Regulus! Astronomy Education: Sketches

Deep Sky Sketches

Each of the objects listed below was sketched at the telescope eyepiece by me starting in 1979. The majority of images were drawn with pencil, but some use other implements. All were drawn in negative, thus the darker the drawing, the brighter the object appeared at the telescope. Each image was then scanned into a JPG format where it was processed with Adobe Photoshop 4.0 to reduce ghosts and to hide my own notes written on the margins. Images were then re-imaged in negative to render the objects white on a black background. Images were then reduced in size and saved into JPG format.

It is interesting to compare these images to actual photographs found in books like Burnham's Celestial Handbook. Note that not all are drawn exactly as seen. Many of the open clusters are drawn as an impression rather than an exact representation. Some look very similar to their photographic counterparts while others only bear a slight semblance. Either way, I hope that these will help those involved with astronomy. These are a great way to show newcomers what to expect at the eyepiece.

Messier Objects:

Object	Type	Constellation	Common Name (?=disputed M)	Visual Magnitude
M1	Planetary Nebula	Taurus	Crab Nebula	8.4
M2	Globular Cluster	Aquarius	-	6.5
M3	Globular Cluster	Canes Venatici	-	6.4
M4	Globular Cluster	Scorpius	-	5.9
M5	Globular Cluster	Serpens	-	5.8
M6	Open Cluster	Scorpius	The Butterfly Cluster	5.2
M7	Open Cluster	Scorpius	-	3.3
M8	Diffuse Nebula	Sagittarius	Lagoon Nebula	5.8
M9	Globular Cluster	Ophiuchus	-	7.9
M10	Globular Cluster	Ophiuchus	-	6.6
M11	Open Cluster	Scutum	Wild Duck Cluster	5.8
M12	Globular Cluster	Ophiuchus	-	6.6
M13	Globular Cluster	Hercules	Great Cluster in Hercules	5.9
M14	Globular Cluster	Ophiuchus	-	7.6
M15	Globular Cluster	Pegasus	-	6.4
M16	Diffuse Nebula	Serpens	Eagle Nebula	6.0
M17	Diffuse Nebula	Sagittarius	Omega Nebula	6.0
M18	Open Cluster	Sagittarius	-	6.9
M19	Globular Cluster	Ophiuchus	-	7.2
M20	Diffuse Nebula	Sagittarius	Trifid Nebula	6.3
M21	Open Cluster	Sagittarius	-	5.9
M22	Globular Cluster	Sagittarius	-	5.1
M23	Open Cluster	Sagittarius	-	5.5
M24	Open Cluster	Sagittarius	-	11.0
M25	Open Cluster	Sagittarius	-	4.0
M26	Open Cluster	Scutum	-	8.0
M27	Planetary Nebula	Vulpecula	Dumbbell/Hourglass Nebula	8.1
M28	Globular Cluster	Sagittarius	-	6.9
M29	Open Cluster	Cygnus	-	6.6
M30	Globular Cluster	Capricornus	-	7.5
M31	Galaxy	Andromeda	Great Nebula in Andromeda (Andromeda Galaxy)	4.0
M32	Galaxy	Andromeda	Companion to M31	9.1
M33	Galaxy	Triangulum	Triangulum Galaxy	6.2
M34	Open Cluster	Perseus	-	5.2
M35	Open Cluster	Gemini	-	5.1
M36	Open Cluster	Auriga	-	6.0
M37	Open Cluster	Auriga	-	5.6
M38	Open Cluster	Auriga	-	6.4
M36, M37, M38	Open Clusters	Auriga...	-	6.4
M39	Open Cluster	Cygnus	-	4.6
M40	Double Star	Ursa Major	Double star in UMa, Winnecke 4	9.5 & 9.9
M41	Open Cluster	Canis Major	-	4.5
M42	Diffuse Nebula	Orion	Great Nebula in Orion	4.0
M43	Diffuse Nebula	Orion	Companion to M42	9.0
M44	Open Cluster	Cancer	Praesepe/Beehive Cluster	3.1
M45	Open Cluster	Taurus	The Pleiades Cluster	3.0+
M46	Open Cluster	Puppis	-	6.1
M47	Open Cluster	Puppis	NGC2422 ?	4.4
M48	Open Cluster	Hydra	NGC2548 ?	5.8
M49	Galaxy	Virgo	-	9.1
M50	Open Cluster	Monoceros	-	5.9
M51	Galaxy	Ursa Major	The Whirlpool Galaxy	9.2
M52	Open Cluster	Cassiopeia	-	6.9
M53	Globular Cluster	Coma Berenices	-	7.7
M54	Globular Cluster	Sagittarius	-	7.7
M55	Globular Cluster	Sagittarius	-	7.0
M56	Globular Cluster	Lyra	-	8.3
M57	Planetary Nebula	Lyra	Ring Nebula	9.0
M58	Galaxy	Virgo	-	10.6
M59	Galaxy	Virgo	-	10.6
M60	Galaxy	Virgo	-	9.6
M61	Galaxy	Virgo	-	10.1
M62	Globular Cluster	Ophiuchus	-	6.6
M63	Galaxy	Canes Venatici	Sunflower Galaxy	9.6
M64	Galaxy	Coma Berenices	Black-eye Galaxy	8.7
M65	Galaxy	Leo	Leo's Triplet with M66 & NGC3628	10.1
M66	Galaxy	Leo	Leo's Triplet with M65 & NGC3628	9.6
M67	Open Cluster	Cancer	-	6.9
M68	Globular Cluster	Hydra	-	8.2
M69	Globular Cluster	Sagittarius	-	7.7
M70	Globular Cluster	Sagittarius	-	8.1
M71	Globular Cluster	Sagitta	-	8.3
M72	Globular Cluster	Aquarius	-	9.4
M73	Star Asterism	Aquarius	Asterism of Stars	9.0
M74	Galaxy	Pisces	-	10.0
M75	Globular Cluster	Sagittarius	-	8.6
M76	Planetary Nebula	Perseus	Little Dumbbell or Cork Nebula	12.0
M77	Galaxy	Cetus	-	9.6
M78	Diffuse Nebula	Orion	-	8.0
M79	Globular Cluster	Lepus	-	8.0
M80	Globular Cluster	Scorpius	-	7.2
M81	Galaxy	Ursa Major	Bode's Nebula	7.9
M82	Galaxy	Ursa Major	Bode's Nebula	9.2
M83	Galaxy	Centaurus	-	8.1
M84	Galaxy	Virgo	-	10.0
M85	Galaxy	Coma Berenices	-	10.0
M86	Galaxy	Virgo	-	9.8
M87	Galaxy	Virgo	Virgo "A" Galaxy	9.6
M88	Galaxy	Coma Berenices	-	10.3
M89	Galaxy	Virgo	-	10.5
M90	Galaxy	Virgo	-	10.3
M91	Galaxy	Coma Berenices	NGC4548	11.1
M92	Globular Cluster	Hercules	-	6.5
M93	Open Cluster	Puppis	-	6.2
M94	Galaxy	Canes Venatici	-	8.7
M95	Galaxy	Leo	-	10.7
M96	Galaxy	Leo	-	9.9
M96 with 1998 Supernova	Galaxy	Leo	-	9.9
M97	Planetary Nebula	Ursa Major	Owl Nebula	11.2
M98	Galaxy	Coma Berenices	-	10.8
M99	Galaxy	Coma Berenices	Pinwheel Galaxy	10.1
M100	Galaxy	Coma Berenices	-	10.2
M101	Galaxy	Ursa Major	-	7.9
M102	Galaxy	Draco	Same as 101? NGC5866?	10.0
M103	Open Cluster	Cassiopeia	-	7.4
M104	Galaxy	Corvus	Sombrero Galaxy	8.6
M105	Galaxy	Leo	-	10.1
M106	Galaxy	Canes Venatici	-	9.3
M107	Globular Cluster	Ophiuchus	-	8.1
M108	Galaxy	Ursa Major	-	10.7
M109	Galaxy	Ursa Major	-	10.6
M110	Galaxy	Andromeda	Companion to M31	8.9

NGC Objects:

Object	Type	Constellation	Common Name	Visual Magnitude
NGC185	Galaxy	Cas	-	11.7
NGC253	Galaxy	Scl	-	11.7
NGC278	Galaxy	Cas	-	11.3
NGC404	Galaxy	And	-	10.7
NGC598	Galaxy	Tri	-	6.7
NGC752	Open Cluster	And	-	7.0
NGC869	Open Cluster	Perseus	One of the Double Cluster in Perseus with NGC 884	5.3
NGC884	Open Cluster	Perseus	One of the Double Cluster in Perseus with NGC 869	6.1
NGC891	Galaxy	And	-	11.5
NGC1023	Galaxy	Per	-	10.5
NGC1245	Open Cluster	Per	-	6.9
NGC1342	Open Cluster	Per	-	7.1
NGC2261	Emission/Reflection Nebula	Monoceros	Hubble's Variable Nebula	Variable
NGC2244	Open Cluster w/Nebulosity	Monoceros	Part of the Rosette Nebula	4.8
NGC2264	Open Cluster w/Nebulosity	Monoceros	The Christmas Tree Cluster	3.9
NGC2974	Galaxy	Sextans	-	10.8
NGC3115	Galaxy	Sextans	The Spindle Galaxy	9.2
NGC3166	Galaxy	Leo	-	10.6
NGC3169	Galaxy	Leo	-	11.5
NGC3242	Planetary Nebula	Hydra	The Ghost of Jupiter	7.7
NGC3377	Galaxy	Leo	-	10.2
NGC3379	Galaxy	Leo	-	10.1
NGC3384	Galaxy	Leo	-	10.7
NGC3389	Galaxy	Leo	-	12.4
NGC3412	Galaxy	Leo	-	10.6
NGC3521	Galaxy	Leo	-	8.9
NGC3607	Galaxy	Leo	-	11.0
NGC3608	Galaxy	Leo	-	11.8
NGC3626	Galaxy	Leo	-	10.9
NGC3628	Galaxy	Leo	Leo's Triplet with M65 & M66	9.5
NGC4147	Globular Cluster	Coma Berenices	-	10.3
NGC4179	Galaxy	Virgo	-	10.9
NGC4216	Galaxy	Virgo	-	10.0
NGC4261	Galaxy	Virgo	-	10.3
NGC4594	Galaxy	Virgo	-	8.3
NGC4697	Galaxy	Virgo	-	9.3
NGC5053	Globular Cluster	Coma Berenices	-	9.8
NGC5248	Galaxy	Bootes	-	10.2
NGC6210	Planetary Nebula	Hercules	-	8.8
NGC6543	Planetary Nebula	Draco	Cat's Eye Nebula	8.1
NGC6522 & 6528	Globular Cluster	Sagittarius	-	8.6
NGC6826	Planetary Nebula	Cygnus	The Blinking Planetary	8.8
NGC6934	Globular Cluster	Delphinus	-	8.9
NGC6960	Supernova Remnant	Cygnus	Western Portion of the Veil Nebula	-
NGC6992 & 6995	Supernova Remnant	Cygnus	Eastern Portion of the Veil Nebula	-
NGC7008	Planetary Nebula	Cygnus	-	10.7
NGC7009	Planetary Nebula	Aquarius	The Saturn Nebula	8.0
NGC7027	Planetary Nebula	Cygnus	-	8.5
NGC7293	Planetary Nebula	Aquarius	Helix Nebula	7.3

Other:

Object	UT Date	UT Time
8 June 2004 Venus Transit across the Sun	8 June 2004	11h 05m
Comet Halley 1986	Jan.21, 1986	23h 10m
Comet Swift-Tuttle 1992	Nov. 13, 1992	-
Comet Hale-Bopp 1997	March 25, 1997	00h 10m
Double Double Star Struve 2470/2474	-	-

All images by John Blackwell using pen, pencil, paper lots of bug spray and flashlight batteries Clear skies to all!

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