Hi all,
This really has been a miserable astro year for me and all
of Sydney for that matter. We may have
sunny days, but the evenings are cloudy or windy or seeing is just the
pits. Yet we amateur astronomers are an
optimistic bunch, and opportunistic if need be.
Yesterday was another one of those sunny teasers. Few clouds all day long, and sunset saw the
clouds disappear! But this was just a
tease. On the horizon there was an
ambush of rainclouds waiting for the final rays of the sun to disappear to mark
their charge upon the Sydney sky.
Expecting this, I had a quick look towards the west as a
very thin waxing lunar crescent was low in the sky and close to Saturn. The Moon just proved irresistible, and a huge
urge to sketch the gorgeous scene had me thinking – “Do I have enough
time? Can I get the gear together fast
enough and smash out a sketch before the Moon dips too low and beat the
impending rush of cloud cover? Shall I
chance it? YES!”
In two minutes I set up my ED80 refractor, and four minutes
later again I had my pencils sharpened and sketch pad in hand. A quick compass scrawl of an incomplete
circle for the outline of the Moon, off-set for composition value, and then
started the mad rush to get as much detail down as possible. The Moon was no more than 30° above the western
horizon and dropping fast. In my favour
was surprisingly stable seeing over what normally is a very warm and shimmer laden
western sky. And as always, the more I
look the more detail I see. But there’s
no time! The leading charge of clouds started
moving in, taunting me as the Moon was briefly obscured. No time to pause. What can I see through the haze that I can
lay down in the sketch? MOVE IT! Alex! Keep it neat!
Don’t dawdle. MOVE!
And in half an hour it was done, and the Moon disappeared behind clouds right on que!
What a rush!
With the crescent done, I just filled in the Earthshine with
a paint brush using soft pastel dust and tidied up any loose markings along the
limb. Finished.
I am really happy with this piece. The composition works really well being
off-set, and that some of the Earthshine part is cut off works too as goes to
make the crescent the focus of attention.
It has a certain 3D feel to it, like you are passing by the Moon on your
way to another destination. I hope you
enjoy this piece too.
Alex.
Object: 4 day old
Moon
Scope: ED80 refractor
Gear: 9mm TMB
Planetary Type II, 72X
Date: 21st
November, 2017
Location: Sydney,
Australia
Media: White soft
pastel and charcoal on A4 black paper
