Znith Astronomy Observatory Malta

Pickering's floral crater

2012-01-31T19:31:00.000+01:00

Eratosthenes and environs. December 4, 2011. 22:00-22:30UT. 200mm SCT f/10. 333x

Eratosthenes is a very dramatic and beautiful deep crater with a well-defined circular rim, terraced inner walls, a central mountain peak, but lacking its own ray system. The sketch, which is my third and best sketch of Eratosthenes so far, was done at relatively low sun-angles to bring out the shadow cast by the crater and adjacent western terminus of the Montes Apenninus mountain range. What makes this formation interesting to sketch is its linkage with the Apennine mountain chain.

In my sketch I tried to bring out the following features:

Rays from the prominent crater Copernicus to the south-west
Fine detail of the western terminus of the Montes Apenninus mountain range.
Numerous craterlets which typify the region around Eratosthenes
Internal wall terracing

Way back in 1924 Pickering noted dark patches in the crater that varied in a regular manner with time. He attributed these mobile patches to around 36 different flowering plants. Check out this old document here written by one of his associates.

UPDATED: Venus: banded, dusky markings visible

2012-01-17T16:38:00.024+01:00

CLICK HERE FOR AN I NDEPENDENT VISUAL OBSERVATION MADE BY PAUL ABEL USING PATRICK MOORE'S 12.5" REFLECTOR AT SELSEY, UK.

Drawing Intensity Estimate

ALPO Report - Venus, 12 January 2012:

Banded dusky markings visible
South Cusp-Cap brighter
South Cusp Cap larger
North and South Cusp-Bands both visible
No dark hemisphere illumination
Limb band not visible
Terminator geometrically regular
Terminator shading visible
No atmospheric features detected

Saluting comet Garradd

2012-01-15T18:12:00.001+01:00

This is a sketch of comet "Garradd" when it passed the Coathanger asterism in the constellation of Vulpelca last year at 20:14 UT on 3rd September 2011. Part of the Brocchi's cluster is included. The brightest star in the upper left corner (size is equivalent to magnitude) of the sketch is 5Vul (mag. 5.6).

At the time the comet had a small bright coma, symmetrical, round and evenly washed out shape. The rather broad but short tail was possible to spot under averted vision. At the time the comet was moving pretty fast.

NGC 869 under perfect seeing

2012-01-14T20:25:00.004+01:00

I like visiting the double cluster when visible in the night winter sky. Both clusters are roughly circular, one having a slightly brighter and more condensed core than the other looser one, and they are magnificent under the low power of an 8" SCT. I usually spend quite a bit of time savouring the complexity and beauty of these two clusters and switching off with a mental photograph of this celestial wonder.

Tonight I decided to use all the observation time available to sketch the looser cluster, since this offered a less of a challenge than the other cluster. The chosen cluster fitted nicely in the field of view of the 25mm plossl. The weather was excellent, with a mild northerly wind and low relative humidity, making the visibility better than the usual. Under a faint red light, I used a 2B pencil to mark the distribution of the bright stars, followed by the fainter ones. At the heart of the cluster I could notice a faint glow which I included in the sketch.

It was difficult to record down the coloured stars, and I decided not to include any colour. It took me around 15 minutes to complete the sketch.

Celebrating the new year 2012

2012-01-03T20:56:00.000+01:00

It was a clear night this first evening of 2012. I decided to keep the session simple by making a visual observation of this great planet. Seeing was great. I used the binoviewer with 2 celestron 12mm plossl. Filters used were green on the left and orange on the right eyepiece. This resulted in great visual detail, as shown by the intensity sketch.

At the time of sketch the GRS was coming into view. Interesting detail was its clear and active wake. The NEB looked very narrow and the dark barges are still very evident and conspicuous alongside NEBn. Festoons were barely visible in the EZ.

An active south equatorial band

2011-11-26T17:54:00.014+01:00

The night sky on Nov 22nd was clear but thermally unstable. The observation session was very short due to poor seeing at high power.

The upper image was taken using at f/10, and has been rescaled to show a similar image as seen through the telescope with a 10mm eyepiece.

The bottom image composite was taken with a DMK monochrome camera, f/25, using lumicon slide filter and Astronomik type-2c filters and Baader IR pass contrast booster.

The NEB seems to be calm and quite narrow. Note the small dark spot on the NEBn near to CM.

The SEB is very active unlike the NEB. This activity is spatially connected to the GRS (not shown on this image). Note the wide dark band on the STB and small white oval in the SPR.

The EZ is very active.

See reference guide for Jupiter surface nomenclature.

Check out other Jupiter images on November 22nd here.

Jupiter's Opposition with Earth on October 28th

2011-10-29T14:16:00.008+02:00

The Jupiter and Europa image was captured using DMK21AU04 monochrome camera and filters (RGBL). The images were captured using IC Capture and processed with Registax 6. Instrument used C8 f/25. Fps: 30, 45secs. Seeing 4/10

What is striking in this combined image is the complexity of the SEB texture, with a conspicuous darker streak extending horizontally from the GRS (not visible), and the dark swirls next to the STropZ.

See reference guide for Jupiter surface nomenclature.

Check out other Jupiter images on October 28th here.

Jupiter's detail under good seeing conditions

2011-10-22T13:13:00.003+02:00

The Jupiter and Europa image is a combined CCD image using DMK21AU04 monochrome camera and SPC900 (RGB). The images were captured on October 21st 2011 between 19:18 and 19:30 UTC using IC Capture and SharpCap and processed with Registax 6. Instrument used C8 f/25.

Seeing conditions were good.

Starting from the North (top):

Prominent regular dark ovals seen in line with the NNTBn jet next to the central meridian.

NEB looks narrow. The bright red barges in NEBn remain active and prominent. NTropZ has a slight bluish hue.

The EZ looks very complex, with prominent festoons made more visible by the Baader filter.

The SEB texture is very rich, with a conspicuous darker streak extending horizontally from the GRS (not visible).

Major activity is seen within STZ on the F side. Small white ovals are seen in SPR.

See reference guide for Jupiter surface nomenclature.

Check out other Jupiter images on October 21st here.

Io orbiting Jupiter

2011-10-13T19:45:00.002+02:00

The Jupiter and Io image is a combined CCD image using DMK21AU04 monochrome camera (L) and SPC900 (RGB) both with IR block filter. The captured this image on October 7th 2011 at 22:13UT using IC Capture and SharpCap and processed with Registax 6. Instrument used C8 f/25.

Seeing conditions were unstable.

Starting from the North (top):

NEB looks narrow. The dark red spots in NEBn remain active and prominent. NTropZ has a alight bluish hue.

Two major prominent dark ovals are observed in the NEB.

The EZ looks quite complex, with a prominent festoon extending along the central meridian.

The SEB texture is very rich, with no conspicuous white ovals.

Major actiuvuty is seen within STZ on the F side. Small white ovals are seen in SPR.

See reference guide for Jupiter surface nomenclature.

Check out other Jupiter images on October 7th here.

Interesting activity in NEBn region

2011-10-01T18:21:00.000+02:00

Seeing was unstable. North at top.

NEB looks narrower. The dark red spots in NEBn remain active and are still prominent.
Dark 'swirls' outcrop from the central dark red spot which extend horizontally in both directions along the NEBn.

NTropZ has a distinctive bluish hue, and seems to be interacting with NEBn region next to central dark red spot.

EZ looks active.

Large JrGRS seen coming into view in STZ on F side.

Small white ovals are seen aligned in STZ on the P side of the meridian.

See reference guide for Jupiter surface nomenclature.

Check out other Jupiter images on October 1st here.

A shot of a still distant Mars

2011-09-19T11:08:00.001+02:00

This is my first Mars image alongside the simulation for September 17th at 02:22UT.

The Planet is still very distant, and seeing conditions were far from optimal. Mars' altitude is still low prior to sunrise, at which point is strongly influenced by turbulence.

Some interesting features can be seen. Amazonis and Arcadia are bright. The dark region of Mare Erythreum is evident next to the brighter Chrysae. NPC is not clearly evident in the image.

A shaky glimpse of Jupiter

2011-09-17T13:47:00.003+02:00

Seeing conditions were unstable. Final result is poor compared to previous occasions.

Starting from the North (top):

A small number of white ovals are visible within the NNTZ and NPR.

Two major prominent dark ovals are observed in the NEB. Upper edge of NEB shows continuous swirling pattern overlapping in NTropZ.

The EZ looks quite complex, with a prominent festoon on the F side of the CM.

The SEB texture is very rich, with no conspicuous white ovals. A dark oval is seen on the F side of the CM.

?JrGRS in STZ near CM.

See reference guide for Jupiter surface nomenclature.

Check out other Jupiter images on September 17th here.

A tribute to the great Posidonius

2011-09-16T21:10:00.001+02:00

Posidonius is around 95 km in diameter and is located on the western edge of Mare Serenitatis. It has low and narrow western walls which rapidly thin out and end in a distinct break (Z). On the outer surface underneath the narrow walls are little hills. The eastern walls are broad.

To the southwest of the central crater A is a small round crater, while to the northeast are numerous hills and small craters. Located on the northeast wall are the deep craters B and D

The interior surface of Posidonius shows complex features. Particularly striking at a low sun elevation is the extended long cleft situated in the eastern portion of the Posidonius’ floor. Its eastern side is rather narrow, steep and highly reflective.

I took this image on September 3rd at around 1800UT. It is made up of a stack of 4954 images taken using DMK camera attached to C8 f/25. Seeing conditions were moderate to good.

IC Capture software was used to capture the video file which was then processed using registax 6 followed by slight processing using GIMP.

A close study of sectors A, B, C and D follows:

Sector A

The remains of an inner ring which has been filled with lava is evident to the right of crater A.

Part of the relic of this inner ring features a twin peak which according to Clark this feature is resolvable as two peaks when the seeing is around 1.5” arc median or less.

The image on the left is an inverted subset of sector A. The twin peaks have been clearly resolved suggesting good atmospheric conditions. The circular ring outline in red refers to the remains of the inner ring. Rille I is seen passing between the ring fragment and A.

Shown in the main image above along the north-south orientation is the fine rille crossing Posidonius (I). Other fine rills are seen (II, III, IV and V). An unclassified hereby denoted as cleft “IIprime” seems to originate from rille II which then diverts westward to cut through part of the western rampart.

Sector B

The subset shown on the left follows the sinuous Posidonius rille II which approaches the northern wall almost at an angle of 60 degrees and which then turns and runs parallel to the wall towards the east.

Better atmospheric conditions would resolve this interesting rille into a sinuous formation. Images from the Lunar Reconnaisance Orbiter show it as a remarkable feature which has formed from turbulent and highly viscous lava flow at high temperature able to erode the underlying surface. In turbulent fluid flows, eddies and vortices result in the twists and turns seen in this and other rille formation.

The tagged line shown in the left subset image follows the general sinuous rille II.

Sector C

To the southwest of Posidonius is a large, interesting complex formation. The CCD image seems to show a connection which ‘bridges’ the interior with the exterior part towards crater Charconac in the form of a winding mountain ridge.

The subset image on the left shows this feature as a sort of large uphill mountainous bridge stretching outwards towards the exterior.

Sector D

Another interesting area arises from the prevalent shadows at the time of imaging this crater at 1806UT, specifically on part of the Eastern wall. The subset image below shows part of the eastern wall having a major shadow embedded within itself, suggesting an extended sloping upward wall with a large elongated crevice in between.

Another close encounter with the Giant

2011-09-03T14:13:00.060+02:00

The top image is a combined CCD image I took of Jupiter using DMK21AU04 monochrome camera (L) and SPC900 (RGB) both with IR block filter. The captured this image on September 3rd 2011 at 0349UT using IC Capture and SharpCap and processed with Registax 6. Instrument used C8 f/25.

I am still testing to find out optimal settings for both cameras.

Seeing conditions were unstable.

Starting from the North (top):

Dark features on the NTeB and NNTeB are well visible. A number of white ovals are visible within the NNTeZ and NPR.

A number of prominent dark ovals are observed in the NEB.

The EZ again looks quite complex, with a prominent festoon on the F side of the CM.

The SEB texture is very rich, with no conspicuous white ovals.

See reference guide for Jupiter surface nomenclature.

An obscure 'spider' in Catharina P

2011-08-25T19:06:00.012+02:00

Catharina, together with Theophilus and Cyrillus forms part of a prominent trio on the northwest side of Mare Nectaris.

Catharina is the largest of the three great formations: a ringed crater with an irregular outline, extending more than 100kms. The wall is rather narrow and low on the northwest but rises to more than double the height on its northeastern side. This side of the wall is heavily impacted by several smaller craters. Little terracing on the inner wall is evident, and the outer wall sections are heavily eroded. The floor is relatively flat but rough, with the remains of smaller craters and hills. No central peaks are visible.

The most remarkable features of the crater are (1) the large, narrow-ringed Catharina P occupying a third of the floor of Imbrian origin, and (2) a large ring-plain on the S. side.

An interesting and delicate formation on the east side of Catharina P has been nicknamed by Haslet as Catharina's spider. His 'personal' sketch can be seen at this link which certainly merits a re-visit. This barely 10km-wide feature is not visible in the Moon-Light Atlas nor in Neison's (1876).

My sketch (left) of Catharina's 'spider'.
SCT200mm, f/10, 2.5x barlow, 2x10mm binoviewer. 5th August 2011, 18:22UT, 5/10,
znith-observatory.blogspot.com

High resolution images show it as a formation of a pair of small plateaus next to each other. The image on the left by Wes Higgins (http://www.lpod.org/?m=20060817) shows it to be a very shallow formation crossed by a fine chain of craters traversing it from the NE direction and extending towards the southern eroded wall of Catharina P. This image was taken on July 15, 2006 using an 18" reflector, Infinity 2-1M camera, 15fps, stack of 325 frames. [capture time unavailable].

On August 5th, I photographed this un-commonly documented 'spider' formation (below). The low sun angle brought into view the shallow plateau illuminating it's slightly elevated level from the floor of Catharina P.

It is interesting to note that in Higgin's image the sun angle is illuminating the 'spider' from the opposite side to that shown in my image. Relatively speaking, the shadows of small features (craterlets and hills) in the floor of Catharina P in both images seem to have more or less the same depth but are in opposite directions. One can assume that the sun angle was more or less similar during image capture. Therefore a comparison between the two images could bring some preliminary information on the elevation and slope of this plateau.

If this assumption is correct, then the fact that the shadow cast by the formation on its western side is more evident than on its eastern side could lead to the conclusion that this plateau may be sloping upwards towards the southwestern side of Catharina P. But further investigation is needed.

An interesting feature tied to this plateau is the very fine crater chain which cuts through it and extends towards the Southwest. This is indeed a subtle feature and I wouldn't be surprised that it is missed out from many lunar photographs. Lunar observers rarely report on this formation.

It so happens that my image is the very first lunar photo I captured in my life, meaning that my digital processing is still very rudimentary. At the same time, I cannot help but noticing the subtle hint of this fine crater chain cutting transversely Catharina's spider.

Impressive B&W Titan

2011-08-22T14:33:00.016+02:00

This is my first ever CCD image I took of Jupiter using DMK21AU04 monochrome camera with IR block filter. The image was captured on August 20th 2011 at 0345UT using IC Capture and processed with Registax 6. C8 f/25. Gain 726, 30fps, 40secs exposure.

I am still testing to find out optimal settings per colour channel.

Seeing conditions were a bit unstable with moments of good seeing. The moon seen on the left is Io.

Starting from the North (top):

Dark features on the NTeB and NNTeB are well visible on the F side. A number of ovals are visible within the NNTeZ and NPR.

The NEB is dark especially towards the side of the NTrZ. A small dark oval is seen on the F side in what it seems like a quiet region.

The EZ looks quite complex.

The SEB texture is very rich, especially in the North component.

A dark oval in the SSTeB is visible in this image located almost as the CM. A white oval in the SSTeZ is also conspicuous on the P side of the CM.

See reference guide for Jupiter surface nomenclature.

CLICK HERE FOR OTHER JUPITER IMAGES TAKEN ON AUGUST 20TH

Active SEB

2011-06-21T18:12:00.022+02:00

The sketch was done on June 15^th between 20:05UT - 20:55UT, while following the lunar eclipse on that very same evening.

Saturn was observed with a 200mm SCT using a Meade 82A filter, a Televue 2.5x barlow, light pollution filter and a GSO 10mm plossl eyepiece. Seeing was very good, around 7/10. For the sketching I used coloured pencils and white paper. The image was scanned at 600dpi using GIMP.

Check out other ALPO reports of Saturn for the same day.

Ring System

Ring A had a dark yellow colour but no fine minima were evident.

The Cassini division was evident at the two extreme edges next to ring A. Ring B showed a a uniform dirty-yellow color, and created a contrast against Cassini.

Ring C was broad, dark grey and partly merged with ring B.

Planetary banding

The NEB was a warm brownish colour, with no apparent local tonality.

The SEB had a slightly darker colour, flanked to the south by the lighter South Polar Region which was divided into 2 storm-belts. There was a lighter region on both left and right side of the SPR, but it was difficult to get a distinct sharp view of this interesting and active region.

Lunar eclipse, first of 2011

2011-06-16T12:43:00.016+02:00

AN ASTRONOMICAL SKETCH OF THE DAY

This is my first composite sketch of a total lunar eclipse that took place yesterday on June 15, 2011.
It was the first of two such eclipses in 2011. The second will occur on December 10, 2011.

Click here for animated sketch.

I used graphite with blender and an orange pencil colour. Sketching was done at the 40mm eyepiece using
SCT 8" f/10. Conditions were clear and seeing was 7/10.

The individual sketches were made on scanned sketches of the full moon. Scanning was done at 600 dpi and processed using GIMP. I enjoyed sketching the various phases of the eclipse especially during the fast-changing penumbral phase.

In my sketches I tried to capture the interesting tonality of the orange colour shading visible over parts of the eclipsed region of the moon.

This was a relatively rare central lunar eclipse, in which the center point of Earth's shadow passes across the Moon. The eclipse was visible rising over South America, western Africa, and Europe, and setting over eastern Asia.

Stunning Owl's eyes

2011-05-24T18:46:00.000+02:00

M97 under averted vision.

200mm SCT, f/10, 25mm eyepiece, binoviewer, LPF

2 April 2011; 22:30UT. Seeing: good.

M97 - the Owl nebula in Ursa Major, is an interesting object for amateur sketchers. It is a nearby object - some 2300 light years from the Sun, so it appears only ten times smaller than the full moon. The name was coined by Lord Rosse in 1848 when he resembled its appearance to the face of an owl.

The best time to observe M97 is around midnight when Ursa Major will have risen high enough. Observers report that this nebula is not distinctive through a 6" telescopes due to its low surface brightness. However an 8" reflector starts to collect enough photons to make the surface distinctive and apparent.

Averted vision and patience helps defining the varying brightness, bringing into view the two dark patches that make up the eyes of the owl. The above sketch was done using graphite blenders, scanned and inverted using GIMP.

Some observers say that under dark skies one can even spot the central star that appears between the eyes as well as the faint traces of colour inside the nebula.

Connecting the two galaxies

2011-05-04T00:20:00.003+02:00

An Astronomical Sketch of the Day!

On April 2nd, 2011 I spent an hour observing this magnificent Messier object. I have produced the sketch using graphite pencils and blenders on white paper, scanned and inverted the digital image using GIMP. It is based on the intensity sketch shown below drawn at the eyepiece under averted vision.

I wanted to portray the 'ghostly' appearence of the two galaxies to mimic the actual eyepiece view. Most of the observing time was spent detecting under averted vision the very faint streak that connects the two galaxies as well as the spiral arms. What's also interesting is that the core brightness of the main galaxy was seen as more diffuse compared to the other, more compact nucleus.

Intensity sketch drawn at the eyepiece

Scrutinizing starburst galaxy M82

2011-04-21T17:07:00.016+02:00

Closeup of M82.
200mm SCT, f/10, 25mm eyepiece, binoviewer, light pollution filter.
2 April 2011; 21:45UT. Seeing: good.

M82 in Ursa Major has excited much lively interest and speculation ever since its irregular form was noticed in the late 18th century. It is a complex object to sketch and it takes around an hour of averted visual observation with my scope to bring out the details. The central portion has uneven brilliance, having a prominent diagonal dark streak flanked by a weaker one further to the right. It is truly a sight that captures your imagination.

“Pale and elongated”

J.E. Bode, 31-XII, 1780

“Beautiful ray of light”

W. Herschel, 30-XI, 1802

“Nebula without star, its light is faint and elongated”

C. Messier, 9-II, 1781

“...luminous and sparkling…with two nuclei eccentrically placed on the major axis”

H. d’Arrest, 1822-1875

Intensity sketch drawn at the eyepiece on which sketch is based

Zooming in on Theophilus

2011-02-26T14:42:00.002+01:00

Sketch of the central area of Theophilus crater. Feb 9, 2011. SCT 8",

f/10, 333x. 20:00UT. Seeing: Good

On February 9th I spent around an hour examining the central detail of Theophilus. This circular crater is around 100 km in diameter and forms a remarkable trio with Cyrillus and Catharina.

The most striking feature of this crater is the magnificent bright central mountain which I sketched and superimposed on a photo of Theophilus to show its proportion as well as the level of detail observed.

This mountainous feature was seen to be composed of distinct masses (around 4) surmounted by lofty peaks, one of which is documented to be around 6,000 feet above the floor, and covers an area of at least 300 square miles.

I have annotated the four peaks of this mountain:

The reflected light from Region (a) was strong and translucent except for a small part at the edge which suggests a slightly sloping feature.

Region (z) reflected less light. High power magnification suggests this area as sloping into a valley-like feature, making this region decreasing in brightness as one goes away from peak (z)

Region (x) showed a very interesting texture under high power, which originated from one of the four summit peaks and gradually sloped down ending into an area of extensive mountain debris. This effect gradually increased the reflected light starting from the shadowed summit peak to a maximum at the crater floor.

Region (y) was seen as the resultant shadow of a fourth peak which was seen extending outwards.

Except for a distinct crater on the S.E. quarter, this mountainous feature was the only object of interest within Theophilus.

Below is a scan of the original sketch without superimposition.

Visual sketch and IR image of Jupiter

2011-02-24T00:18:00.001+01:00

On February 11th at 18:40 local time (GMT+1), Jupiter was not high up from the horizon, and the atmospheric instability made visual observation difficult. The NEB was very evident but no features were detected.

More importantly is the visibility of a more defined SEB separated at the forward edge by a not so clear GRS. No turbulence was noticed within the SEB region due to the poor visibility. Io shadow was visible at the limb.

Astroimagers are claiming the revival of SEB which is marked by a period of major upheaval which culminates in the dramatic reappearance of the SEB.

Below is an interesting IR CCD image of Jupiter taken by M Delcroix which timing is close to my visual sketch. It shows Io's shadow distinctively at the same location as indicated by my sketch, together with a similarly, not so evident GRS in the SEB.

Below is a scan of my original planetary and intensity sketch.

Mysterious Linne'

2011-02-15T21:53:00.000+01:00

In spite of its simple outline, sketching this craterlet was quite intriguing. According to official lunar atlases, it is just 2.5km in diameter which is at the limit of resolution of the 8” SCT at 333x magnification.

The craterlet has a circular formation with steep slopes and rounded floor and blanketed by bright ejecta.

Linne’ craterlet has in the past been a controversial feature. Attention on this crater was focused on the possibility of the release of gas “outgassing” from the lunar interior. This interest dates way back since 1840 when varied sketches were produced by Schmidt. Recent imaging analysis suggest the existence of a slight haze over the craterlet which might be either dust or gas, or both. The hypothesis has been put forward of a very low density of gas leaking from the craterlet which is ionized by sunlight, making it luminous and increases its scattering effect on light passing through it, especially on the shorter wavelengths.

Mons or 'Dome' Maraldi?

2011-02-10T18:59:00.024+01:00

Maraldi, with a widest diameter of 35km is an interesting feature visible after 5.6 days of lunation. It is an eroded circular formation with few high and damaged walls. Its floor is dark and filled with lava.

Particulary interesting through my telescope is Mons Maraldi towards the NE, which to me resembles a dome. This feature is poorly presented in Rukl's lunar atlas (plate 25), shown as a small mountainous peak.

Domes usually have a central top lava hole. On the peak of Mons Maraldi I noticed either of the following: (1) a small lava hole or (2) a 1-2km diameter craterlet. The setup I was using was 200mm SCT with binoviewer + 2x barlow and two 12mm plossl EPs. No moonfilter was used. Seeing conditions were good.

This small feature is included in LAC_LM Maraldi_LAC43 of the Virtual Lunar Atlas, which is denoted as gamma (right sketch). According to this chart, the elevation of this mount or dome is the same as the lava-filled floor of Maraldi - approximately 3900 ft.

The CCD image taken by P. Lazzaroti (left image) clearly defines the central hole and the dome-like feature of Mons Maraldi.

Overall this was an interesting observation. I invite astroimagers to take zoomed images of gamma Maraldi for verification.

2 faces of the same Titan

2010-10-05T19:01:00.002+02:00

On September 29th at 21:15UT I have produced a sketch (top left) of Jupiter showing the GRS next to the central meridian. Check out here for more interesting details about this sketch.

Surprisingly, the following day Leonard Ellul Mercer from Attard, Malta has kindly emailed me a CCD image of Jupiter taken close to my observation. Leonard used a Celestron 8" SCT with a DMK ccd (mono with filter wheel) + 3x Barlow lens. It is an RGB image with 40 sec. avi. for each coloured channel at 30 frames/sec. Stacked and partly sharpened with Registax 5 and processed with PhotoShop CS.

In spite of the poor seeing, I think that both of us were getting the maximum out of our instruments (both Celestron 8"). The details such as festoons and white plumes in the equatorial zone, the location and size of GRS Jnr (which you have pointed out in your message), a more visible SEB, and prominent halo around the GRS, all complement each other proportionally in both representations.

He commented that "one interesting feature is the turbulance under the GRS, which looks like a small GRS...which has moved considerably to the right side, from the time of my image taken on the 17th. Sept".

An encouraging piece of collaborative work!

Increased activity in SEB?

2010-09-30T23:23:00.002+02:00

Seeing conditions were poor (4/10) with only few moments of good seeing.

It was interesting to note however that the SEB was more evident than during my previous observation made on Sept 20th and Aug 7th.

The light 'halo' of the SEB around the northern part of the GRS contrasts well with a darker SEB. Does this contrast points towards an increased SEB activity compared to previous months?

Faint greyish festoons were seen connected to the boundary of the NEB and extended into the EZ. Subtle white plumes were also detected in the EZ. Darker areas were seen in NEB but no particular detail was detectable due to poor seeing. GRS was seen on the preceding edge next to the central meridian.

Jupiter's current companion, son and husband of Gaia.

2010-09-26T16:25:00.003+02:00

At the moment Jupiter is not exactly all alone. Uranus is not far away from its big brother. During my observation on the night of the 20th September both planets were separated by less than 1 and 1/2 degrees.

According to Greek mythology Uranus, or Father Sky, is personified as the son and husband of Gaia - or Mother Earth. Uranus and Gaia were ancestors of most of the Greek gods.

Uranus’ disk is very tiny in comparison with Jupiter, showing a weak light bluish-green pastel colour. Through the 200cm SCT telescope Uranus is undoubtedly a disk and not a glowing point of light. No surface details were detectable. I tried to locate it with the naked eye but was impossible because of light pollution over that sector of the sky.

Check out this link to photographic glimpse of Jupiter and Uranus on September 20th taken by Jimmy Eubanks using a similar 200cm SCT.

Zooming in on Jupiter's North Equatorial Belt

2010-09-22T21:26:00.010+02:00

Tonite (20 Sept '10), Jupiter passed 368 million miles from Earth, its closest approach since 1963. At this distance the Jovian disc offered a lot of detail. The poor atmospheric seeing did not deter the detection of numerous irregularities (under averted vision) in the subtle colours and interfaces between the light-colored zones and the much darker belts.

The Equatorial Zone (EZ)
Faint greyish festoons (F) were seen connected to the boundary of the NEBs and extended into the EZ. White plumes (WP) were also detected in the EZ.

The North Equatorial Belt (NEB)
Large white spots and elongated filaments were visible in the NEB. At the forward edge, the NEB was evidently broken by a NEBz into a NEBn and NEBs.

The sketch shows a complex arrangements of white filaments or gaps along the NEB’s central meridian (WF) associated with a white oval (WO) situated along the NEBn. These filaments seemed to be connected to the fainter NEBz at the forward edge.

A dark spot (DS) was seen on the NEBz at the forward edge which was connected to a greyish festoon in the EZ.

A conspicious dark filament (DF) or condensation/streak resting along a white filament was seen on NEB along the preceeding side of the central meridian.

Lighter areas were seen close to the limb on the preceeding edge of the jovian disc.

The North Temperate Belt (NTB)
The NTB region is also included in the sketch. Some irregularity in the intensity was noticed along the belt. A large ?dark oval (DO) was seen in the North Temperate Zone (NTZ) touching the NTB close to the central meridian on the forward side.

Details of Conon rima and Appenine mountains

2010-09-10T18:46:00.002+02:00

May 2, 2009 – 18:15 to 18:35 UT
200cm SCT – 240x - Seeing: 9/10.

I scanned the lunar area next to the terminator on May 2nd at 18 UT . The Apennine mountains are always a fascinating mountain chain to observe and wonder about their landscape, their rugged tops and deep edges.

The seeing was almost perfect and the very interesting delicate Conon rima was evident (Longitude 2.0 East; Latitude 18.0 North). It seems that the rima originates on the Apennine mountains, which cuts through the mountains and distends itself into the smooth Mare Vaporum. It resembles much like a riverbed running from the base of the Apennines. Its fine, serpentine structure with a narrow, uniform width came into focus for long enough moments to enable me to sketch it. At 2E, 18N next to rima conon, a "rima doublet" feature was also resolvable. The Apollo Mapping Camera (Rima Conon_A17 3) shows it as a double rima system with sharp narrow walls situated in Mare Vaporum.

Crater Conon is a 20km wide round crater (1.9E, 22.3N) and showed as a steep bright slopes indicative of little erosion along the inner wall. A near central hill was evident.

Through a local yahoo user group (maltastro.yahoo.com), I managed to receive an image from Leonard Ellul Mercer from Malta taken at pretty much the same time. Quite a coincidence - and this was a good way to check out the difference in observation details between my sketch and CCD photo taken at the same sun elevation on the monn's surface. The figure on the left is my sketch and the one on the right is a zoomed image of the area taken by astro-photographer Ellul Mercer.

This sketch was published in the June issue of ALPO's TLO.

The fading of SEB: before & after

2010-08-14T12:23:00.003+02:00

This disappearance is a very curious occurrence and observations show that this phenomenon repeats itself. A sketch of my observation on August 7, 2010 evidently shows the missing southern equatorial belt (SEB) which is usually seen interacting with the great red spot (GRS). This is the first time I observed the fading of a major Jupiter belt.

I find the curvature of this belt next to the GRS as a very intriguing subject to sketch at the limit of optimal seeing conditions as well as optical resolution. Alternatively one can now focus attention on the equatorial zone and North Equatorial Band for some interesting disturbances.

The sketch I made last October shows the contrasting SEB, which according to NASA, started to fade late last year. From my observations it seems that the SEB has almost completely disappeared from view except from a remnant streak towards the equator.

The latest fading of the SEB occurred in 2007, and its return can be quite dramatic for planetary enthusiasts. Localised outbursts of storms and vortices are expected to begin prior to its reappearance, which may occur over the space of just a week or so.

This definitely merits continuous observation of this ammoniacal gas giant.

This sketch was done using a SCT 8" f/10. Magnification: 167x. No colour filters used. Transparency: 4/5, Clear skies Seeing: 6/10.

This observation was uploaded on ALPO's website @
http://www.arksky.org/alpo/alpoimg/Jup13F92F8E.jpg

Clefts in the wall of Gutenberg 'E'

2010-08-09T10:54:00.006+02:00

This intersting lunar formation is located at the edge of Mare Fecundatatis. It is best observed 5 days after new moon or 4 days after full moon.

The rim of Gutenberg is much eroded, with steep walls on one side and broken on the opposite side by the overlapping crater 'Gutenberg E'. Prominent gaps in Gutenberg E were seen and sketched, forming a passage to the lunar mare to the east.

I sketched a subtle cleft in the walls of Gutenberg E which connects to Gutenberg. Craterlet 'Gutenberg A' was in the shadow of the steep walls of Gutenberg and is not shown.

The floor of Gutenberg and Gutenberg E are flat and filled with lava, and the illuminated floors did not show any significant craterlets.

Another major cleft in the wall of Gutenberg E allowed light to pass and fill the central part of Gutenberg, bringing in light the central and southern hills of Gutenberg into view. The overall effect was like an extended high promontary in the centre of Gutenberg. It was this interesting feature which made me select and sketch this complex lunar formation.

Dumbbell nebula under averted vision - NGC 6853

2010-07-17T12:02:00.006+02:00

Sketch of the Dumbbell nebula (M27, NGC 6853)

9 July 2010, 21:31 UT
200mm SCT f/10, light pollution filter
80x, seeing 7/10, trans 3/5

This is my first sketch of this splendid Dumbbell Nebula (M27, NGC 6853). Seen from its poles (compared to an equatorial view from the Earth), we would probably see a round nebula similar to the Ring Nebula M57.

Under direct vision at a magnification of 80x, M27 appears as a large, diffuse rectangular patch of weak light surrounded by a background of scattered stars.

After some time observing under averted vision, the nebula shows a non-uniform glow, which I tried to bring out in my sketch. The intensity sketch drawn at the telescope brings out this distribution of this intensity within the nebula. On the upper left side the intensity seems to taper off rather abruptly in comparison to the opposite side of the nebula which shows a more uniform, but lower intensity. A faint star is visible at this tapering edge.

Combining these two regions of the nebula is a diagonal stretch of weak illumination. Using a light pollution filter, some faint intensity appears in the remaining space of the rectangular nebula.

2009-2010 Mars Map

2010-07-07T20:26:00.009+02:00

Accepted as an astronomy sketch of the day

This 2009-2010 Mars map is a collage of sketches made through my telescope, which spanned from October 2009 till May 2010. Mars offers the best telescopic views at opposition. Large surface markings offer interesting analysis and comparison with similar maps produced by astro-imagers using cameras instead of their eyes. As often seen through an astronomical telescope eyepiece, the planet's orientation is inverted, with Mars' north polar cap at the bottom.

I invite readers to CLICK HERE for a full detailed report of the 2009-2010 Mars Apparition.

The Lord's ring - NGC 6720

2010-06-07T16:52:00.008+02:00

Sketch of the Ring nebula (M57, NGC 6720)
5 June 2010, 21:02 UT
200mm SCT f/10, light pollution filter
80x, 160x, seeing 7/10, trans 3/5

M57 is situated between Beta and Gamma Lyrae. Through the telescope the ring glows against the dark background, having a darker middle. To the east is a 12-mag star. This Messier object is a planetary nebula, and is one of my favourite deep sky objects in the summer sky.

This is my first sketch of M57. I used averted vision to notice the subtle features of the slightly elongated nebula. After about 10 minutes viewing time (for dark adaptation), I started to notice that the glow of the outer ring is slightly more intense on opposite sides, rather than distributed uniformly. The ring's glow had a slight faint of blue, but it was hard to determine exactly. The central star was not visible even when using the light pollution filter. For amateurs, it is always a challenge to identify the faint central star and one needs to have very good sky conditions in order to detect it.

Below is a digital scan of high power sketch of the ring using graphite pencil on white paper (110gms) showing the differential glow of the outer ring against a slightly darker hollow centre.

Chrysae, Tharsis and N. Lacus, May 22, 2010

2010-05-25T16:13:00.005+02:00

Mars sketch
22 May 2010, 19:32 UT
200mm SCT f/10
422x, seeing 4/10, trans 3/5

Accepted as an Astronomical Sketch of the Day.

Mars' apparent diameter is now reduced to around 6", which is far from a maximum of 14" I have viewed and sketched last January. Still, 5 minutes of observation time in not so ideal atmospheric conditions (lots of air turbulence) and bright moonlight were enough to detect the main albedo features on the surface of Mars, currently residing in the constellation of Leo.

I didn't think it worthwhile to use colour filters due to the limited seeing conditions. However a light blue filter could have slightly enhanced the visibility of the features.

The much reduced north polar cap was seen as tiny bright patch adjacent to Niliacus Lacus. Underneath, the prominent Mare erythraeum was also visible.

No other subtle features were detected along the edge of M. erythraeum next to Chryse. Tharsis appeared bright.

After the session, I was pleased to note that the Calsky simulation confirmed the small features I saw through the scope. Mars images taken by the renowed planetary astrophotographer Damian Peach taken an hour later are here. These images, showing detailed albedo features were published on May 27th.

Double star: Albireo (Beta Cygni)

2010-05-23T21:27:00.011+02:00

Albireo (Beta Cygni): Double Star in Cygnus - SCT 8" f/10 - 12mm Plossl eyepiece - 169x - 22 May 2010 - 22:04 UT - High cirrus clouds

Constellation Cygnus
Apparent magnitude 3.18 & 5.82
Spectral type K3III & B0V

Through the telescope, Albireo resolved into a double star, consisting of Albireo A (amber), and Albireo B (blue-green). The two components are considered to be one of the best double stars in the sky due to their different colors.

Medieval Arabic-speaking astronomers called Albireo minqar al-dajjah. Albireo is located at the head of the swan, and is sometimes called the "beak star".

Saturn, April 30th 2010

2010-05-04T16:37:00.002+02:00

On April 30th at 21:53UT I observed saturn using a 12mm eyepiece and 2x barlow lens at f/10. Seeing (5/10) and transparency were moderate. No divisions in the rings are yet visible on the ring portions on either side. Strongly evident was the thin black line of shadow cast by the rings overpassing saturn. Fine focussing brought out this impressive contrasting area between the rings, their shadow and the background reflectance of the planet. Banding in the atmosphere of Saturn was also evident although there was no strong contrast.

Chrysae, N. Lacus and Aurorae Sinus, APRIL 3, 2010

2010-04-04T15:01:00.012+02:00

I have finally managed to get a glimpse of the interesting Chrysae area and adjacent Niliacus Lacus and Aurorae Sinus on the opposite end. This observation had to be made as early as possible after sunset, since N. Lacus currently passes the central meridian at around 14:00UT.

Weather conditions were not optimal and no detail of the impressive "eye of Mars" - Solis Lacus was evident. Instead a hazy area comprising of Delphini Portus, S. Lacus and Aonius Sinus were visible with no evident features except a darker albedo for D. portus and A. Sinus.

Over Bosporos Gemmatus, a slightly blue haze was evident. The surface brightness of Chryse was lighter than Tharsis and Tempe regions.

On the North side, a hazy Niliacus Lacus was visible together with faint Nilokeras and Lunae Lacus. Tharsis and Amazonis regions were bright but showed no features, although a lighter area corresponding to Nix Olympica region was briefly detected with slightly improved conditions.

The albedo over Cydonia region was slightly lighter than adjacent Mare Acidalium. Also evident was the darker albedo stretching from M. Acidalium, Tanais and down towards the start of Nilokeras.

CCD images of Mars taken under better conditions using a larger scope (George Tarsoudis, Greece) close to my observation are here.

MARS 12TH MARCH 2010

2010-03-15T21:44:00.004+01:00

Some evenings ago I took the opportunity of the short break in clouds to test out the binoviewer I purchased recently. The view was amazing and the binocular setup offered a very relaxing observation of the subject. Using both eyes, the image is seen brighter and clearer, and permits longer viewing times.

I experimented using two different filters attached to the two eyepieces - orange (#21) on the left and light blue (#82A) on the right eyepiece. The blending of an orange and light blue image brought in a several coloured albedo features.

Hellas region was seen light blue and well defined next to Mare Serpentis. The Libya area was seen lighter than Arabia situated on the other side of Syrtis Major. The albedo of Syrtis Major region was seen irregular and clumped. The area under Sinus Sabeaus was seen in lighter yellow colour. Mare Erythraeum was evident as a dark feature on the following edge. I tried to put all this observation detail in my sketch shown above.

I strongly recommend the use of binocular viewers and combination of different colour filters for planetary visual observations.

This colour sketch is my first attempt to produce a coloured Mars sketch.

MARS 6TH MARCH 2010

2010-03-07T17:33:00.008+01:00

Accepted as an astronomical sketch of the day.

After so many nights with bad weather, last evening offered a fair glimpse of the red planet on its distancing away from the earth.

Still, the slight wind and lack of good transparency where not helpful to get to an accurate sketch of what Mars was offering last night. Even though I was using a new 10mm eyepiece which gave me higher magnification, the illumination of the surface disk seemed to have decreased since I last observed the planet almost a month ago.

Most prominent was Niliacus Lacus next to brighter Chryse. The edge of N. Lacus lining Chryse could not be efined so I could not locate its exact termination. Tempe region next to N. Lacus was evident as a lighter region.

The detection of the delicate features of Sinus Meridiani was more challenging last night. Inspite of the poor transparency the detection of S. Meridiani and its adjacent Margaritifer Sinus extending to Oxia Palus was possible. Pyrrhae Regio was not well defined.

Changing to a blue filter did not help much to add significant detail to the above.

MARS 4TH FEBRUARY 2010

2010-02-05T11:26:00.006+01:00

Mars continues to impress us with a good show. Last evening offered good seeing but which slightly deteriorated some 5 hours later.

Using Wratten #21 filter, Syrtis Major was very distinct and its patchy albedo variation was very well evident. Syrtis Minor was slightly evident.

The good seeing also permitted the detection of Hesperia which divides M. Tyrrhenum from M. Cimmerium.

The blue filter # 38A showed lighter patches along the limbs and central portion, which could be indicative of clouds and hazes corresponding to the lighter blue regions.

MARS 31ST JANUARY 2010

2010-02-01T00:03:00.013+01:00

Tonight the first albedo features spotted were Mare Sabaeus and Sinus Meridiani. The slight kink at Edom was visible.

S. Meridiani and S. Sabaeus show a darker albedo than the Iapigia and Mare Serpentis regions. Deucalionis region was also slightly visible.

The next most prominent feature was Syrtis Major, with a pointed tip and its 'triangular' darker albedo next to a lighter region connecting to Mare Tyrrhenium.

The extended tip of Boreosyrtis extending from Ortygia was slightly evident.

Extending from Utopia at around 20 degrees a subtle feature was evident which corresponds to Mare Acidalium. While observing, I was not so sure whether to sketch this due to its low contrast. However, official Mars maps show its correct positioning as that of M. Acidalium.

The polar cap was very evident.

M. Sinus situated next to S. Meridiani was not visible.

Observation of Mars through blue filter (#38A) showed the presence of the lighter polar cap, as well as the lighter Arabia region and along the limb on the next side.

This sketch has been uploaded to ASOD.

LUNAR CRATER DAVY

2010-01-29T22:08:00.003+01:00

Davy was very prominent tonight. The small lunar crater is located on the eastern edge of the Mare Nubium.

This crater covers the remains of the bigger satellite crater 'Davy Y' to the east, which contains a crater chain designated as Catena Davy. This catena was not visible tonight possible due to the higher sun angle at the time. I had another opportunity some months ago to identify and sketch this catena. The floor of Davy Y appeared to be rather smooth with no visible features.

The outer rim of Davy was conspicuous and reflective. The interior was in semi-darkness, so interior features were not visible. The perimeter is somewhat polygonal in shape, and the southeast rim is overlayed by the Davy A crater. Davy A is rather deep and its interior was also in darkness. No central peaks were visible in its interior.

An interesting feature is the tapering shadows casted by the western wall of Davy, craterlet B and part of the walls of Davy Y.

Sketching Davy within the overall context of its surrounding neighbourhood was quite hard and took more than the usual sketching time.

Double star: Mintaka (34-Delta Orionis)

2010-01-16T12:48:00.010+01:00

Mintaka (34-Delta Orionis): Double Star in Orion • SCT 8" f/10 • 200mm Celestron widefield eyepiece • 100x • 12 January 2010 • 20:30 UT • Seeing 7/10 • cloudy

This is my first attempt to sketch a binary star according to the technique used by Jeremy Perez.
http://www.perezmedia.net/beltofvenus/archives/000567.html

There are still a lot of things to master, including the representation of the relative magnitudes as well as astrometry to accurately monitor angular separation.

Mintaka is the westernmost star of the three belt stars of Orion, also known as Delta Orionis. It is a beautiful double star. The companion star is located 52.6" almost due north of the primary in position angle 359°. Both stars were seen as whitish blue.

RA = 5 h 32 m 0.4 s Dec = - 0 ° 17 ' 56.7 ''
(Equatorial coordinates - epoque J2000 - ICRS)
Color index B-V : -0.17
Spectral class : O9.5II

The separation between the two components of Delta Orionis made it fairly easy pair to separate in spite of the brilliance of the primary star. I used a 20 mm Celestron Plossl eyepiece (100x) for the sketch shown here on the left.

Mintaka has been known since antiquity. Its duplicity was documented in F. G. Wilhelm Struve's first supplement to his famous catalogue and bears the designation STF I 14.

MARS 12TH JANUARY 2010

2010-01-13T19:23:00.006+01:00

I am still trying to find the right sketching technique to record Mars. Sketching under a faint red light is never easy especially if apart from the sketching pad you need to hold graphite pencils, a blender, a graphite stick and an erasor shield. So the more complicated the technique is the less practical it becomes. One needs to find a balance between the two.

It was rather unfortunate that surface of Mars did not show too much detail except for the NPC, Mare Cimmerium, Mare Sirenium and Mare Boreum surrounding the North Polar Cap. According to members of marsobservers yahoo group, CCD images of Mars are showing some streaking in the polar cap.

The seeing conditions tonight where far from ideal. There was slight to moderate wind, cloud patches and the weather is under the influence of low pressure system with neighbouring high jet streams. Through the eyepiece Mars was most of the time fuzzy and was difficult to identify any other surface features in the polar cap or in Mesogaea region.

Below is the original sketch next to an intensity sketch.

MARS 7TH JANUARY 2010

2010-01-09T10:23:00.016+01:00

Mars is getting closer now and it is amazing how much detail can be seen from even a small telescope with medium seeing conditions.

During my short observation the first albedo feature which struck me most was that dark fringe of Utopia and its elongated feature pointing towards the centre of ths disc. Utopia always contrasts well against the adjacent whitish polar cap. Also evident during moments of good seeing was Alcyonus Nodus but was rather elusive at times.

The next obvious feature was seen on the opposite side of the disc corresponding to the dark albedo strip of Mare Tyrrhenum underneath which Eridiana was seen as a somewhat lighter area. Unlike in the 2003 Mars apparition, I could not detected any fine detail of this very interesting M. Tyrrhenum.

Next I surveyed the neighbourhood of A. Nodus, in which I detected another subtle albedo feature corresponding to the location of Sympallus Lacus. I could hint that between A. Nodus and S. Lacus there was a circular, lighter area, which interestingly enough is also represented in the Calsky apparent view. Could this be part of Elysium?

During good visibility, Utopia seemed to be closely touching S. Lacus, and in my sketch I slightly connected the two.

At almost the end of the sketching period I started noticing a dark feature at the edge of the disc which the following morning my mars map showed it to be the dark Syrtis Major. It was quite a well defined dark and elongated feature.

The following morning I checked my sketch against Calsky's apparent view as seen through an 8 inch scope (selection for other apertures also provided) and I was really happy to note the good accuracy of the sketch.

Below is the original albedo and intensity sketch I made next to the telescope. The Mars map needs to be rotated horizontally.

LUNAR CRATER RAMSDEN

2009-12-29T20:54:00.016+01:00

This evening I have focussed my scope on Ramsden - a lunar impact crater located on the western stretch of the Palus Epidemiarum.

The floor of this 25km crater has been flooded with lava, which this evening was in total darkness. The rim looked oval in outline, with depressions along parts of the walls. Ramsden is 2km deep and lacks terraces, central peaks, and any ray system.

In my sketch I tried to bring out the delicate rille system that form part of the Rimae Ramsden system. These rilles span an area 130 kilometers across, sprawling over the western Palus Epidemiarum. A branch reaches northwest to the Mare Nubium, passing between the craters Campanus and Mercator.

All in all, Ramsden and its surrounding rille system was a worthwhile sketching experience.

Above right is a picture of Ramsden for reference, taken from the LOPAM database.

MARS 28TH NOV 2009

2009-12-18T08:59:00.010+01:00

This sketch was done at around 05:00 UT using SCT 8" f/10 420x, #21 colour filter, seeing 5/10.

As the month of November closes Mars appears larger in the eyepiece than earlier in the month. The details on Nov 28th are becoming clearer and more definitive. Mars will be closest next January and I hope that the weather holds to allow continuous observations.

Getting out of bed and perform a detailed observation is still challenging compared to the ideal timing apparition during early nighttime in 2003.

In the sketch one can see Syrtis major, Utopia and Mare Cimmerium. The big expanse of Elysium is also evident.

To the right is a simulation of Mars albedo derived from WinJUPOS V 8.1.8.

Below is an intensity sketch.

Sketching

White sketching paper

2H, HB graphite pencil, soft charcoal pencil blending stump.

Brightness decreased and contrat increased slightly at scanning

LUNAR CRATER MORETUS

2009-12-02T18:02:00.006+01:00

This very impressive lunar crater is circular in shape, with surrounding high walls and terraces.

The flat lava-filled floor is evident. The central mountain, which is 2700m high, is the most impressive feature in the floor casting its long shadow when solar position is low. Hills and craterlets are also visible in the crater floor.

LUNAR CRATER CASSINI

2009-11-20T20:51:00.021+01:00

I enjoyed sketching this crater. It was a lovely summer evening, clear sky and a tempting moon. After a brief scan I decided to sketch the elusive Cassini crater. This flooded crater has a narrow wall and the tone of the floor is very similar to that of the surrounding surface. The outline of this crater is somewhat polygonal and its interior has a large bright ring plain. To the west of this there is a bright deep crater on the south edge.

The outer slope of Cassini contains a lot of detail that is hard to sketch. In my sketch I tried to bring out the gentle rising slope from the outer area up till the narrow crater walls. Maybe next time I will focus my sketch only on the slope details.

To the right is a picture of cassini for reference, taken under similar sun illumination from the LOPAM database. After examining this reference picture with my sketch I noticed the similarity in the tone and subtle shadows visible on the floor of Cassini.

This sketch was published in the December 2009 issue of the The Lunar Observer - a publication of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (http://www.alpo-astronomy.org/).

MARS 14TH NOV 2009

2009-11-16T18:52:00.009+01:00

This sketch was done at 05:10UT using SCT 8" f/10
420x, orange filter, Transparency 3/5
Seeing 3/10.

Below right are the intensity estimates.

It is always refreshing to look at the martian surface features very early in the morning. This morning the early sky was clear but seeing was poor. Dew became a problem on the front end of the corrector image making it harder to look at the surface details at high power. When I switched on the dew remover band twilight was within reach.

Arcadia region was prominent, probably due to the contrast with the white pole cap. Also evident was a hazy Solis Lacus and part of Lunae Lacus.

JUPITER 29TH OCT 2009

2009-11-01T12:14:00.006+01:00

This sketch was done at 17:03UT using SCT 8" f/10
167x, orange and green filters, Transparency 3/5
Seeing 5/10.

On the right are the intensity estimates.

This observation was uploaded on ALPO's website @

http://www.alpo.arksky.org/alpoimg/Jup128029B0.jpg

LUNAR CRATER HAINZEL

2009-10-30T18:13:00.007+01:00

Lunar crater HAINZEL
30th October 2009,
19:43 - 20:02 UT
200mm SCT f/10, 17mm televue plossl,
2x televue barlow, moon filter,
seeing 6/10 with clouds

This is my second sketch of this interesting complex of lunar crater formation. Its abnormal arrangement is very conspicious among its neighbouring craters, which results from the joining of two roughly equal ring plains. This evening, the sun angle was higher and the floor was more illuminated than in my previous sketch made last November (which is included below on this page).

The illuminated floor is full of intricate details which limits my sketching. A bright longitudinal ridge is present in the interior. A large promontary feature is visible on the outskirts of the North wall.

A peciuliar horseshoe-shaped flooded small crater is visible to the south of Hainzel (43S; 35W).

LUNAR CRATER: ARTISTOTELES

2009-10-28T19:39:00.009+01:00

Lunar crater ARISTOTELES
October 25, 2009 16:29UT – 16:58UT
200mm SCT f/10, 17mm televue plossl
barlow lens 2x, moon filter, Seeing 7/10

This impressive lunar impact crater is on the edge of Mare Frigoris. Its floor is uneven and a chain of hills is evident running towards the south.

The smaller crater Mitchell lookes slightly detached from eastern rim of Aristoteles. It is 30 km wide which just fits the island of Malta. Sizes seem all relative on the moon, but knowing the dimensions helps a lot and always makes me wonder.

The wall of Aristoteles looked slightly hexagonal in shape. Little detail was evident in the inner walls but some terracing was visible on the inner western side of the crater.

There seems to be a radial pattern of hills going out from the on the outer ramparts of the crater. Most interesting features is the western portion of the outer wall which presented quite a sketching challenge.

The western tapering end of the high edging walls resembles that of the other crater PLATO - Aristotle's mentor in philosophy. Maybe this is the reason behind their resemblance.

You are welcome to post your comments on the blog site.

SKETCH OF MARS

2009-10-25T08:45:00.017+01:00

This sketch was done on October 25th 2009 between 4:41 UT and 4:47 UT using SCT 8" f/10. Magnification: 340x. Colour Filters used: orange and green. Transparency: 4/5, Cloudy skies Seeing: 7/10.

Early this morning I was surprised how high currently Mars is compared to its position last August. At first I did not trust the auto goto function of the scope and tried to manually direct the scope towards the brightest red celestial lower down towards the south. Only then I realised that the goto function of the scope was correct from the beginning.

The seeing was perfect, although clouds were scattered and dawn was within reach. I had to setup the scope quickly and get to the sketching business straightaway.

The promontary of Syrtis major was the most striking. Arena , L. viridis and Crocea areas were darker than their surroundings.

The large polar cap was also evident as the brightest patch on the surface. Adjacent to it was the conspicuously contrasting darker Utopia region.

To me the region of Aeria seemed to be slightly darker than the Libya region on the other side of the promontary. The bright Hellas region was also evident.

TIME LAPSE SKETCHES OF JUPITER

2009-10-12T19:34:00.016+02:00

I sketched the above 'time lapse' images with around 1 hour difference on October 4th, 2009. Most interesting is the North Equatorial Belt showing contrasting areas that change from one time step to another. The change in position of the great red spot (GRS) in a time span of one hour shown in the last two images indicates the rapid rotation of the gaseous clouds at the latitude of the south temporal belt.

8" to 10" reflecting telescopes show interesting complex surface patterns that are indicative of the rapid rotation of planet Jupiter. These band features correspond to gaseous clouds in its atmosphere. The rotational period is around 10 hours, but this varies with latitude.

The rotation period at the latitude of the south temporal belt can be gauged with the rate of movement of the great red spot or large white ovals in the south temperate belt. These large white ovals are shown in the sketch made on 10th October, partly shown below and circled in red.

JUPITER 10th OCT 2009

2009-10-11T22:01:00.006+02:00

This sketch was done at 17:28UT using SCT 8" f/10. Magnification: 167x. Colour Filters used: #58, #21, #82A. Transparency: 4/5, Clear skies Seeing: 5-6/10.

Image uploaded on alpo-astronomy.org reference.

LUNAR CRATER: HAINZEL

2009-10-09T15:28:00.008+02:00

Lunar crater Hainzel

8th November, 2008

19:30 – 19:45 UT.
200mm, f/10, 17mm televue plossl, Moon Filter. Seeing 8/10

Hainzel was the most striking crater on this day and time. This feature consists of an interesting trio of intersecting craters, the largest being Hainzel. The time of sketching was right when the floor was half illuminated. At this phase the extension of the broad bright terraced border across a portion of the interior was very apparent, and the structural character of the formation was clearly revealed. The floor showed a level of detail, among which, on the South is a bright longitudinal ridge, which forms part of the promontory of Hainzel C.

The northern wall portion of the heavily worn crater Mee is sketched to the southwest wall of Hainzel.

JUPITER 4th OCT 2009

2009-10-08T19:18:00.017+02:00

This sketch is part of 5 sketches taken at 1 hour interval. A 5-hour cross section was produced from all these sketches. Intensity sketches were also done.

The entire 5-hourly collection was uploaded on the Jupiter section of www.alpo-astronomy.org for reference.

This sketch was done at 20:00UT using SCT 8" f/10. Magnification: 167x. Colour Filters used: #58, #21, #82A. Transparency: 3/5, Clear skies Seeing: 4/10.