Category: Article

Tau and 83 Leonis make a stunning and colorful low power double-double and are the subject of March 2010 Drawn to the Universe Column in Astronomy Now. Subject: Tau and 83 Leonis Issue: March 2010 Astronomy Now Basic Media: Graphite on Paper…

Orion, Canis Major and the Winter Milky Way soar over Sunset Crater as seen from Cinder Hills Overlook Cinder Hills Overlook is a cul-de-sac at the top of a small hill on the eastern edge of Sunset Crater National Monument. The site…

Mars is making its closest approach of 2010 on January 27. The red planet can be challenging to observe, but sketching your observations will help you get the most from the view at the eyepiece. In the February issue of Astronomy Now,…

The winter Milky Way is moving into view. Although it’s not as bold as its summer counterpart, it still has much to offer the naked eye from a dark site. In the January issue of Astronomy Now, we’ll look at some methods…

NGC 2024 and its brilliant neighbor Alnitak are the subjects for the December 2009 Astronomy Now issue. While Alnitak can be a bit of a nuisance when observing the Flame Nebula, it also provides an opportunity to sketch a striking example of…

The Lunar crater, Ptolemaeus is the subject of the November 2009 Drawn to the Universe column. The focus is on creating a crater sketch along the rapidly changing terminator. In the tutorial, we use of 2H and HB pencils to shade the…

The October issue of Astronomy Now focuses on NGC 7662, the Blue Snowball nebula. Two methods are covered in this column: 1) Using an isophote (contour) field sketch as a basis for a final shaded drawing, and 2) using Photoshop to add…

The September issue of Astronomy Now features Jupiter and the impact region that appeared in July 2009. The column describes methods that can be used to create a graphite sketch of the planet and its moons. Subject: Jupiter, Impact Scar, Callisto and…

The August issue of Astronomy Now is available. The rich, open cluster NGC 6940 is featured in this column where we take a look at basic methods for scanning and inverting your black on white sketches to convert them to white on…

The July issue of Astronomy Now is available. In the column this month, we visit Barnard 142 & 143, (Barnard’s E, or the Triple Cave Nebula). Subject: Barnard 142 & 143 Issue: July 2009 Astronomy Now Basic Media: Charcoal and graphite on…