But when researchers at Bell Labs discovered that static tends to come from particular places in the sky, the whole field of radio astronomy opened up.
/ Murray Gell-Mann /



My astronomy sketches. IE users, hoover mouse over image for the inverted look. For fainter objects, take a look at the black-on-white original, sometimes it reveals more details.


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By type: open clusters [24] globular clusters [11] diffuse nebulae [1] dark nebulae [0] planetary nebulae [11] variable stars [1] binary stars [1] asterisms [1] galaxies [31] quasars [0] planets [2] minor planets [0] comets [0] Sun [0] other objects [0]
By catalogue: Messier 1-50 [9] Messier 51-110 [11] NGC 1-1000 [1] NGC 1001-2000 [8] NGC 2001-3000 [10] NGC 3001-4000 [8] NGC 4001-5000 [8] NGC 5001-6000 [9] NGC 6001-7000 [14] NGC 7001-7840 [12] IC 1-5386 [0] other catalogues [10] uncataloged [4]
By constellation:



The Coathanger (Asterism)
Also known as: Collinder 399 (CR 399), Brocchi's cluster
Right ascension: 19h 27m Declination: 20° 09'
Constellation: Vulpecula
Date/time: 2009.06.19 21:00 UT
Equipment: 10x50 binoculars
FoV: 3° 30' Magnification and filter(s): 10x
Seeing: 4/10 Transparency: 4/5

This famous cluster demands a huge FoV, that can only be achieved by binoculars. At a NELM of about 5 magnitudes, you may notice it with your bare eyes as a large, diffuse spot. The coathanger shape is formed by 10 shiny stars, and the background is painted grainy by the Milky Way.

Location: Nádasdladány, Hungary
Observer: Ferenc Lovró
Hi-resolution image: [ reversed sketch | original sketch ]
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NGC 6910 (Open cluster)
Also known as: Rocking Horse cluster
Right ascension: 20h 24m Declination: 40° 48'
Constellation: Cygnus
Date/time: 2009.06.19 00:00 UT
Equipment: 12" f/5 Newtonian
FoV: 12' Magnification and filter(s): 250x
Seeing: 7/10 Transparency: 4/5

This tinny little object is also known as the Rocking Horse cluster. The name says it all: it really looks like a little horse jumping around the space. Although it's in a quite easy position, it still is a neglected object, as when it comes to Cygnus, everyone thinks of nebulae like the Veil and its companions, and the tiny shiny planetaries. Too bad, because this cluster is a real gem! It's special features are the two brightest stars of the cluster (at the front leg and the eye), that are apparently yellow, even though their spectral class suggests a rather white colour. This optical illusion is caused by the interstellar dust that is so common through Cygnus. A very important hint: you should use a fairly high magnification when looking at this object, because it's located in a field that is rich in bright stars, which makes it harder to detect the real shape of the cluster.

Location: Nádasdladány, Hungary
Observer: Ferenc Lovró
Hi-resolution image: [ reversed sketch | original sketch ]
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NGC 6539 (Globular cluster)
Right ascension: 18h 05m Declination: -7° 35'
Constellation: Ophiuchus
Date/time: 2009.06.18 22:30 UT
Equipment: 12" f/5 Newtonian
FoV: 22' Magnification and filter(s): 167x
Seeing: 7/10 Transparency: 4/5

Perfectly symmetrical, sphere-like globular cluster. Cannot resolve it at all. It's a bit fainter than the nearby NGC 6517, yet it's fairly larger than that. It's located in a field that's very sparsely populated by stars, this makes finding and following it a real adventure.

Location: Nádasdladány, Hungary
Observer: Ferenc Lovró
Hi-resolution image: [ reversed sketch | original sketch ]
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NGC 6517 (Globular cluster)
Right ascension: 18h 02m Declination: -8° 58'
Constellation: Ophiuchus
Date/time: 2009.06.18 22:00 UT
Equipment: 12" f/5 Newtonian
FoV: 16' Magnification and filter(s): 250x
Seeing: 7/10 Transparency: 4/5

A very dim, faint globular cluster that seems to be elongated in the N-S direction. Its core brightens softly, but it refuses to split up into stars even with averted vision and it also fails to respond to increasing magnifications. The object sits in the middle of some brighter stars that form a giant V-letter, pointing to the West.

Location: Nádasdladány, Hungary
Observer: Ferenc Lovró
Hi-resolution image: [ reversed sketch | original sketch ]
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NGC 6535 (Globular cluster)
Right ascension: 18h 04m Declination: -0° 18'
Constellation: Serpens
Date/time: 2009.06.18 21:30 UT
Equipment: 12" f/5 Newtonian
FoV: 16' Magnification and filter(s): 250x
Seeing: 7/10 Transparency: 4/5

Tiny, faint globular cluster with four clearly separated stars on its Western side. However, I'm not sure whether they really do belong to the cluster, or they are just plain foreground stars. With averted vision several other stars can be resolved at its slightly brighter core: two of them can be seen clearly with this technique, while some others pop up here and then when the atmosphere calms down for some moments. The core, just like the globular itself is not really sphere-like, but rather looks a little bit like an onion, with the thinner part looking to the East.

Location: Nádasdladány, Hungary
Observer: Ferenc Lovró
Hi-resolution image: [ reversed sketch | original sketch ]
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NGC 5857 + NGC 5859 (Galaxy)
Right ascension: 15h 08m Declination: 19° 33'
Constellation: Boötes
Date/time: 2009.06.13 22:00 UT
Equipment: 12" f/5 Newtonian
FoV: 23' Magnification and filter(s): 167x
Seeing: 6/10 Transparency: 3/5

An extremely faint pair of galaxies in a sparsely populated starfield, therefore it's recommended to have some experience with starhopping. The brighter one is the NGC 5859, that is a small edge-on galaxy. Its core is brightening slowly. To the NW you may notice a small foggy star which turns out to be the core of another faint galaxy, the NGC 5857. It's much fainter than its companion, and features a star-like core. It nearly touches the outer regions of the NGC 5859. The faintest star of the sketch is catalogued at 15.21m, which is considered to be excellent in such a terrible atmospheric conditions.

Location: Nádasdladány, Hungary
Observer: Ferenc Lovró
Hi-resolution image: [ reversed sketch | original sketch ]
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NGC 6504 (Galaxy)
Right ascension: 17h 56m Declination: 33° 12'
Constellation: Hercules
Date/time: 2009.05.25 23:45 UT
Equipment: 12" f/5 Newtonian
FoV: 21' Magnification and filter(s): 167x
Seeing: 3/10 Transparency: 4/5

A very faint, tiny little GX with an apparent magnitude of about 13.6-13 magnitudes. Its core is popping out strongly from the galactic plane and resembles an almond, although the Northern side of the core looks brighter, therefore it seems to be asymmetric. It demands high magnification levels. At 250x the shapes were easier to see, unfortunately because of the terrible seeing I had to step back to a lower power. Photographically it looks quite the same as NGC 4762.

Location: Nádasdladány, Hungary
Observer: Ferenc Lovró
Hi-resolution image: [ reversed sketch | original sketch ]
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NGC 4754 + NGC 4762 (Galaxy)
Right ascension: 12h 53m Declination: 11° 12'
Constellation: Virgo
Date/time: 2009.05.20 21:00 UT
Equipment: 12" f/5 Newtonian
FoV: 31' Magnification and filter(s): 100x
Seeing: 5/10 Transparency: 4/5

A spectacular, faint pair of galaxies on the outer edge of the Virgo-cluster. NGC 4762: looks like a needle, a tiny galaxy with definitely brightening core bulb that's fullfilled in a little star-like core. It's a perfectly edge-on galaxy. NGC 4754: looks smaller and much fainter than its companion. It's a nearly face-on galaxy that looks like a diffuse elliptical galaxy with no details at all, except for the almond-shaped, softly brightening core. To the SW of this pair you may notice a third, even fainter companion galaxy, the NGC 4733 only about one full field of vision away.

Location: Nádasdladány, Hungary
Observer: Ferenc Lovró
Hi-resolution image: [ reversed sketch | original sketch ]
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NGC 4866 (Galaxy)
Right ascension: 13h 00m Declination: 14° 07'
Constellation: Virgo
Date/time: 2009.05.20 20:30 UT
Equipment: 12" f/5 Newtonian
FoV: 24' Magnification and filter(s): 167x
Seeing: 5/10 Transparency: 4/5

A faint, but clearly detectable galaxy of about 12 magnitudes, with a tiny, star-like core. Near this, a faint little star can be noticed that seems to be a supernova, however it is only a bare foreground star. Compared with photographs, it seems that the area seen by me is in fact only the brighter region around the galactic core. The galaxy has even fainter outer territories that cannot be seen visually by me. With these, the area of the galaxy is about twice the size, but for now, I estimate an apparent visual size of about 3.5' x 0.8' only. The foreground star is encircled by the galaxy and it looks as if the latter would be darker around the star. However, this is obviously only an optical illusion. Apart from that, it still shows many details: brighter and darker areas. Because of this, it seems to be an irregular galaxy, yet it is in fact belongs to a rare sub-group of spirals.

Location: Nádasdladány, Hungary
Observer: Ferenc Lovró
Hi-resolution image: [ reversed sketch | original sketch ]
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NGC 5033 (Galaxy)
Right ascension: 13h 14m Declination: 36° 33'
Constellation: Canes Venatici
Date/time: 2009.05.17 21:45 UT
Equipment: 12" f/5 Newtonian
FoV: 22' Magnification and filter(s): 167x
Seeing: 6/10 Transparency: 3/5

Only about 40' away from NGC 5005, you can find this small, faint galaxy. This one is the fainter of the two, less spectacular with a slightly brightening core. It is in fact a very spectacular spiral, but visually it's more like a simple elliptical galaxy. At its Northern end you can detect a faint star of 13.9m, which appears (especially with averted vision) to twinkle on the surface of the galaxy. It's brightness is measured at 11m.

Location: Nádasdladány, Hungary
Observer: Ferenc Lovró
Hi-resolution image: [ reversed sketch | original sketch ]
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Guestbook

Date of entry: 07/06/08 15:01:16
Your name: Demelza Ramakers
Your comment:
I really love you're sketches! They are amazing! Keep up the good work!

Clear Skies!
Demelza Ramakers
http://d.ramakers.googlepages.com/home

Where are you from? Holland
How did you know about my website? Cloudy Nights


Date of entry: 05/03/08 16:12:34
Your name: Faith J
Your comment:
Superb sketches, Ferenc, absolutely brilliant. I love the mouse-over effect, too.
http://visualdeepsky.webs.com

Where are you from? England
How did you know about my website? From Cloudy Nights forums


Date of entry: 04/14/08 06:20:04
Your name: Laurie
Your comment:
Awesome sketches! I love it! I was curious what size and what kind of eyepiece were you using with each sketch? I do see the magnification power with each sketch. Thanks - let me know, email address
laurie-wilmothotmail.com

Where are you from? State of Colorado in the USA
How did you know about my website? Cloudy Nights


Date of entry: 04/11/08 07:05:02
Your name: Ferenc Lovró
Your comment:
Feel free to post your comments here. Criticism is welcome, however spam, html, ads, bad words are not tolerated.

Clear skies!

Where are you from? Nádasdladány, Hungary
How did you know about my website? Actually, I'm the owner of it. :)


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All text and images are ©opyright of Ferenc Lovró. All rights reserved worldwide.

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M42 + M43 sketch NGC 1976 + NGC 1982 sketch NGC 457 sketch NGC 1807 + NGC 1817 sketch M34 sketch NGC 1039 sketch NGC 1502 sketch NGC 2169 sketch NGC 2281 sketch Cr 116 sketch Trumpler 2 sketch Trumpler 3 + PNG138.1+04.1 sketch Tr 3 sketch M52 + OCL261 sketch NGC 7654 + Czernik 43 (Cz 43) sketch WZ Cas sketch WZ Cassiopeiae sketch NGC 1545 sketch Collinder 49 (Cr 49) sketch NGC 1513 sketch Stock 10 sketch M50 sketch NGC 2323 sketch NGC 1528 sketch NGC 2232 sketch M103 sketch NGC 581 sketch Trumpler 1 sketch Tr 1 sketch Stock 23 sketch Saturn sketch Saturn sketch NGC 2683 sketch M53 sketch NGC 5024 sketch M81 + M82 sketch NGC 3031 + NGC 3034 sketch NGC 2648 sketch M67 sketch NGC 2862 sketch M65 + M66 + NGC 3628 sketch Leo trio, NGC 3623 + NGC 3627 + NGC 3628 sketch King 6 sketch M108 sketch NGC 3556 sketch M97 sketch Owl nebula, NGC 3587 sketch M51 + NGC 5195 sketch NGC 5194 + NGC 5195 sketch NGC 4168 + NGC 4189 + NGC 4193 + NGC 4206 + NGC 4208 + NGC 4216 sketch M106 + NGC 4248 sketch NGC 4258 + NGC 4248 sketch M10 sketch NGC 6254 sketch M12 sketch NGC 6218 sketch M13 sketch NGC 6205 sketch M92 sketch NGC 6341 sketch NGC 6229 sketch Epsilon Lyrae sketch Double double sketch M57 sketch Ring nebula, NGC 6720 sketch M27 sketch Dumbbell nebula, NGC 6853 sketch NGC 6210 sketch Turtle nebula sketch NGC 6543 sketch Cat's eye nebula sketch NGC 5907 sketch Splinter galaxy sketch NGC 5981 + NGC 5982 + NGC 5985 sketch Draco trio sketch NGC 7026 sketch The Cheeseburger nebula sketch NGC 7027 sketch Magic carpet nebula sketch NGC 7008 sketch Fetus nebula sketch NGC 7209 sketch NGC 7217 sketch NGC 7332 + NGC 7339 sketch NGC 7331 + NGC 7335 sketch NGC 7814 sketch NGC 7457 sketch NGC 7640 sketch NGC 7662 sketch Blue snowball sketch NGC 1342 sketch NGC 2392 sketch Eskimo nebula, Clown face nebula sketch NGC 3222 + NGC 3226 + NGC 3227 sketch NGC 3344 sketch NGC 2129 sketch NGC 3432 sketch Arp 206 sketch NGC 4565 sketch Needle galaxy sketch NGC 4631 + NGC 4656 sketch Whale galaxy + Hockeystick galaxy, Arp 281 sketch NGC 2683 sketch UFO galaxy sketch NGC 5466 sketch M3 sketch NGC 5272 sketch NGC 4036 + NGC 4041 sketch NGC 3718 + NGC 3729 sketch Arp 214 sketch NGC 4244 sketch Caldwell C26 sketch NGC 5005 sketch Caldwell C29 sketch NGC 5033 sketch NGC 4866 sketch NGC 4754 + NGC 4762 sketch NGC 6504 sketch NGC 5857 + NGC 5859 sketch NGC 6535 sketch NGC 6517 sketch NGC 6539 sketch NGC 6910 sketch Rocking Horse cluster sketch The Coathanger sketch Collinder 399 (CR 399), Brocchi's cluster sketch