Stargazing 9.22.12

It has been really difficult to get out and observe since starting the new job. But cooler nights have brought the stars out into their best viewing. So even though my son and granddaughter are here (daughter-in-love is at a women's conference), I decided to try to get out and do some gazing. I set my alarm for 3.

I was viewing 10 or 15 minutes later. My usual method is to stand outside for a minute just looking up. Sometimes it is the time I finally persuade myself that yes, it is going to be worth losing sleep over. I find the constellations I know: I'm getting to know so many, yet there are so many I don't know! Of course, Orion dominates the sky at this time of night this time of year. Sirius was barely visible when I went out, but he was well up by the time I came in. I rarely have the opportunity to see much of Eridanus and Cetus. Tonight I didn't know what constellation was in that area, so I noted some asterisms, and I find those two constellations are what I was seeing. I know Eridanus runs from Orion's foot...why can't I remember it?

After looking at the sky for a bit I maneuvered the scope out to my viewing site and grabbed my rolling tote, which is supposed to have all my sketching and viewing supplies in it. I decided to do some manual looking around first, and went straight for Jupiter, saving the Orion nebula as a treat for later on.

Because the viewing conditions were so good, I was able to get a fabulous view of Jupiter. The air was quite still and I was able to see 3 bands. I decided to take the challenge of sketching it, and I had decided some time ago to try a different approach to sketching: I want to try sketching in draft, then, with the help of the draft and notes taken, do the actual sketch during daylight. Jupiter was the perfect opportunity to try out this method.

It was during this time that I discovered that if I want to track something, Stargirl has to be aligned. [insert pulling hair icon here!]. So, align her I did, then got the Jovian planet back in the EP and turned to get my supplies out for sketching. Turned out that my clipboard had gone missing, or was never replaced from some time before. But I was able to make a draft anyway.

Here is the finished sketch of Jupiter. I am quite pleased with it, though I would have preferred to render the colors more accurately: the white was definitely an off-white, and the bands were definitely a light tan color. If I'm going to sketch planets and things that might have small color gradations, I might need to find some proper supplies for same. Also, one thing I don't like is that I got the angle of the bands just a little too acute--I'll try harder next time. Also need to look into hints and tips for scanning so I can get better digital results.

After that I decided to treat myself to my first view of the Orion Nebula of the year. It was magnificent under the awesome seeing conditions, and I spent quite a bit of time studying it. I didn't try to sketch it: it and all the other beautiful sketches I've seen of it always intimidate me. But I studied it anyway, thinking that any careful observing I do now can only help in the future should I decide to try my hand at it. The seeing was so good I was able to see some rather subtle grayscale gradations and shapes that I'd never noticed before. I mostly used the 10mm.

I can't remember if I was looking at the nebula or had moved on at that point, but around 4:20 some coyotes started to sing--it was quite hauntingly beautiful, and always makes me smile. Silly dogs.

Subsequently I spent some time looking at open clusters in Auriga. A couple of those would be fun to sketch sometime. Not far from M38, I spotted a very small fuzzy. On closer inspection, it seemed to be a rather small or perhaps very distant open cluster.

There's no name for this little grouping of stars that I can see, but it was neat to find it. I will look for further information when possible.

By this time it was getting pretty chilly out, and I was losing interest, so I packed up.