Posts Made By: Sol Robbins

Hi Carlos,

As usual, another fantastic drawing.

The large oval in the STrZ has been an interesting and prominent feature for quite a while. I imagine it can be acquired visually in smaller scopes as well.

The SEB has really been holding my interest, as well as the southern half of the planet in general as various white ovals have been seen visually quite often.

Anyway, thanks for posting another excellent observation.

Sol Robbins

Hi Ron,

I don't know why people say this. BTW, had excellent seeing conditions tonight. Not the best transparency, but utterly stable seeing conditions. The best viewing this apparition for Saturn which held very sharp images at 428x. No trucks at the now infamous Cassini truck stop though.

Saw a few transitional gradations with sharp edges where the B and C rings come together.

I am following up with tonight's Jupiter drawing.

Sol Robbins

Hi Carlos & Alan,

Great observations. Sol Robbins

Hi Srinivas,

With a 10" at 120x, you should have no problem seeing shadow transits on Jupiter. The shadows should look like small black dots on Jupiter's face.

Sol Robbins

Hi Vincent,

Thanks for your complimentary words.

The drawings of mine that you see are the field sketches and were done entirely at the telescope. I usually observe for while to get my eye adjusted and then draw. During this time I can at least lightly rough in the major bands simply to get their thicknesses and distributions correctly proportioned/positioned. This roughing in is very general and details are left out. I can also visually key in on detail and features that appear on the planet's disc without committing them on paper. Most planet's spin slowly, but for Jupiter rapid rotation, I usually start on the preceding side and work my way across to the following side. I also "triangulate" various features in positional relation to each other in order to keep a spatial accuracy

I use a simple setup: Illumination from a clip on light that I got at a music store. A clipboard. White eraser. 4H and 2B pencils. An eraser shield from an art store. At first I just drew the planet discs but now I have made my own templates. This is a very economical way record and share observations.

Drawing does seem to hone one's observing skills and abilities in its own special way. There's a concentration and dare I say, a psychology connecting observing with a record on paper.

Happily, it seems that there is currently more and more interest in sketching at the eyepiece. There is a lot of combine experience and peer sharing for involved participants of this group. I am sure eveyone would help you out. Just remember, don't worry about being "artistic". Just relax and have fun.

Thanks again, Sol Robbins

Hi Carlos,

Thanks for going to the trouble to explain this.

Usually, I see color on most planets with unfiltered views. Unfortunately, I use some very strong filters which work rather well for me in picking out some of the less obvious details. That's the main reason why I draw in black and white.

Thanks again, Sol Robbins

Hi Angel,

Thanks for sharing another one of your fine images. This is definitely whetting my appetite for Mars.

Sol Robbins

Hi Carlos,

Great drawing and associated notes. I too noticed the Jupiter is getting more "shaded" around its perimeter.

Thanks again for sharing your observations,

Sol Robbins

Hi Angel,

These are amongst the better images I have seen so far this year. They are a good match to what I had seen visually in my 6" refractor last year in the weeks before the great Martian dust storm.

I am sure your imaging ability will thrill us as Mars gets closer.

Thanks, Sol Robbins

Hi Bruce,

These are really good and the larger apertures match up pretty well in comparison to what I can see through my 6" refractor. I think that these images are also very helpful for folks who ask that "What can I see?" question.

Thanks for going to the trouble of making and posting this image.

Sol Robbins