Sketches of Deep Space Objects

During 1975 and 1976, I sketched and reviewed numerous deep space objects, as seen through a 6-inch Dynascope. Recently recovered, these illustrations and the associated writeups are now available over the World Wide Web. Rereading my opinions of these celestial wonders, I am amazed at how similar they read to my wine reviews (also available on the Web). I guess some people never change.

What prompted me to make these sketches? I guess I was dissatisfied with using photographs of deep space objects to explain what I had seen through my telescope -- all extremely beautiful, but with different colors and detail far beyond what one can see through a telescope. I found such photographs often raised the expectations of non-astronomers, who then failed to see the majestic charm of a dim galaxy nebula the eyepiece. So my sketches were a feeble attempt to capture the beauty of these deep space objects. To see a dim glow and know that it is the exploded remnants of some ancient star, or the combined suns of a galaxy millions of light years distant, with its own clusters and solar systems and possibly even its own civilizations...

Below, for the sake of history, I present the original reviews, drawings (in both pencil sketch and inverted format) and notes as transcribed by a young Astro-Zombie. For some half-assed photography, be sure to also check out my personal astrophoto collection.

If your browser does not support HTML Table Tags, use this Table-Free Table of Contents. Or, if you do like tables, you can locate your favorite deep space object by type:

NOTE: In certain cases, discoloration around the edges of illustrations is from aging (the glue from the tape leaked through over the years).

More to come if I ever get around to scanning them...


Seismo-Zombie also recommends these links:

Sketches

| Larry's Sketches | Bert's Deep-Sky Site |

Images

| SEDS Messier Catalog | NGC Images |

Info

| Smoky Mountain Astronomical Society |

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