[AZ-Observing] Re: Winter Milky Way - Auriga to Canis Major
- From: "djwrigley@xxxxxxxx" <djwrigley@xxxxxxxx>
- To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 13 Dec 2009 14:32:12 GMT
Jeremy,
I think that is a stunningly accurate depiction of that region of the sky.
Star placement and colors are right on. Photographs that show the Milky Way in
any detail tend to show many more stars than are actually visible to the naked
eye. Outstanding job!
I'd be curious to know what type of materials you used to produce this image
Don Wrigley
---------- Original Message ----------
From: Jeremy Perez <jeremy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [AZ-Observing] Winter Milky Way - Auriga to Canis Major
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 2009 22:55:38 -0700
A few weeks ago, I trekked outside town in the squinty hours of the
morning on two separate days to observe and sketch the Milky Way.
Nothing compares to a naked eye view of the Milky Way from a dark
sky. During the winter months when we're facing away from the
furiously busy core of our home galaxy, the tenuous outer arms can
seem a bit atrophied by comparison. Despite that, this slice of sky
is still rich with structure.
From Sunset Crater National Monument, the dizzying heights of this
misty waterfall cascaded through Auriga, past Taurus and Orion,
before drenching Monoceros and Canis Major in a spray of rippling
starlight. I got a little ambitious with the sketch, and ended up
trying to bottle 80 degrees of sky onto 8 inches of paper.
I'm definitely not a cartographer. Pressing such a large section of
the sky onto a flat sheet can be a surprisingly ornery process. After
several erasures, I had my bright stars plotted and worked my way
through the constellations and then the fainter stars they encompass.
This took up my first early morning of observing. On the second
morning, I worked my way down the Milky Way from Auriga to Canis
Major. Auriga was at culmination when I started, and Canis Major was
reaching its apex when I finished. Along the way, I was able to enjoy
the delicate clumps of several open clusters. More were certainly
within grasp, but I had to leave those for another session at some
point in the future.
The overall structure in my sketch was rather blunt compared to the
subtle glow the Milky Way gives in person. However, I feel like I
know this piece of sky much better, having tried to reproduce its
fluttering streamers of light and dark. I'm looking forward to seeing
its familiar face again very soon.
I hope everyone else enjoys a little naked eye Milky Way before
affixing eyes to eyepieces this winter.
The full report and sketch can be found here:
http://www.perezmedia.net/beltofvenus/archives/001397.html
Jeremy Perez
Flagstaff, AZ
http://beltofvenus.perezmedia.net
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