlos,
Thank you for the comments and the link. 
I hope to see your sketches soon again.
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Rony
My Astronomy Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
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CarlosEH
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 3115
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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Phil,
I would like to welcome such a well known author as yourself to the Cloudy Nights Sketching Forum. I have always enjoyed your books and articles. Your observation of M101 in Ursa Major is excellent. You have captured the appearance of this face-on galaxy in the eyepiece very nicely. Thank you for sharing it with us all. I look forward to your future observations as well as books and articles.
Carlos
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PhilH
sage
Reged: 01/27/05
Posts: 233
Loc: Long Island, NY
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Thanks, Carlos, and thank you also, Rony, for the further advice. I'm a neophyte, but will see what I can come up with.
Meanwhile, I'm posting two other renderings under a different thread that I concocted using the same technique as I did for M101. Comments/suggestions always welcome.
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Phil Harrington
"Binocular Universe" Columnist, Astronomy magazine
Author: Star Ware || Star Watch || Touring the Universe through Binoculars || et al...
http://www.philharrington.net
http://www.observingsites.com
"Two eyes are better than one!"
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