Impusive behavior.

Let's see your sketches!
Forum rules
"We love seeing your work and welcome any and all sketches on this forum, but please note whether your sketch is a through-the-eyepiece sketch or your rendition from an existing image / painting."
Post Reply
User avatar
John Donne United States of America
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 967
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2020 5:34 am
3
Location: US
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

TSS Photo of the Day

Impusive behavior.

#1

Post by John Donne »


Sketch of Mars.
October 17th 2020 about 1:30 AM.
I had no plans for viewing as the prognosis was very poor seeing...BUT...in an impulsive surge of energy at 11:30 PM on Friday night...I went out into my driveway.

I viewed Mars with a 10 Meade SCT coupled to a Baader 2" BBHS diagonal fitted with a Leica HC Plan S 10X25 microscope EP and a 2X TV barlow. I think I needed to tweet the collimation, but I did not take time to do this. I mounted everything on a hand driven Alt AZ mount.

Most of the view was unfortunately not crisp, but there were moments when the image snapped nicely. Just as quickly it melted. This cycle of seeing occurred many times while I was viewing and afforded me time and opportunity to quickly sketch and write a few detail notes to myself for later work on the sketch outlines.

Mars in this sky had a bit of a halo most of the time which I have attempted to illustrate.
The color may not be quite correct but this is the best my memory and imagination can do.
After rendering in pastel chalk I took this image into PS and tried to improve the outcome...not sure it helped. :-)
Attachments
Mars October 17 2020  1 AM Contrast.jpg
SCOPES :ES127 f7.5, SW100 f9 Evostar, ES80 F6, LXD75 8" f10 SCT, 2120 10" f10 SCT, ES152 f6.5.
MOUNTS: SW AZ/EQ5, MEADE LXD75, CELESTRON CG4, Farpoint Parallelogram.
BINOCULARS: CL 10X30, Pentax 8X43, 25X100 Oberwerks.
EP: Many.

"I am more than a sum of molecules.
I am more than a sum of memories or events.
I do not one day suddenly cease to be.
I am, before memory.
I am, before event.
I am"
User avatar
Ruud
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 813
Joined: Sun Feb 09, 2020 9:56 pm
4
Location: the Netherlands
Status:
Offline

Re: Impusive behavior.

#2

Post by Ruud »


Love it!
Thanks.
7x50 Helios Apollo 8x42 Bresser Everest 73mm f/5.9 WO APO 4" f/5 TeleVue Genesis 6" f/10 Celestron 6SE 0.63x reducer 1.8, 2, 2.5 and 3x Barlows eyepieces from 4.5 to 34mm
User avatar
helicon United States of America
Co-Administrator
Co-Administrator
Articles: 585
Online
Posts: 12280
Joined: Mon May 06, 2019 1:35 pm
4
Location: Washington
Status:
Online

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Impusive behavior.

#3

Post by helicon »


Great sketch John! All the key details are visible including the polar cap.
-Michael
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
Voyageur
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 682
Joined: Mon May 06, 2019 1:50 pm
4
Location: Leelanau County, Michigan, USA
Status:
Offline

Re: Impusive behavior.

#4

Post by Voyageur »


Beautiful sketch; well done.
Scopes: Vixen VMC200L, D=200mm, F=1950, f/9.75; Televue 2" Everbright diagonal. Coronado PST; AstroTech EDT 80mm, F=480, f/6.
Mounts: Vixen SXW/Starbook (original); Stellarvue M2C alt-az.
Eyepieces: Televue: 55mm Plossl, 22mm Panoptic, 17.3mm Delos, 13mm Nagler, c. 1980, 11mm Plossl, 7mm Nagler, 5mm Radian; Meade 15mm Super Plossl; VERNONSCOPE 2.4X BARLOW
Binoculars: Leica 8x32 Trinovids, circa 1997; Orion Megaview 20x80, Orion Paragon Plus mount.
User avatar
John Baars Netherlands
Co-Administrator
Co-Administrator
Articles: 5
Online
Posts: 2724
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 9:00 am
4
Location: Schiedam, Netherlands
Status:
Online

TSS Awards Badges

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: Impusive behavior.

#5

Post by John Baars »


It is a great sketch! Well done!
Refractors in frequency of use : *SW Evostar 120ED F/7.5 (all round ), * Vixen 102ED F/9 (vintage), both on Vixen GPDX.
GrabnGo on Alt/AZ : *SW Startravel 102 F/5 refractor( widefield, Sun, push-to), *OMC140 Maksutov F/14.3 ( planets).
Most used Eyepieces: *Panoptic 24, *Morpheus 14, *Leica ASPH zoom, *Zeiss barlow, *Pentax XO5.
Commonly used bino's : *Jena 10X50 , * Canon 10X30 IS, *Swarovski Habicht 7X42, * Celestron 15X70, *Kasai 2.3X40
Rijswijk Public Observatory: * Astro-Physics Starfire 130 f/8, * 6 inch Newton, * C9.25, * Meade 14 inch LX600 ACF, *Lunt.
Amateur astronomer since 1970.
Shabadoo
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 825
Joined: Wed May 15, 2019 4:27 am
4
Location: Mount Pocono, Pa, Usa
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Impusive behavior.

#6

Post by Shabadoo »


Looks Gr8!
Jeff
Dad Joke King (ask my kids); Cereal killer
Orion Skyview pro 8 f5.
Binos: Polaris/wingspan 8x42 Ed/HD
User avatar
Gordon United States of America
Site Admin
Site Admin
Articles: 1037
Offline
Posts: 8271
Joined: Wed Apr 24, 2019 10:52 pm
4
Location: Cottonwood, AZ
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

TSS Photo of the Day

I Broke The Forum.

Re: Impusive behavior.

#7

Post by Gordon »


Congratulations John on having your sketch selected as todays TSS APOD!

app.php/article/10-18-2020-tss-astropho ... of-the-day
Gordon
Scopes: Explore Scientific ED80CF, Skywatcher 200 Quattro Imaging Newt, SeeStar S50 for EAA.
Mounts: Orion Atlas EQ-g mount & Skywatcher EQ5 Pro.
ZWO mini guider.
Image cameras: ZWO ASI1600 MM Cool, ZWO ASI533mc-Pro, ZWO ASI174mm-C (for use with my Quark chromosphere), ZWO ASI120MC
Filters: LRGB, Ha 7nm, O-III 7nm, S-II 7nm
Eyepieces: a few.
Primary software: Cartes du Ciel, N.I.N.A, StarTools V1.4.

Image
User avatar
John Donne United States of America
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 967
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2020 5:34 am
3
Location: US
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: Impusive behavior.

#8

Post by John Donne »


Hmm.
Thank you Gordon, that is very kind.
SCOPES :ES127 f7.5, SW100 f9 Evostar, ES80 F6, LXD75 8" f10 SCT, 2120 10" f10 SCT, ES152 f6.5.
MOUNTS: SW AZ/EQ5, MEADE LXD75, CELESTRON CG4, Farpoint Parallelogram.
BINOCULARS: CL 10X30, Pentax 8X43, 25X100 Oberwerks.
EP: Many.

"I am more than a sum of molecules.
I am more than a sum of memories or events.
I do not one day suddenly cease to be.
I am, before memory.
I am, before event.
I am"
User avatar
Makuser United States of America
In Memory
In Memory
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 6394
Joined: Mon May 06, 2019 12:53 am
4
Location: Rockledge, FL.
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: Impusive behavior.

#9

Post by Makuser »


Hi John. A very nice sketch of Mars from you with the windows of good seeing constantly coming and going. The polar cap and dark surface markings are clearly visible in your artistic rendition. Thanks for sharing the view of your work with us John, and congratulations on winning the TSS APOD Award today.
Marshall
Sky-Watcher 90mm f/13.8 Maksutov-Cassegrain on motorized Multimount
Orion Astroview 120ST f/5 Refractor on EQ3 mount
Celestron Comet Catcher 140mm f/3.64 Schmidt-Newtonian on alt-az mount
Celestron Omni XLT150R f/5 Refractor on CG4 mount with dual axis drives.
Orion 180mm f/15 Maksutov-Cassegrain on CG5-GT Goto mount.
Orion XT12i 12" f/4.9 Dobsonian Intelliscope.
Kamakura 7x35 Binoculars and Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Binoculars. ZWO ASI 120MC camera.
>)))))*>
User avatar
John Donne United States of America
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 967
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2020 5:34 am
3
Location: US
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: Impusive behavior.

#10

Post by John Donne »


I have been observing Mars as often as possible in its opposition this month.
I have viewsd Mars with 4 inch and 6 inch refractor telescopes, and 8 inch and 10 inch Schmidt Cassigrain reflector telescopes.

This sketch was done yesterday after my last view in the series with the ten inch Schmidt Cassigrain.
It was begun with crude outlines of dark and light masses at the telescope. I spoke notes in a handheld recorder throught my session of approximate color and some of the fine detail which was fleeting but revealed over the course of my 1.5 hour viewing. Back in my studio the afternoon of the 17th I began the rendering on paper with soft lead pencil and chalk pastels. I used the lid of a cooking pot to make a nice circle within which to draw and used it again as a mask to surround Mars with a dark sky background. When I finish the preliminary chalk pastel I digitize this image and added some augmentation in my Photoshop program. The chalk and pencil work was too sharp and appeared more focused than it was at the EP. This unsatisfying "over focused" appearance I reduced in Photoshop and in doing so brought out the fine halo ring around Mars.

When one is in the doing it is easy to get lost in the thing. I normally would put it away for a day or two and return with a fresh eye, but in this case I posted when I finished.

Thank you again for honoring this sketch with this APOD.
SCOPES :ES127 f7.5, SW100 f9 Evostar, ES80 F6, LXD75 8" f10 SCT, 2120 10" f10 SCT, ES152 f6.5.
MOUNTS: SW AZ/EQ5, MEADE LXD75, CELESTRON CG4, Farpoint Parallelogram.
BINOCULARS: CL 10X30, Pentax 8X43, 25X100 Oberwerks.
EP: Many.

"I am more than a sum of molecules.
I am more than a sum of memories or events.
I do not one day suddenly cease to be.
I am, before memory.
I am, before event.
I am"
User avatar
helicon United States of America
Co-Administrator
Co-Administrator
Articles: 585
Online
Posts: 12280
Joined: Mon May 06, 2019 1:35 pm
4
Location: Washington
Status:
Online

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Impusive behavior.

#11

Post by helicon »


Congrats on winning the APOD John. Well-deserved.
-Michael
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
User avatar
John Baars Netherlands
Co-Administrator
Co-Administrator
Articles: 5
Online
Posts: 2724
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 9:00 am
4
Location: Schiedam, Netherlands
Status:
Online

TSS Awards Badges

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: Impusive behavior.

#12

Post by John Baars »


Congratulations on the APOD!
Well done!
Refractors in frequency of use : *SW Evostar 120ED F/7.5 (all round ), * Vixen 102ED F/9 (vintage), both on Vixen GPDX.
GrabnGo on Alt/AZ : *SW Startravel 102 F/5 refractor( widefield, Sun, push-to), *OMC140 Maksutov F/14.3 ( planets).
Most used Eyepieces: *Panoptic 24, *Morpheus 14, *Leica ASPH zoom, *Zeiss barlow, *Pentax XO5.
Commonly used bino's : *Jena 10X50 , * Canon 10X30 IS, *Swarovski Habicht 7X42, * Celestron 15X70, *Kasai 2.3X40
Rijswijk Public Observatory: * Astro-Physics Starfire 130 f/8, * 6 inch Newton, * C9.25, * Meade 14 inch LX600 ACF, *Lunt.
Amateur astronomer since 1970.
User avatar
BABOafrica Kenya
Local Group Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 2757
Joined: Tue May 07, 2019 2:41 pm
4
Location: Kenya
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: Impusive behavior.

#13

Post by BABOafrica »


Wow, that's a beautiful sketch. Speaks volumes about your observational skills.

Congrats on the award !!!

BABO
"In lumine tuo videbimus lumen."

Scopes: Stellarvue SV80 Raptor Carbon Fiber ED Doublet / Celestron SCT C8
Williams Optics 66mm APO / DIY 8" f/4 Newtonian astrograph / Nikon 180mm f/2.8
Mounts: Orion Atlas EQ-G / Celestron AVX / DIY mini-equatorial
Cameras: QHY163m / Fujifilm X-A1 (modded) / Fuji X-A2 (not modded) / Orion StarShoot Auto Guider
Filters: ZWO 7nm NB set / ZWO LRGB set / ZWO Dual Band / Astronomics UHC
Steve
Earth Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2020 6:03 pm
3
Location: England
Status:
Offline

Re: Impusive behavior.

#14

Post by Steve »


John Donne wrote: Sun Oct 18, 2020 5:56 pm I have been observing Mars as often as possible in its opposition this month.
I have viewsd Mars with 4 inch and 6 inch refractor telescopes, and 8 inch and 10 inch Schmidt Cassigrain reflector telescopes.

This sketch was done yesterday after my last view in the series with the ten inch Schmidt Cassigrain.
It was begun with crude outlines of dark and light masses at the telescope. I spoke notes in a handheld recorder throught my session of approximate color and some of the fine detail which was fleeting but revealed over the course of my 1.5 hour viewing. Back in my studio the afternoon of the 17th I began the rendering on paper with soft lead pencil and chalk pastels. I used the lid of a cooking pot to make a nice circle within which to draw and used it again as a mask to surround Mars with a dark sky background. When I finish the preliminary chalk pastel I digitize this image and added some augmentation in my Photoshop program. The chalk and pencil work was too sharp and appeared more focused than it was at the EP. This unsatisfying "over focused" appearance I reduced in Photoshop and in doing so brought out the fine halo ring around Mars.

When one is in the doing it is easy to get lost in the thing. I normally would put it away for a day or two and return with a fresh eye, but in this case I posted when I finished.

Thank you again for honoring this sketch with this APOD.
i/b]
John Donne wrote: Sun Oct 18, 2020 5:56 pm I have been observing Mars as often as possible in its opposition this month.
I have viewsd Mars with 4 inch and 6 inch refractor telescopes, and 8 inch and 10 inch Schmidt Cassigrain reflector telescopes.

This sketch was done yesterday after my last view in the series with the ten inch Schmidt Cassigrain.
It was begun with crude outlines of dark and light masses at the telescope. I spoke notes in a handheld recorder throught my session of approximate color and some of the fine detail which was fleeting but revealed over the course of my 1.5 hour viewing. Back in my studio the afternoon of the 17th I began the rendering on paper with soft lead pencil and chalk pastels. I used the lid of a cooking pot to make a nice circle within which to draw and used it again as a mask to surround Mars with a dark sky background. When I finish the preliminary chalk pastel I digitize this image and added some augmentation in my Photoshop program. The chalk and pencil work was too sharp and appeared more focused than it was at the EP. This unsatisfying "over focused" appearance I reduced in Photoshop and in doing so brought out the fine halo ring around Mars.

When one is in the doing it is easy to get lost in the thing. I normally would put it away for a day or two and return with a fresh eye, but in this case I posted when I finished.

Thank you again for honoring this sketch with this APOD.

Hi I very much enjoyed your description of the artistic process of the image you created,inspirational as I would like to get into AP,however funds are tight but this could be just as rewarding.Thanks for the share.
User avatar
mariosi Cyprus
Saturn Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 346
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2019 11:45 am
4
Location: Cyprus - Mammari
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: Impusive behavior.

#15

Post by mariosi »


Congratulations on the APOD. Excellent observation and sketch.
Post Reply

Create an account or sign in to join the discussion

You need to be a member in order to post a reply

Create an account

Not a member? register to join our community
Members can start their own topics & subscribe to topics
It’s free and only takes a minute

Register

Sign in

Return to “Astronomy Sketching”