NGC 7000

[Don Quixote]

Last night "Hankmeister3" and I went out to our Fithian dark site with our chosen kit and some sandwiches and drinks.
Henry imaged with his Quatro and I lounged with binoculars.

I was doing "Birdwatcher" astronomy.

At midnight when NGC7000 was nearly at zenith I made this observation with my Oberwerks 25X100 binoculars. I reclined in my ZG chair and easily hand held these binoculars.
I have attempted to render this sketch as close as I can to the contrasts which I was actually viewing. The sketch may show somewhat more contrast than what I actually observed. It was difficult to render the subtletie. This orientation is as viewed.

Later I may post a complete review of our outing with the 17 wonderful objects, new and old, which I enjoyed through the binoculars.

The prize for me was the view of NGC7000.

[Bigzmey]

Nice sketch Mark! Handheld 25x100? Barvo!

[bobharmony]

Very nice sketch, Mark. Hand held binoculars AND sketching? Precisely how many arms do you have, anyway??? I would never have the patience, never mind the dexterity, for that!

Bob

[Don Quixote]

Very nice sketch, Mark. Hand held binoculars AND sketching? Precisely how many arms do you have, anyway??? I would never have the patience, never mind the dexterity, for that!

Bob

It really was easy Bob. The binoculars are quite manageable while reclining and viewing nearly at zenith. I viewed this target off and on for about 20 minutes, verifying that what I thought I was seeing was in fact what I thought.

This involved studying the star field and comparing with SS5 and identifying the visual which I had not experienced prior to this. Once I concluded the dusty figure was in fact in the correct location for NGC7000 I spent quit a while letting it soak through my eyes and into my brain. I can still see it in my minds eye as I write this post.

It is not a complicated figure to sketch. There is a low intensity of detail. The view consisted mainly in resolving the contrast difference in NGC7000 with its background. Really it is the southern portion of the view that is the tell in this recognition. The northern section extended beyond my fov.

The sketch is merely a simple bitone rendering of these contrasting fields with a few star points of the most prominent stars in the view.
The sketch began in the field with a rudimentary line sketch outlining the edges of the contrasting fields as I saw them, and making note of and depicting the orientation of the field as it appears in the binoculars as well as a few marker stars. At home I filled in the line sketch with dark and light tones.
When I had completed my positive sketch I uploaded a snapshot to PS5 and rendered an inversion followed by a tweaking of the contrast in an attempt to match what I remembered from the binoculars. The view was a very low contrast view.

So... that is the end of the story.

Thank you for looking.

[Hankmeister3]

So, that's what you were seeing from your portable barco-lounger last night, eh, Marcus? You clearly have better 65 year old eyes than I do! Heh! To even see such a dim DSO under the skies we had - Pickering 4 at best with transparency about the same, maybe touching 5 from time to time - is quite and achievement. I could hear the excitement in your voice as you were observing 7000. Your view through your binocs is almost similar scale to what I've imaged with my Quattro 8 earlier this week.

Nice rendering.

[Don Quixote]

So, that's what you were seeing from your portable barco-lounger last night, eh, Marcus? You clearly have better 65 year old eyes than I do! Heh! To even see such a dim DSO under the skies we had - Pickering 4 at best with transparency about the same, maybe touching 5 from time to time - is quite and achievement. I could hear the excitement in your voice as you were observing 7000. Your view through your binocs is almost similar scale to what I've imaged with my Quattro 8 earlier this week.

Nice rendering.

It was looking through that dark iris of the sky that did the trick, Henry. The near zenith views were the best.

[bladekeeper]

Very nice sketch of the NAM, Mark!

[frazier]

That's a great capture, thank you for sharing it.

...The sketch may show somewhat more contrast than what I actually observed. ...

FWIW, I almost always increase the contrast when I sketch a DSO - I'm more interested in capturing the details I see, than in faithfully reproducing the eyepiece view. But everyone makes their own decisions ...

Cheers!

[Don Quixote]

That's a great capture, thank you for sharing it.

...The sketch may show somewhat more contrast than what I actually observed. ...

FWIW, I almost always increase the contrast when I sketch a DSO - I'm more interested in capturing the details I see, than in faithfully reproducing the eyepiece view. But everyone makes their own decisions ...

Cheers!

Thank you Frazier.
I appreciate your useful comment and encouragement on the sketching.

[helicon]

Great sketch Mark and congrats on bagging NGC 7000. The view reminds me of a dark sky trip a couple of years back when I was able to view the North America Nebula through the 15x70's. I have never been able to replicate an observation of this object at home.

[Shabadoo]

Nice sketch.

[Juno16]

Hi Mark,

It’s amazing that you could glimpse that target. Good for You!

I would have to take several looks too, just to confirm. Also with pointing the phone running SkySafari at the target too!

Once I see something amazing like that, I have to look away and go back to it several times and it feels so good!

Fine sketch too!

Thanks,
Jim