Drawings of Deepsky Objects
With Large Telescopes
Psalms
8:3-9 (ESV)
When I consider your heavens, the work of your
fingers, the
moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man
that you are mindful of him, the son of man that
you care for him?
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in
all the earth!
Why Drawings With Large Telescopes? Many excellent sites already exist with drawings made using small to moderate telescopes. Some of these sites are listed at the end of this page.
Why drawings and not astrophotography?In
my opinion the eye is still the most amazing imaging device to be found.
It offers a unique perspective not possible
with any other means. One example that comes to mind is
the eyes ability to clearly reveal the stars of the trapezium, the bright
inner nebulosity, and the faint outer nebulosity of M
42, all at the same time! While I have seen
all of this detail in separate images, I don't know that I have ever seen
it all in the same image.
See Mel Bartels' discussion
on visual observing.
Bruce Sayre has some interesting thoughts on binocular viewing about 2/3 of the way down the page on his site.
m 51
m
61
m
66
m
74
m
77
m
83
m
87
m
95
m
99
ngc
278
ngc
520
ngc
2535/2536
ngc
3226/3227
ngc
3344
ngc
3395/3396
ngc
4038/4039 Antennae
ngc
4298/4302
ngc
4485/4490
ngc
4567/4568 The Siamese Twins
ngc
4676
ngc
5216/5218
ngc
5257/5258
ngc
5318/5319
ngc
5394/5395
ngc
5426/5427
ngc
5544/5545
ngc
5921
ngc
6946
ngc
7331
ngc
7479
ngc
7814
Stephen's
Quintet
abell
33
abell
35
abell
36
ic
418 Raspberry
ic 972
ic
2003
ic 3568
ic
4677
Je1
m
57 Ring
m
97 Owl
mink2-2
mink2-9 Minkowski's Butterfly
ngc
40
ngc
246
ngc
1360
ngc
1501
ngc
1514
ngc
1535
ngc
2818A
ngc
2242
ngc
2392 Eskimo
ngc
2438
ngc
2440
ngc
2452
ngc
2610
ngc
2792
ngc
3132
ngc
3242 Ghost of Jupiter
ngc
3587
ngc
4361
ngc
6058
ngc
6309
ngc
6369
ngc
6543 Cats Eye
ngc
6751
ngc
6781
ngc
6803
ngc
6804
ngc
6826
ngc
6842
ngc
6852
ngc
6881
ngc
6886
ngc
7008
ngc
7026
ngc
7027
ngc
7048
ngc
7662 Blue Snowball
Sanduleak
2-21
W2-245
ngc
2261 Hubble's Variable Nebula
ngc
2264 Cone Nebula
ngc
7023
Let me know if you have any drawings you would like to have posted here, or if you have any comments.
If you would like to be notified when this page is updated JOIN IAAC, a forum for amateur astronomers at all levels to share their observations of Deep-Sky objects. Before a drawing is added to this page a description is submitted to IAAC. The description will mention whether or not a drawing has been added to this site.
A large telescope does not a good observer make. Some of the drawings found at the sites listed below were made using large telescopes and show amazing amounts of detail. But many of the drawings made with moderate and small telescopes also show large amounts of detail. When experience is combined with dark and steady skies impressive observations can result, even with a small aperture telescope. Check out these sites to see some great drawings.
Planetary Nebulae Observer's
Home Page: Various contributors and telescopes
Images
du ciel profond: French site with color drawings using
10" to 40" telescopes
Dessins
du ciel profond: Another French site with great drawings using
large telescopes
Simeis 147:
by Rich Jakiel with a 20" telescope
Larry's Deep-Sky
Sketches!: Drawings with 8", 10" and 13" telescopes
Sketches of Deep Space Objects:
Drawings with a 6" telescope
Astronomical Sketches:
Drawings by M. Geldorp with 4.5" and 8" telescopes
The Orion Nebula:
Possibly made with Lord Rosse's Reflector, by W. H. Rambaut
Deep-Sky
Drawings: Drawings by Udo Zlender using a 10" telescope
Todd's Heavenly
Bodies: Drawings using a 2.4" refractor and a 10.1" reflector
lector
Liro's deepsky pages:
Drawings using a 110mm reflector
Deepsky Archive:
Drawings using various size telescopes
Ian's Nexstar Page:
Sketches by Ian Maule using a 5" Nexstar
Deep-sky drawings:
Drawings by Tom Polakis using a 13" reflector (via the wayback machine since Tom's web site went down)
Visual Deepsky Observing:
Drawings by Andreas Domenico using an 18" dobsonian
Deepsky sketches:
by Eric Jamison using large refractors such as a TMB 175 and a 14.5" Starmaster
Deepsky Sketches:
by Scott Mellish, these sketches are excellent, the site also contains a link to a very good article on the Mellish Technique of sketching
ASOD: Astronomy Sketch of the Day contains many deepsky sketches
DEEP-SKY WATCH: Drawings of deep sky objects by Michael Vlasov
Extreme deepsky drawings: Nice drawings by Bertrand Laville with large telescopes
COMPTE RENDU D’OBSERVATIONS ASTRONOMIQUES : Drawings by Emmanuel Pelegrin with telescopes up to 18 inches
Sketch Gallery: Sketches with a 20" telescope
Mes dessins de 2010: Sketches with a 250mm telescope
Let
me know if you are aware of any sites containing drawings that are
not listed here.