2014 02 09, 9.12-day-old Moon

This was a marathon session. I meant to be outside for only a couple hours. Then four hours later, I forced myself to stop sketching even though more detail could have been added. The sky conditions that night were nearly perfect.

2014 02 09, 0030-0430UT (-6) 9.12-day-old Moon Erika Rix, Texas, http://www.pcwobservatory.com
102mm f/9.8 refractor, LXD75, 13% T filter, 20mm, 50x
S: Antoniadi I, T: 5/6, Temp: 40F, H: 50%, c/c
Colongitude: 20.3°
Phase: 64.9°
Lunation: 9.12 days
Illumination: 71.2%

Eyepiece sketch on black Strathmore Artagain paper, white Conte crayon, white charcoal pencil, black Derwent charcoal pencil, black woodless oil pencil, blending stump.

A member from the Austin Astronomical Society, Rob Pettengill, was imaging that same night and sent me an animation to compare my sketch to the fantastic image he took that night.

“I noticed that we both caught the gibbous moon last night and was curious about how it would look with the photo I took, so I scaled my picture to the same size and made an animated gif. I thought that you might be amused by the result as well.”

I really enjoy these types of comparisons. Not only does it show similarities, but it also shows where my sketch was off. This helps me to improve my sketching technique.