Sketches

Galileo Galilei 1610

Sketches at the telescope

I use a small clipboard, 4”x 5 1/2” copy paper sheets with a fill in form for pertinent information (scope, seeing, magnification and the like) and a predrawn 3” circle to emulate the apparent field of the eyepiece, a #2 pencil, small paper stub for smudging and blending, and a soft red light. First, the main field stars are drawn as reference points for the rest of the sketch, then the object of interest and finally the little stars and any other fine detail that enhances the sketch. I usually spend no less than 15 and no more than 60 minutes on a drawing. The finished “product” isn’t very impressive, but it captures the object, the observing place, the instrument and enough written information and drawn detail to insure that when it is reviewed years later, it will allow you to return to the moment. I think that in the act of drawing, the person holding the pencil has to really look at what is in the eyepiece, far more than a casual encounter. You simply know your partner better after a dance.

My older HP 2.1 megapixel digital camera without any zoom and with only a digital lense system is sufficient to make copies of the sketches from a distance of about 10 inches. The resulting images can then be modified to suit with Photo Shop. The original sketches remain not unlike photographic negatives, preserving original raw data.

I have version 1.1 of Adobe Photo Shop circa 1999 – enough to turn the pencil sketches into reverse images with improved stars and adjusted contrast. The final result is somewhat more than the sum of the parts – turns the simple sketch into your personal analog astro image.

Here are links to some other folks who sketch: Todd Hargis Wes Stone Bill Greer Jere Kahanpaa

Iiro Sairanen Ian's Astro Page Bob Hogeveen Bert Dekker Toshimi Taki Eiji Kato

Below are various sketches processed and then compared with “real” pictures of the same object. I haven’t fudged and moved any of my stars around to conform – the real fun is to see just how well you have recorded what’s out there! Often, when an astrophotgraph of an object which I have earlier drawn crosses my path, there is a moment of recognition, not unlike seeing a familiar face of an old friend.