Our daughter set her alarm for 5:30 am to catch the eclipse this morning, and we awoke to the sounds of her crashing into things in the dark house. So, we all got up, threw on our heavy jackets, and drove away from the moon-blocking mass of Mt. Elden. We watched the moon slip into shadow as dawn gradually hid it from view. The belt of venus solidified along the western horizon to top off a beautiful eclipse.
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Positive sketch of Messier 31 and Companions
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Original negative sketch of Messier 31 and Companions
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| Subject: | Messier 31 and Companions |
| Issue: | November 2011 Astronomy Now |
| Basic Media: | Graphite on white stock |
| Featured Technique: | Capturing the broad dynamic range and subtle dust lanes of Messier 31. |
| Suggested Sketching Materials: |
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If you've been keeping up with Astronomy Now over the last few months, you've probably noticed that Peter Grego contributed two articles on sketching techniques for Jupiter and its moons. And now in the new December issue you will find an article by Erika Rix on lunar crater sketching.
I'm excited that they have both joined in to add their expertise to these and future articles. They will bring some great, new perspectives to the column, and a much appreciated raising of the bar on techniques for planetary, lunar and solar sketching. I hope you enjoy and learn from their contributions as much as I do!
If you haven't subscribed or picked up a copy of Astronomy Now before, they have made a free copy of the January 2011 issue available for download here: Astronomy Now Online (Click the link in the right column that says "Free PDF") Be sure to check it out!
September 2011
Full Disc Sketch of Jupiter by Peter Grego
October 2011
Sketch of Jupiter and Galilean Moons by Peter Grego
December 2011
Charcoal Sketch of Lunar Crater Eratosthenes by Erika Rix
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Sketch of comet C/2009 P1 (Garradd)
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Observation Notes:
I enjoyed a very nice view of C/2009 P1 (Garradd) tonight. It's been too long since I've gotten out for a recreational observation. The coma was moderately condensed with distinct elongation to the southeast. Further scrutiny revealed a prominent tail about 10 arc seconds in length pointed to the southeast at a PA of 115°. The south edge of this tail had a more abrupt spine while the north edge was softer. At a northeast PA 67°, a shorter, more delicate tail drifted about 5 arc seconds from the central condensation. Overall, there was an impression of a diffuse hood draped across the northwest side of the coma.
At times, I thought I detected the slightest hint of green in the coma, but I wasn't certain enough to include it in the sketch. The warmly colored, ninth magnitude glow of TYC1559-1174-1 decorated the north edge of the view. I looked for evidence of the comet's motion 90 minutes later, and there appeared to be some slight drift to the northwest. However, I hadn't plotted the star field with enough density close to the coma to estimate the apparently slow motion with enough accuracy.
OCT 31, 2011 UPDATE: I re-observed the comet the following night (NOV 1, 2011, 0330 UT) and noted motion of about 8 arc minutes to the west-northwest at a PA of about 287°.
| Subject | C/2009 P1 (Garradd) |
| Classification | Comet |
| Position* | Hercules: [RA: 17 37 31.2 / Dec: 18 44 35.5] |
| Size | Coma: 5 arc minute diameter Degree of Condensation: 6 Dust tail: 10 arc minute length at 115° PA Ion tail: 5 arc minute length at 67° PA |
| Brightness* | 6.5 vMag |
| Date/Time | OCT 30, 2011, 7:00 PM MST (OCT 31, 2011, 0200 UT) |
| Observing Loc. | Flagstaff, Arizona, USA - Home |
| Instrument | SkyQuest XT8 (8 inch f/5.9 Dobsonian) |
| Eyepieces/Mag. | Pentax XW10 (120X) |
| Conditions | Clear, calm, 1st quarter moon |
| Seeing | 5/10 Pickering |
| Transparency | SQM: 20.0 |
| *Sources | Starry Night Pro Plus 5.8; Aerith.net |
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Sketch of Iota Leonis (Struve 1536)
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Observation Notes:
Iota Leonis was ridiculously difficult in poor seeing--only resolving for moments as a dim fuzzball that was fainter than the primary's flickering diffraction pattern. They both appeared colorless. Smyth saw pale yellow and light blue while Hartung saw deep yellow and whitish.
| Subject | Iota Leonis (STF 1536; 78 Leonis; ADS 8148) |
| Classification | Double Star |
| Position (J2000)* | Leo [RA: 11 23 55.5 / Dec: +10 31 46.2] |
| Position Angle | AB: 97° [My Measurement 2009.9] AB: 105° [WDS 2007]* |
| Separation | AB: 3" [My Measurement 2009.9] AB: 1.9" [WDS 2007]* |
| Magnitudes* | A: 4.1; B: 6.7 |
| Spectral Types* | A: F4IV; B: F5V |
| Date/Time | NOV 27, 2009 - 5:30 AM MST (NOV 27, 2009 - 12:30 UT) |
| Observing Loc. | Flagstaff, AZ - Home |
| Instrument | Orion SkyQuest XT8 Dobsonian (203 mm dia./1200 mm F/L) |
| Eyepieces/Mag. | Pentax XW10 + 2X Barlow (240X) Meade Astrometric EP + 2X Barlow (200X) |
| Conditions | Clear, cold, hazy |
| Seeing | 3-4/10 Pickering |
| Transparency | Mag 5.5 NELM |
| *References | The Washington Visual Double Star Catalog (Mason+ 2001-2009); Catalogue of Stellar Spectral Classifications (Skiff, 2009); SIMBAD; Double Stars for Small Telescopes - Sissy Haas |
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