Sketches at the Eyepiece

June 23, 2003 10:39 AM

Sketches at the Eyepiece. Drawings of the Moon, the Sun, planets and other astronomical objects.
Also The Face of the Moon: Galileo to Apollo. A catalogue of rare books and maps, with images.
posted by plep (8 comments total)

Both links via the Moon Maiden, astronomy picture of the day from a few days back. (Along with Inconstant Moon, virtual tours of the lunar surface, which has been posted before).
posted by plep at 10:40 AM on June 23, 2003

... And exactly one year ago... Is that serendipity or what?
posted by plep at 10:41 AM on June 23, 2003

that's just spooky plep. I just dialed-up to find an image of the moon.

here is the Consolidated Lunar Atlas which I've visited many times and still yet to get to the bottom of.
posted by gravelshoes at 10:59 AM on June 23, 2003

Thanks, plep! It's a time-honored tradition for amateur astronomers to record their eyepiece views in this way, and sketching is one of the best ways to improve your visual observing skills. It's something I want to start doing myself if I ever get a clear night around here.

Any other astronomers care to suggest sketching materials or techniques? To date I haven't begun keeping a log book and this is something I'd like to try and do right.
posted by Songdog at 12:25 PM on June 23, 2003

Cheers, plep - I particularly appreciated the historical sketches. And learned a new word - selenography!
posted by carter at 3:38 PM on June 23, 2003

Very nice and interesting stuff plep!
But how could you forget about the amazing images from Le Voyage dans la Lune? ;-)
posted by madamjujujive at 9:47 PM on June 23, 2003

mjjj :- I depend on you to flesh this sort of stuff out. Thanks. :)
posted by plep at 11:57 PM on June 23, 2003

Nice post. Astronomical sketching is a skill I've never been able to quite pick up to my satisfaction, despite trying almost every summer (winter's too damn cold - I just want to look and move along).

Lots of people post their sketches on the web, but I find Bill Greer's sketches just exquisite.
posted by holycola at 11:36 AM on June 24, 2003