57 replies to this topic

[bphaneuf]

Subtle work Martijn.  Love how the gossamer halo and faint brighter areas seem to float in the starfield.  I've not seen this one, but it immediately reminded me of NGC 520/Arp 157, which is two colliding galaxies that show a similar brightening pattern on the edges and a darker core areas very much like you've drawn here.  Forgive the out-of-season sketch:

 

 

See what I mean?

-b

Edited by bphaneuf, 27 March 2024 - 12:56 PM.

[cloudbuster]

Hi Butch, that galaxy of yours DOES look like NGC 4945! Nice work.

Good thing that Arp 157 is still on my to-do list 

 

Martijn

[cloudbuster]

NGC 6067 is very beautiful. It's large and rich and even unresolved in some areas I think. The center is the most crowded part and surrounded by some pretty bright stars of which some show color (yellow and blue). Quite many double stars or pairs of stars can be seen. Nice!

 

 

 

NGC 5823 is a nice and clearly defined open cluster, a bit in the shape of a boat. Quite uniform in brightness, rich and loose at the same time. In the center I could see two dark round zones without stars in it, like big eyes. Another dark zone can be seen up and left of the cluster. I tried to add it to the sketch.

 

 

 

Martijn

[mdowns]

Ngc 5460 is an open cluster in the Centaur that I drew several years ago with the 11. This drawing of Virgo's ngc 4388 was drawn just under a year ago from observations with the equinox.Both are from viewings outback.

 

 

[JMSchwartz]

Michael I really like your sketch of Ngc 4388 & surrounding Galaxys.

CSS Jon 

[bphaneuf]

Here's Markarian's Chain in Virgo and Coma Berenices over three nights - 3/28, 3/30 and 4/3/2024.  Conditions were breezy to windy making for poor seeing but good to excellent transparency.  SQM readings over the three nights ranged from 20.53 to 20.89, the latter being the best I've ever had at GHRO.

 

 

 

-b

 

[nof]

I just saw this for the first time from OzSky with 20” & 25” and I recognized it from your sketch. The galaxy looks like a brushstroke. Nice work!

The “Gold Dollar Galaxy” (NGC 4945) is a large edge-on (but not terribly bright) with some interesting features. First of all, the core zone appears to be missing. Instead, a brighter area is observed just above and right of it. Another brighter zone is a line under and left on the edge. The second nickname of this object is the "Tweezers Galaxy" because of these two brighter zones and I can definitely relate to that. Above and left, a bright star is seen, close to the edge where the galaxy is intruded as if the star is somehow responsible for that… Right of it a small brighter knot can be seen. With AV, the galaxy extends much further upwards and the field is littered with stars, too many to draw them all... This may be the most beautiful galaxy which us northerners can’t see in our hemisphere. Sketched with a 16″ dobson @129x.

NGC-4945-uitsnede.jpg

[bphaneuf]

Here are a couple from Holmberg 124, with labelled versions.  NGC 2805 is a study in low surface brightness.  It's listed as vmag 11.8 but it was barely discernible being a face-on spiral. 

 

         

 

 

         

 

-b

[mdowns]

I did this drawing of the Coma star cluster(mel 111) with the 90mm rft . Virgo's ngc 5864 was drawn from observations with 'ol faithful'(the C11).

 

 

[bphaneuf]

Time to bump this thread again.  Here's a nostalgic favorite from UMa.  A little over two years ago I was just learning to hop and sketch.  (Sounds like an elementary school playground, doesn't it?)  Seeing a galaxy was an accomplishment.   I was using my 10" classic SkyWatcher Dob at the club observatory, had finished my target list and was wondering what to look for next.  I had not prepared any additional "hop cards" but thought I'd remembered that if I drew a line from Phecda across the Big Dipper ladle to Dubhe, and extended that line beyond Dubhe to a similar distance M81 and M82 would be there, and I'd not seen them before.  Did that with the Telrad, and looked in the 25mm eyepiece at 48x and was stunned.  There they were!  A real serendipitous moment, made even more so when a meteor shot through the FOV.   The two years since have enabled me to see, and I hope draw, better and with more challenging targets, but I'll always remember this one with a smile.  It was a huge boost.  

 

 

-b

[frank5817]

Messier 64 in Coma Berenices
Sketchingn and equipment:

Date and Time:05-13-2013, 12:10am Local time
Scope: 18” f/4.8 Dobsonian.  282 x
8”x12” black Canson sketching paper,pastel pencils, white and black,
blending stumps, Q-tip
Seeing: Pickering 7/10
Transparency: Average 3/5
Frank5817

 

[mdowns]

I did this drawing of Virgo's ngc 5566 last spring while using the equinox(eaa) and the other Virgo subject,ngc 4753,a number of years ago with the c11.

 

 

[nof]

Hello,

One of the most brilliant sights that I've ever seen was the Sombrero Galaxy at a distance of 65 million light years in Virgo through the 25" Obsession telescope at OzSky Star Safari last month in Coonabarabran, Australia. Standing, of course, at the top of a tall ladder leaning over to reach the eyepiece, trying not to get dizzy from the view. No one was hurrying me, but I didn't think I could pull out my ipad and start sketching, though I wanted to. I wasn't the only one there. So this sketch is made from memory with the assistance of Sky Safari for scale and stars. I suppose that I am seeing it with averted memory...it may not be entirely accurate; but it did leave a strong impression.

 

The first thing that your eye notices is the glowing dome with the bright core, then the prominent dust lane that bisects the galaxy. But what struck me most at the time was the faint dust line that I was seeing over the "top" of the galaxy. When I saw that, I realized it was the continuation of the darker, more prominent dust lanes on the edge facing us. With that realization, the galaxy suddenly popped from being a two dimensional flattened view into a three dimensional object floating in space. Bang! Wow!

 

I pointed out the fainter dust lane to the others, but they weren't all so sure. Looking at photographs the next day confirmed my impression.

 

I post it here with some hesitation: it's done from memory; I'm sure that I didn't get the shading and thickness of the closer dust lane quite right. But the sketch matches my visual memory of M104. Anyway, this isn't science here in this forum, though it does sometimes border on that. O'Meara in the Messier Objects notes that few other deep-sky objects give us this three-dimensional experience, something like viewing Saturn. 

 

Best wishes to all!

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Edited by nof, 24 April 2024 - 02:45 PM.

[bphaneuf]

Well said and well drawn, sir!

[frank5817]

Here are 2 bright galaxies I observed and sketched 2 nights back from my backyard.
The transparency and seeing were both pretty good on this night of observation. Light pollution however has noticeably increased  this past year here in eastern Mesa, Arizona. Bortle sky rating is 7 right now.

 

 

 

 

[nof]

Frank, you do very well, even in those bright skies.

[TomC]

Long time I've posted on CN, so I'll catch up: here are some sketches of galaxies in Leo.

 

 

 

 

 

There are many many more splendid galaxies in this area (I've logged over 170 sketches for Leo alone), so let these be a guide and inspiration to check out the sky yourself. 

[JMSchwartz]

Ngc 4631 the whale ,this was a previous sketch now adding Color  and details from a recent malincam image .

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Edited by JMSchwartz, 28 April 2024 - 10:28 AM.

[JMSchwartz]

M 101 the Pinwheel Galaxy sketched from Observations at Mount Pinos looking through the 32 & 28"Slipstream Telescopes. 

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[hokkaido53]

Everyone,

Some great work here! You are definitely keeping my enthusiasm going. And the Spring galaxy season has just begun (in the Northern Hemisphere).

Roy in New Mexico

[JMSchwartz]

M - 104 The Sombrero Galaxy sketched from Mount Pinos Ca. Looking through my recently sold 24" with a Superb Kennedy primary. 

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[JMSchwartz]

Ngc 4565 sketched from Mount Pinos Ca.  Lookimg through my 28"Slipstream Telescope additional details Looking through the 32" Slipstream Telescope. Clear Skies Always Jon 

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[JMSchwartz]

M-91 in south Coma Berenices. Sketched, looking through.from Mount Pinos looking through the 32" & 28" Slipstream Telescopes. 

Clear Skies Always Jon 

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[bphaneuf]

Here is Abell 1060 or Hydra I.  A dozen member galaxies observed in a varied starfield with a couple bright reds.

 

         

 

-b

[mdowns]

These two drawings are of targets in Coma Berenices,M 85 and the pair ngc 4302/4298. Both drawn from views with the C11 a few years ago.