Deirdre Kelleghan  skysketcher@gmail.com
Follow me here
  • Home
  • Outreach
  • Video
  • TV and Audio interviews
  • Astronomical Sketches
    • Honors and Awards
    • Comet Sketches
    • Lunar drawing tutorial
    • Lunar Sketches >
      • Copernicus
      • Reiner , Reiner Gamma
    • Solar Sketches >
      • Active Regions in h alpha - Filaments and filaproms - White Light Sketches >
        • Full Solar Disc
    • Messier Object Sketches
    • Planetary Sketches
  • This is me
  • Blog
  • Workshops and Talks
    • Action Comet 67 /P CG Workshop >
      • Interesting Links
  • Resources and More

Blog #3 Mars Science Laboratory #NASATweetup Silent Rocket Timewarp - Lunch Video - What’s Up for December 2011 from Jane Houston Jones

12/16/2011

 
Picture
MSL on the Atlas V on the Pad
_
On the evening pre launch NASA tour we were privileged to stand within 150 yards of the Atlas V with MSL perched on top. Silhouetted against the sun this 191 foot assemblly of scientific ambition   stood  a little less than half  the height of the Apollo Saturn V. At 363 feet The Saturn V  was the largest rocket ever built and is more comparable height wise to the familiar  stainless street sculpture the Spire of Dublin which is  398 feet.

After an unlimited photographic bonanza we left the launch pad to head back toward the Vehicle Assembly Building.  On our journey groups of red haired hogs appeared , munching in the evening grass as the sun set on an unforgettable day.




Ahead, an invite to a Marstini party and a visit to an Observatory. The party was in a suburban house were everyone seemed to take it for granted that there was a swimming pool in the patio.

The Gale House (named in honour of the landing place for MSL  Gale Crater ) was occupied by a large group of Tweeps who had somehow managed to put a very cool party together. It was nice  to meet up with other folks who had been in touch with me via Twitter before I left Ireland.  @TashaVerse  such a good welcome , Jen Scheer @flyingjenny said hi because @commanderbyrne had told her too oh !!  what a twangled world the Twitterverse  is. :-) @Joi_the_Artist showed me some of her richly coloured drawings while I sipped my Marstini before being introduced to @MarsCuriosity  and several others  whose @  names have escaped me.  After some delicious food, I headed to the BCC Planetarium and Observatory with Jane  @jhjones for to join in the public evening. The indoor Moon set up impressed me, I wanted to bring it home to Ireland.

In the observatory we looked at Jupiter through a 24 inch scope, while soft spoken astronomers called out the positions of Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. On the roof I looked at Orion rising on its side, the words of Robert Frost’s poem never  rang so clear and true.  The constellation looked like it had fallen down the sky, or perhaps it was me who had tumbled down the planet. The sideways view caused by the clockwork artistry of the workings of the night sky.

Next morning I was picked up at 6am on the dot by @Stephist
and was twittering away by 06:25.

@TheScienceGuy Bill Nye  looking very dapper spoke about everything . The chief administrator of NASA Charles Bolden gave an impassioned talk about MSL being the precursor of future  human Mars missions.  Lori Garver  the deputy administrator  of NASA spoke with great excitment. Astronauts Leyland Melvin @Astro_Flow  and  Doug Wheelock  @Astro_Wheels conducted the astronaut only sport of 'let’s have a midair chest crash just because we can' ,  and  William James Adams @iamwill  joined them to speak  about education . The Black Eyed Pea star has invested millions of his own dollars in educational programs for young people. @Camilla_SDO    said hello to me at the mornings Eyes on the Solar System demo. During the launch group photo that cheeky chicken came flying through  the air for me to catch so it could preen its feathers bang on centre of the photo front row. 

At T minus 30 I hugged the blow up MSL beside the countdown clock and was then asked to give my thoughts to camera by 
  Lou Braga @Photog4NY   so I did.  It was very surreal to be there beside this iconic digital clock as I had watched it for years on TV following various launches from Apollo to that pending moment.   5, 4, 3, 2, 1 the moment was real, the Atlas V with MSL ascended in silence. I looked at it rise and in that muted moment my past present and future merged. The sound followed and engulfed me totally. I watched till the smoke trail dissipated into imperceptible particles before returning to continue tweeting. After spacecraft separation and a huge cheer in the twent,  I sat down at my table.  54 years of tears decided to pick that moment to flow. I knew then  I was in the right place in my life.

On the plane home as I eased back time to my reality the winder came off in my hand, a timeless moment but for me time had truly stood still when the silent rocket left this planet for Mars.


The Star Splitter  a poem by Robert Frost

the_star_splitter_by_robert_frost.pdf
File Size: 169 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

My MSL launch video made using my camera for stills and my mobile for sound.



What's Up for December 2011 from Jane Houston Jones

Mars Science Laboratroy Launch #NASATweetup Blog #2 Thanksgiving - Endeavour - Saturn V - First Day Tweetup

12/7/2011

 
Picture
The Astronaut Memorial at KSC
_ On Thanksgiving Day we returned to Kennedy Space Centre . Jane @jhjones wanted to share with  me the memorial wall to fallen space explorers.  This magnificent structure of polished granite reflected the blue sky, white cumulus, and the American flag amongst the Astronaut names which were pierced by sun beams of remembrance.   



Our morning included a pseudo trip to Mars, the Exploration Space experience, and of course mini Tweetups with pink tagged busy Tweeps including  @bphuettner @Conductor222 .

Lunch with  the enigmatic #labcoatbear in the rocket garden was unmissable, another opportunity to enjoy some Florida rays and good conversation.   

Afterwards a long walk on Cocoa Beach was fresh, warm and therapeutic.  Somehow I resisted urges to run into the sea which was so inviting. This beach is like a gigantic version of Keel on Achill  in Ireland, it included formation flying pelicans adding a Jurassic feel to the wildness.

Flounder with lots of Florida shrimp at the very Hemmingway 'ish   Sunset Waterfront Bar & Grill completed our day, we were joined by some of Jane’s colleagues just after the sun bowed out 
spectacularly on the space coast.

 NASATweetup at the Twent Friday November 25th

At the badging office  circa very early  I met two of the dynamic Stephanie’s @schierholz  and  @stephist  with  
@doug_ellison . Then I introduced myself to  the other foreign nationals  including @FailedProtostar for transport to the NASA base.

Fully processed and complete with @LockheedMartin souvenir sweatshirt I came to stand within a few yards of the VAB. The Tweetup Twent was huge and accommodated tightly the 150 Tweetup worker bees :-)  many of whom were already tweeting away at a rate of knots.  Within a short while I had access to KSCCOMM- PRESS Wi -Fi  via my encryption key - my Twitterportal  to the world was open for business. Trent Perotto @NASA and @NASAJPL gave a welcoming talk and he was followed by Dr Jim Green, and a host of other NASA/ JPL  science and engineering glitterati.  My Tweeting was too my delight being picked up and RT'ed at home in Ireland , in the UK  and USA.  A fast  lunch before an amazing tour of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the VAB, and my  ’ have to see’ moment the Saturn V rocket.

Bus 2 was my ride for the afternoon, our guide was a wonderful passionate young woman Kimberly Goudace. I have to admire the professionalism of all NASA and JPL staff who together made the Tweetup event an unforgettable experience. If any of them had to be at their work at 4am, 5am, 6am they were on duty with a smile and a positive attitude even if they were in unfamiliar time zones.   Kimberley did not even have a job; she was a former Space Shuttle engineer who still carried out her work to the n’th degree.

As we walked through the VAB her enthusiasm and knowledge filled the enormous void as she led us to the penultimate surprise, a close up view of Endeavour. This shuttle was being prepared for  its museum 'shelf life
after space' trip to California.

The Saturn V experience for me was joyous and profound, nothing could have prepared me for the encounter and size of this lets go to the Moon vehicle.  My first reaction was how will I get this into my camera? Then I made a spontaneous unscripted video
( below) where all my knowledge of the rocket went out the window as years of anticipation poured out forever.

At launch pad 34 we were kindly allowed to walk around and ponder the loss of life at this place.  The past’s devastation visible in deconstructed remains of tormented concrete and twisted metal.

The beautiful sunset light yellowed the bareness and touched our souls as crepuscular rays created nature’s memorial to the Apollo 1 astronauts lost to a fire in the challenge of exploring space. LAUNCH COMPLEX 34Friday, 27 January 1967  18:31 Hours



Picture
Crepuscular Rays viewed from launch pad 34

My spur of the moment Saturn V encounter video :-) I was 12 again in a second.

_A few images below , check them out !!!

Mars Science Laboratory Launch NASATweetup trip Blog #1

12/4/2011

 
Picture
A Saturn 1 B rocket on dispay in the Rocket Garden at KSC
_ Beaded drops of Irish rain rolled of the wing as the Airbus 330 lifted off destination, Orlando International Airport Florida. An unusual blue November 360 sky received the plane as the Sugar Loaf mountain receded below  on the horizon.  To Bach’s Oboe Concerto (D minor) I watched the wing flex in turbulent air as the journey continued somewhere over the Atlantic. Clumpy clouds echoed lunar landscapes below as I browsed the available in-flight entertainment.

At MCO airport near the Hertz car pick up point I met with my long time friend Jane Houston Jones @jhjones a lovely warm welcome full of joy and smiles.  Our hotel was close to Kennedy Space Centre, the heat was most appreciated by me coming from a cold Irish winter. November sunshine instantly set my vitamin D levels on the rise, the Florida sun and my face met at every available moment.

Kennedy Space Centre Day 1 Wednesday 23rd

As I was a foreign national (an alien) I had to get extra official badges from NASA so I could participate in the Tweetup (Friday /Saturday) and have the right to be in very restricted areas at the launch site , accompanied by NASA personal.


At the KSC I wandered in the Rocket Garden and yes I was in the zone, walking down the gantry as if I was going to enter the Apollo capsule  for real. Visually there was a riot of textures and shapes that took my eye into future paintings celebrating the power of rockets that leave this planet for other worlds.   Christmas trees, Christmas carols and Christmas wreaths around NASA logos in the heat seemed surreal as I explored the attractions of all things space.

One of the most engaging was the Hubble 3D IMAX movie narrated by
Leonardo DiCaprio, oh boy that was fantastic. It included several images of M16 the pillars of creation in 3D which for me was super. I had being drawing it several times  for kids at my  @ScienceWeek workshops STARSAREUS just before I left Ireland.  The movie showed me more detail than I’ve ever seen before, now it’s parked in my head forever. The air conditioning was cold in the theatre I could not wait to get back outside to the bright light and  cosy heat.

I met and chatted to several Tweetup people on my walk around , we all had pink badges so we were very visible to each other anywhere we went.  Beside a full size model of Curiosity I met a lovely couple, the Lanza’s.They had a daughter who had worked on the Chem Cam on MSL. They were very proud of this fact, we engaged in conversation about the incredible adventure ahead of this robot and how important the science will be for future manned missions to Mars.  I took  instant delight in the wheels of Curiosity, Opportunity and Sojourner, beautiful engineering, visually stunning space architecture, well displayed at Exploration Space.

Jane kindly got me a ticket to the MSL Guest  Briefing at 4:30pm, just before that we met Scott Maxwell i.e. @Marsroverdriver Scott drives the Mars rover Opportunity from planet Earth!!!  Off planet driving :-)

At the MSL @MarsCuriosity  briefing I was proud to stand for the first time in my life to the singing of the American National Anthem.  Excellent NASA speakers outlined the mission, its tasks, goals and mechanisms.  Excitement levels climbed as the reality of my visit began to hit home with several days left to the launch.

We enjoyed, no actually enjoyed is too bland a word for the pleasure of eating rock shrimp for 
dinner that evening  at Florida Seafood   all washed down with some American beer. Sleep came later to the sound of palm trees blowing in the wind.
A few images below from that first day , check them out !!!

 


 

 


A few images from Day 1 Mars Science Laboratory Launch Tweetup  buildup

Deirdre gets invited by NASA to the Mars Science Laboratory Launch at Cape Canaveral - What's Up for November 2011 from Jane Houston Jones

11/6/2011

 
Picture
Back in April 2011 I told my mam, that I had put her name on a spacecraft called Curiosity for a journey to Mars.  She said ‘what good will it do me?  I told her that her name will travel approximately 150 million miles into space and land on the red planet in August 2012. Her name will join millions of forward thinking people who have been inspired   to send their names on this adventure into the future.

 I have a vision I said to her, that when in time humans build a sustainable habitat on Mars, a museum housing the pre pioneers will display their names along with the robot explorers.  She looked at me after I explained the mission and its purpose and she said to me as she often did

 ‘You’re mad ' but she had her little bird smile on and was soon sleeping peacefully.

We can only imagine that a display many hundreds of years ahead will be spectacular. The future is ours to dream about, dreams are our nets cast forward in time to pull us along and help us grow.

Mara Science Laboratory aka Curiosity ,  is one of our best chances to date to find evidence for life on another world. What an incredible twist that would be in our human trials and tribulations to understand our Universe.

Mam died from cancer on July 16th, 2011, on November 25th Mars Science Laboratory  will launch from Cape Canaveral carrying a special tiny payload, a microchip of names and dreams.  I think my family would agree with me that it is more satisfying and uplifting that we look  at Mars and think of her going into the future instead of being in the past.  4990 Irish people (including me) put their names on Curiosity out of 12,464,445 people worldwide.

I feel totally blessed that I have been invited to what is called The Mars Science Laboratory Tweetup. This adventure will tick the box on one of my top ten bucket list, must do in life things.

With weeks to go to the launch and months to the landing we will be widely informed about this spectacular mission.  August 2012 will see the cruise stage punch into the Martian atmosphere to deliver mankind’s heaviest robot to the  surface of the red planet. MSL will land at Gale Crater hopefully to the silent applause of rock locked microbes ready for their moment in history


An interesting fact was put my way by my dear friend Jane Houston Jones. On Mars there is a crater called Wicklow named after the county in Ireland where I live.  Jane and I will meet up once again at the MSL launch; it’s been five years since Jane visited me in Wicklow. It is so poignant that we should meet at this event, one of the most important missions in robotic space exploration and science. 

 Apollo 11 on TV was the first watershed eye opener toward my continued interest in space exploration. To be actually at the MSL launch and to also see a Saturn V rocket for myself will be my second booster shot / watershed for the future.

The MSL entry decent and landing sequence planned for 2012 has to be the most exciting landing ever conceived in the history of robotic advantures. It reminds me of Space 1999 a TV series by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson that I loved back in the 70’s (they used sky cranes).  It also has all the drama of an action thriller. Oh if only a camera was in place at Gale crater to bring us live coverage of this historic space epic. I cannot wait, to see how this mission and my visit to Cape Canaveral unfolds you can follow my visit via my Tweets.   

Deirdre Kelleghan is  @skysketcher   follow also   @MarsCuriosity and @NASAJPL and  @NASATweetup 

What's up for November 2011 from Jane Houston Jones - Mars Science Laboratory





World Space Week Deadly Moons Rockets and Robots in Walkinstown - What\'s Up for October 2011

10/13/2011

 
Picture
Mars Science Laboratory aka Curiosity Launches on November 25th 2011
October 5th 2011 St Peters Boys National School Walkinstown Dublin 12

Clare Mercier from the Schools Completion Programme invited me to do two workshops at St Peters for World Space Week.  As usual I was warmly welcomed at this school which is close to where I grew up as a child. I set up my gear in the community room and soon 41 boys from fifth and sixth classes trundled into the room and took up what seemed like every single space available.


They listened carefully to all my tales of Moons far and near, they commented freely and enjoyed the images.  At one point the sun shone a beam through a slit in the blinds and took Titan down to a ghostly glow on the screen.  A cheer went up when the dark clouds of Earth closed down the light and Io then on screen was revelled in its structured wonder.

Moon drawing ensued on tables, chairs and benches. Calls for Our Moon, Enceladus, Titan and Europa were interspaced with calls for white pastels and longer views.

Ever helpful boys cleaned up and also helped me to get my gear upstairs for the next workshop.

Third and forth classes came together for Rapid Rockets Wicked Robots, an interactive white board was available and very welcome.  This workshop is about the history of space exploration via drawing, from Sputnik to Mars Science Laboratory also including the recent JUNO and GRAIL space explorers.  Some boys took pride in knowing the names of a least two of the Apollo 11 astronauts, and all got very busy producing their choices of rockets or robots on paper.

JUNO was popular, as was the privately built Virgin Galactic Spaceship 2. I had included the Lunar Electric Rover even though it’s not a robot or a rocket. This moon truck   has such a sense of adventure look to it and I was pleased that two boys did drawings of it. There were far to many drawings created to take photo's of them all , a selection are in the slideshow below.

All the Deadly Moons produced and all the Rockets and Robots produced are now on exhibition in the school hall.  Blackrock Castle Observatory in Cork, the National Coordinator for World Space Week will honour St Peters with a participation certificate for their efforts.




 Jane Houston Jones  - This month it's more about Moons. Not only our Moon,
but you can also see Jupiter's four moons.
Click here to read about my adventures in Tipperary for Chinese Moon Festival and  Drawing workshops in Bluebell

Solar Sketch and Comet Garradd sketch Sept 1st - GRAIL to the Moon - What's Up for September 2011 GRAIL to the Moon

9/6/2011

 
Picture
September 1st 2011 Solar Sketch East limb proms,Active Region 1283 , Fibrils show Magnetic field lines, Large filament. 10:50 UT
PST 40 / 8 mm TVP eyepiece - 50 X
Pastel , Conte, Pencil on black paper

There were  several  proms on the solar limb that morning but these busy proms  on the eastern limb seemed to be the most interesting to me.

Some of the magnetic field lines around AR 1283  stood out for several seconds in good detail so I sketched them in with pencil over the pastel. That's why they appear a little shiny as pencil does that  when used over pastel. Fibrils in the suns chromosphere  line up along magnetic field lines giving up  secret invisible information about their shape and extent of some of  the magnetic activity in the Active Regions.

Obviously I am re tuning and re focusing the telescope constantly  to capture all these features on the same plain , on a piece of paper. The sketch is CD size.



C/2009 P1 Garradd Sketch

Picture
C/2009 P1 Garradd September 1st 2011
Mag 8 Seeing 2 / 34 X / 35 mm eyepiece
200mm objective / FL 1,200mm
Bray , Co Wicklow Ireland.
South is up

The Comet was close to the hook in The Coathanger Astarism aka C399 Collinder 399 ,aka Al Sufi's Cluster or Brocchi's Cluster.
The X marks the position on September 2nd but cloud prevented a second sketch.



I was very impressed with the distance this icy visitor had covered in twenty four hours.
Garradd finder maps here below

garradd_findr.pdf
File Size: 109 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


GRAILS A & B  Launch together September 8th
Where would we be without Apollo, those ground breaking adventurous manned missions to our Moon?  Included in my blog this month is a pdf showing the landing sites of Apollo missions, you can use the maps in it to see the places with your own eyes. (Courtesy of Jane Houston Jones)

The Grail mission twins will fill the cup of lunar knowledge to the brim with new data from these high tech robotic Moon scanners. It should be interesting at the end of the mission to see where the twins will be crash landed; this action will also generate information about the Moon.

Listen to this months What's Up video podcast below to get a good overview of the mission.

More on the GRAIL mission here
Two instantaneous launch opportunities are available daily for the GRAIL mission to blast off during a 42-day period extending from September 8 through October 19.

I will be watching the GRAIL launch on
Spaceflight Now  check in on the morning of the 8th to see how the weather window is doing and update yourself on launch times.


What's Up for September 2011 - Jane Houston Jones -  It's GRAIL to the Moon

You can see lunar landing sites on the Moon with your own eyes ! Download the pdf for a map to help you see them for yourself.

whats_up_on_the_moons_2_lunar_landing_sites.pdf
File Size: 1654 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

The Sky by Eye a drawing from Durrus Co Cork - What's Up for August 2011 Windy worlds plus Juno to Jupiter

8/2/2011

 

Naked eye drawing n Persei - a Cyg Durrus Co Cork

Picture
August 17th /18th    2010
Time : 23:45 UT - 00:45 UT


August 2010 I was staying in a cute house  close to the village of Durrus in Co Cork. This little place is the gateway to exploring the outstanding Sheeps Head peninsula.  The night sky down there was seriously beautiful to the eye; one did not need a telescope to enjoy it. Earlier in the evening I had a look into Sagittarius before it got too low, then as the night followed on I was inspired to do a naked eye drawing of the sky above my head. 

To give me the best option for a sketch I retreated to the back garden, away from the car park lights. I turned off the lights in the house; the village light pollution was minimal. Dark adaption came to me in about 25 minutes, and death would come to anybody who turned on a light.

Bliss greeted my eyes as the wonders of the summer sky opened up for me and the seeing was good.


We had brought along comfy canvas beach chairs, one of these was fine to sink into and observe.  My tools for the drawing were a sheet of black paper, a clip board, a white gel pen, finely grated white pastel, blending stick ,cotton wool,  and a red head light.

My working area was the star n Persei and from that visualy  along the galaxy  to a Cyg. I carefully added the stars in each visible  constellation .  Larger brighter dots according to magnitude and so on and so forth till I had a star map on my paper which mirrored the sky above my head and toward the North East. The Double Cluster and Andromeda were crystal clear naked eye objects, not usual from my home garden at all. The placement of these objects was very helpful in lining up significant stars like alpha Cyg ie Deneb in the constellation Cygnus and all the stars that made  paths in the sky to each other.

A small wad of cotton wool loaded carefully with finely grated white pastel was how I added the magnificent Milky Way and all its visible star laden tendrils. When my drawing was almost finished a long trailing Perseid shot from n Persei, went flying past Cassiopeia and ended its journey just short of   delta Cep . At its leading end for a nano second I noticed a sickle shaped flick of white. This meteor and its unusual flick was added into my drawing . It was a few weeks before I could look this up and discover that some Perseids produce visible bow shocks in front of themselves as they enter our atmosphere.  However so far I have only come across records of Perseids bow shocks that were caught on film, so would love to know if anyone has seen one by eye while observing.
   skysketcher@gmail.com


What's Up for August 2011  Jane Houston Jones - Windy Worlds and Juno to Jupiter
Wonderful Mission!!!  Go Go Juno

Mars Earth Merge Painting - What's Up for July 2011 Asteroids

7/10/2011

 
Picture
As an artist I am totally fascinated by the surfaces of other worlds. I find the images taken by solar system explorers very inspiring. Many of my canvases emerge directly from my observations of a tiny fraction of an image or are influenced by an entire object.

My painting Mars Earth Merge is not so directly influenced by outside images but more by my observations of some surfaces on Earth.

Keel Beach in Achill Island is one of my favourite places to walk, its six kilometres long, with a constant roar from the Atlantic breakers.


I enjoy taking macro images of the sand, and love observing how the sea makes channels in its softness as it retreats. Often the markings are delta shaped, water etched, well defined, but delicate.  On Keel sometimes the wind whips up dry sand and sends it at great speed to wrap itself around rocks on wet sand. It’s nice to watch, but very difficult to photograph.

This painting started as a depiction of those sand deltas on Keel. As it developed I had the idea to use Martian colours often associated with false colour MRO HiRise Images. I used pallet knives to merge Earth style water erosion on a beach scale with long gone water erosion on Mars which was on a larger scale.

I further developed the link by adding a beach stone and lots of sand in layers on each side of the Mars / Earth delta. Unfortunately for me the sand I used was too perfect and I had to enhance it by introducing particles of pastel in yellow, and orange to give it some depth. The addition of a little seaweed gave a 3 D property to the work.

In hindsight this painting has taken several years to complete as my influencing walk was actually on January 1st 2009. A bitterly cold day with strong winds and huge waves, it was totally exhilarating. I started to paint this canvas several months ago.

Here are a few images from that trip that led to my painting and a video of the waves on Keel beach. Although unintentional on my part it has been said to me, that my painting reminds some people of images taken of Mars from orbit .

28 inches X 22 inches  Acrylics, Pastel, Rock , Sand and Seaweed on canvas.  


Whats Up for July  2011 from Jane Houston Jones

Total Lunar Eclipse revisited - Mam and Moon drawing - What's Up for June 2011 - Impact Crater Kepler sketch

6/16/2011

 

Total Lunar Eclipse March 3rd  2007 Revisited

Picture
My mam says “yer mad “    when she sees me going outside at odd hours in miserable temperatures to sketch a rock in the sky 250,000 miles from Earth. As she say’s that to me she smiles as she knows how much I enjoy it and she knows how my moon interest started.

Everyone I know had to ask their ma to ask their da to be allowed to stay up late for whatever reason.  I was no exception when I asked mammy to ask daddy to let me stay up to see the July 20th 1969 Moon landing. An unusual request for a twelve year old but the wish was granted and that is essentially what got me interested in all things Moon.


Later this year I will be the co author of a book on lunar sketching with four other wonderful Moon "mad " people .The book is  in the Springer Patrick Moore practical astronomy series.
There is a dedication to mam in the book, she is very proud of my Moon drawing and now has more reasons to smile, even though she will still say “yer Mad “

Details on the Book available soon, estimated publication late October.

The total lunar eclipse was clouded out to many people last night but back in March 2007 I was lucky enough to see and sketch a lunar eclipse from my garden in Bray.

3/3/07                                                                                      
200mm dob/25mm eyepiece /Focal Length 1,200mm, 2XBarlow/96X

Lunation 14.23 Days
Illumination 100%
Soft Pastels, 300gm paper, pencils.
Seeing 1
Images rotated 180 degrees
Digital Photographs of both images
Danjon Scale L = 4

March 3rd 2007

I was delayed setting up for XYand Z reasons, in an ideal world I would have had the entire lunar disc sketched in with detail before the earthly shadow entered this drama.
The delay, actioned my sketching in defence of the advancing darkness

When I began to sketch at 21:40UT the ominous dark shadow was descending on the Tycho area. I decided quickly to sketch from the North ( bottom of the page)  up (south is up for me)

I realised that my usual etching method with a wooden toothpick was going to be too slow for this sketch and decided on pencil over pastel for speed.

Firstly I detailed the Mares as much as I could give prominent bright craters like Proclus, Plinius and Kepler some white attention as I suspected they might be still visible under the shadowy blanket, despite whatever colour developed.
I put a lot of detail into Plato as it was outstanding in shape and contrast.

21:50UT the shadow was heading to gobble up my Copernicus before I could sketch it.

22:24UT Proclus was in grave danger of being swallowed whole.

By 22:34UT a fabulous blue leading wave developed and swept up the curve of the moon to merge with the increasing raspberry tones developing toward the south.


At 22:34UT when the colour began to appear, I had to run inside for red pastels.

Earlier that day I was thinking how would I do this colour overlay? I laid down some grey and tried out brushing it over with some red tones but this was not so good.

Fingers were the only thing for it and I worked quickly in red tones until I saw to both my delight and excitement a blue wave appearing across the entire width of the lunar disc.

Fingers red, big wipe, fingers blue.

In my haste and excitement of blueing the moon I wiped out Plato as my blue fingers joined the shadow and began moving up with it, oh god !! Stop or there will be no moon left. I observed that the blue edges wrapped the moon in a curve to both sides, like a gas flame burning up my surface detail.


Meanwhile a yellow orange glow developed at the South East limb, big wipe, yellow fingers. Ended up with just Goldschmidt, Barrow, and I think Philolaus left at the Northern end of the moon, just about untouched at that moment. A criss cross ray ejecta feature was visible also.

The star 59 Leonis was also sketched in off the SE limb



Picture
4/3/07
200mm dob/25mm eyepiece /Focal Length 1,200mm, 2XBarlow/96X
Lunation 14.32 Days
Illumination 100%
Soft Pastels, 300gm paper, pencils.
Seeing 2 / Hazy
Images rotated 180 degrees
Digital Photographs of both images

therfore a slight distortion


I waited to see what the emerging moon would look like and I started a second sketch at 00:10UT ending at 00:35UT due to a hazy atmosphere. Not much detail was available but I did observe that the retreating shadow had a distinctive green grey edge and reckoned that was worth noting.


What's Up for June 2011 from Jane Houston Jones

Picture
Impact Crater Kepler 
Sketched in 2006
19:10UT - 20:00 UT
02/11/06

Conte Crayons
Conte Pastel Pencils
Prismelo Water Colour Pencil Black
300gm Daler Rowney Paper
Sky Watcher 200mm
8mm TVP eyepiece
Bray Co Wicklow Ireland
Seeing 2


Kepler- The dark background of Oceanus Procellarum is a focus of bright rays radiating from two main centres - crater Kepler, which dominates this area and crater Copernicus in the east.
Named after Johannes Kepler a German astronomer and ingenious theoretician.

Marius - The western part of Oceanus Procellarum, poor in large craters, but very rich in lunar domes, especially near crater Marius- Named after Simon Mayer a German astronomer who independently discovered Jupiter's satellites. - from Concise Moon Mars and Venus by Rukl

I was so taken by trying to sketch the moon in lunar greys.
Kepler to Marius looked just great to me so mind made up I got started. Its was freezing that evening, but now and then the slight wobble between me and the moon settled and the clarity was wonderful. 
Deirdre being mad. :-)

Sky watching by eye for relaxation - Solar Prominence Sketch sequence - What's Up for May 2011 - Iceland remembered

5/12/2011

 
Picture
Twinkle twinkle for your eyes
A friend reminded me of the value of looking up into the night sky and appreciating the wonders before our eyes.  Sit  comfortably during   twilight in your garden. Forget everything  in your busy life as you gaze upward some still May evening. Watch as the twinkling stars begin to show themselves against the darkening sky.

As the sky colour changes some of the brighter stars will pop into view. Towards the south  at about 10 pm you will see two bright objects, the lower one is the star Spica. Just  above it to the right the other object is the wonderful planet Saturn. Towards the South East , higher than Spica and Saturn the distantly orange star Arcturus shines brightly alone for the moment.   To the East the bright star popping out  at this time is Vega.  Look back to Arcturus, see the shape Arcturus, Spica and Saturn make? a huge triangle over your garden.  Spot the triangle , look at orange Arcturus then bring your eyes to the right and down to bright Spica , then gaze up to Saturn. Complete the triangle in your head , or with your finger or better still do a sketch.  Arcturus is in the constellation Bootes, Spica is in the constellation Virgo and Saturn is a visitor passing through Virgo on its journey through our solar system. Vega is in the constellation Lyra

Slowly as minutes tick away look up directly above your head, you should see the four stars that make the dipper of the Big Dipper, aka the Plough, aka Ursa Major, aka The Great Bear aka the Saucepan. Three stars arc below these stars, they are the handle of the Saucepan,  they arc back toward orange Arcturus.  With your eye keep going down to Spica and the up to Saturn. Remember  Saturn is a planet, it will move during the summer as it orbits the sun. So for the moment, if you look up to figure out this nice triangle with the stars and planet that make it you will be doing well.


Repeat your observation by eye of the twinkling early evening stars, it’s relaxing and rewarding. Become familiar with a few bright stars, they will become friends for life.  Another evening you can fix your gaze on Vega to the East and drink in a whole other family of stars. There is no rush; you have your whole life to figure it out. Let curiosity lead you to the wonders above your garden.
If  you live in Ireland and have never seen Saturn in a telescope , contact me and I will do my best to make sure you do.  skysketcher@gmail.com

Listen to Jane Houston Jones  What’s Up for May 2011 to further your enjoyment of the sky.



I looked up in the daytime on May 10th with my special highly filtered solar telescope and observed a very complex set of prominences move along the western limb of the sun as the day progressed and the Earth rolled toward night.

Sketched May. 10, 2011 Location: Bray, Co Wicklow. Ireland . Details: PST 40 8mm TVP eyepiece = 50X Pastel on black card,upscaled by eye.  Sketched in between gray clouds and rain showers. Prominences on the Western Limb of the solar disc. I found it was difficult to ignore the entire disc , the filaments and AR action and keep observing the proms. I enjoy drawing the full disc.

Rain stopped play late afternoon. Full sketch sequence details. 5 sketches Proms May 10th West Limb PA approx 225 Time 10 - 20 UT Proms May 10th West Limb PA approx 225 Time 11-09 UT Proms May 10th West Limb PA 270 Time 14-01 UT Proms May 10th West Limb PA approx 280 Time 15-22 UT Last sketch May 10th PA 315 Time 16-50 UT
I visited some of the Earths Volcano's in Iceland during  November 2003. Here are a few photographs. The frozen lake within Krafla was once the stage for a concert by Icelandic singer Bjork.
<<Previous
Forward>>
    Picture

    Author


    Deirdre Kelleghan is amateur astronomer,
    an artist and also  likes to write.

    "The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be lighted"
    Plutarch

    Categories

    All
    Action Sun
    Apollo
    Art
    Astronomy
    Building The Scientific Mind 2013
    Comets
    Comet Sketch
    Drawing
    Dublin City Of Science 2012
    Earth
    Education
    Event
    Events
    Learning
    Lunar Eclipse
    Mars
    Mars Science Laboratory
    Mars Science Laboratory Space Exploration Education
    Mars Science Laboratory - Space Exploration - Education
    Meteors
    Moon
    My Solar Inspired Paintings
    NASATweetup.Space Exploration
    Outreach
    Painting
    Perseids
    Science
    Sketching
    Solar Orbiter
    Solar Sketch
    Solar Sketching
    Solar System
    Space Exploration
    Sun
    The Moon
    The Sun
    Tweetup
    UNAWE International Event - What
    Unesco

    Archives

    July 2022
    February 2020
    December 2019
    September 2017
    September 2015
    July 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    October 2009

Proudly powered by Weebly