Telescope, Jupiter and Sketching

My father gave me first telescope when I pass 12 grade. Actually we went to buy a binocular but we ended up in purchasing telescope. It was good deal in binocular budget. My new telescope was 90mm reflector telescope. I was very much excited to see through it. First light descended in my telescope from heaven was the light of Jupiter. The greatest planet in our solar system. It was stunning view of planet Jupiter. The bright yellow disc with brown and orange belts on it. Two belts on equator region was very prominent. It was much like of cricket ball with seam. Then there were four bright lights specs from some distance of this Jupiter disc all align in equatorial plane. These four light specs were four Galilean satellites. This was permanently imprinted in my memory. It was my first observation. On that day planet Jupiter gave me very encouraging picture of upcoming telescopic observation.

After Moon I find Jupiter is the most promising candidate for the telescopic observation. It is big and shows observable features on its discs. These features included it's equatorial belts, polar region belts, great red spot and many storm like features. Jupiter is gaseous giant planet so it's features keep changing and always shows us something new. It's four satellites displays eclipse show. Every thing happens near Jupiter is very rapidly so we can see changes in one night only.

Jupiter through telescope, Image taken by my friend Ashish Sharma with telescope and mobile camera combination

Now when you have telescope then you should also take down your own observation from it. For long time I only used to observe objects through telescope I was not having idea how to record my observations. Then I found book for beginner observer, 'the Sky' written by David Levy. This book become holy book for me. Levy has given many techniques to record observation. When I started recording my observations I preferred to draw objects like old time sky observers rather than taking photographs. I did this because drawing can develop observation skills. Capturing direct image with camera can not give always good observations as most of the times one can get image with blur lines. Drawing does not required great skill or knowledge of art. One can just start doing it and he/she goes on improving in it.

Galileo's sketches of Jupiter, I wondered how he manage to do such nice sketches of Jupiter with four satellites through his crude telescope, Image source, Internet

Jupiter is good to draw but it is challenging too. Jupiter day is less than 10 hours, means everything on Jupiter rotate very fast and scenario changes rapidly. So, you get very few minutes to draw it. If you take much time then picture at Jupiter region change. Due to such fast rotation Jupiter has pressed at polar region and slightly expanded at equatorial region. Jupiter looks oblate in shape due to this. There are features on Jupiter like equatorial belts, in between these belts there are bright belts are called as zones and these belts and zones are disturbed by festoons and bridges.

Jupiter sketch by me, we can see its moon Io at left edge of Jupiter and its shadow on Jupiter, Upperside I sketched Jupiter and its four moons

I take 5 to 10 minutes to look at details appearing on Jupiter surface and after that I sketch it. First I sketch outlines and then fill details in it. One can observe many detail on disc with bigger telescopes. I did most of the observation with the 90 mm telescope so for me it is easy to observe features on Jupiter's equatorial region, at polar region I can not observe much. Even colors are difficult to identify. I started to use color pencils for drawing but after sometime I realizes that it is not giving correct picture of actual observation so I stopped to use color pencil. I now use just pencil with 2HB or 4HB. For color I just write the color of band. Observing planets also required good sky conditions.

When I see my old observations and recent ones I can see how my observation has improved my sketching and details. Every time I look at Jupiter, it shows me new scenarios. Sometimes his belt disappears, new storm appear on it, its moons plays hide and seek around it, also one can see moons shadows marching on it. What else one observer wanted to see. 

Jupiter Sketch by me, we can see Great Red Spot a storm on upper center of sketch