It is then that the contrast between dramatic whites and the black shadows is profound.įor this you will need a pair of binoculars that can be screwed into a tripod as they need to be absolutely steady.Ī pair of 10x50s is ideal for beginners. Rays and other detail on the surface look more stunning when they are located along the terminator. You should be able to see crater rays, caused by explosive impacts on the Moon, kicking up long plumes of dust across the lunar surface.Īn eraser can help with the addition of rays by removing pencil in dramatic flicks. With binoculars, the detail you encounter will increase dramatically. Credit: Deirdre Kelleghan Observing the Moon through an eyepiece A lunar location sketch drawn from looking through a small telescope, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland. To simulate the effect when drawing earthshine the trick is to remove some pencil markings with an eraser. It causes a faint illumination of the unlit lunar surface to the eye its features show up faintly. If the Moon is a few days before or after a new phase you may see the phenomenon of earthshine – where light is reflected from the Earth back onto the Moon’s unlit section.
#Moon sketch full#
The terminator then takes up a position around the circumference (limb).Īt this point the far side is in total darkness and the near side is in full sunlight. When it’s waxing away from new Moon the terminator offers a north to south curved line, becoming less curved as it hits a dead straight position at first quarter Moon.Īfter that the curve becomes more pronounced as the terminator moves towards full Moon. Naked eye drawing can tell you a lot about the Moon. Credit: Deirdre Kelleghan Drawing the Moon with the naked eye A binocular dust cap will serve as a template.Always draw the Moon as a full circle, even if the lunar phase means only part of it is showing.
When you start your drawing, use a 50mm circle to help you. Your drawings don’t have to be perfect, the point is to learn while having fun making them. Use a Moon atlas to help label the craters and maria you’ll soon learn their names and your way around the lunar surface. Notate each sketch with the date, time in UT, the kit used and Moon phase.
#Moon sketch how to#
Observe the Moon before you begin, paying attention to dark area shapes (the lunar Maria) and the bright areas (the highlands).įor more on lunar observing, reading Patrick Moore's guide to observing the Moonor find out why the Moon sometimes appears during the day.Īnd if sketching the Moon isn't your thing, read our guide on how to photograph the Moon.Ĭlosely observe the shape made by the terminator (the line that separates the lunar night and day).You’ll find that getting the shape of that line correct is a crucial part of lunar sketching. All you need is a clear night, a clipboard, paper and pencils – I would suggest a soft 2B pencil and a hard 2H pencil. It does not store any personal data.Are you new to observing the Moon? If so, sketching our natural satellite will help you find your way around. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. If that sort of thing is important to you. This information is good to know because it means you can draw your crescent moon facing either direction, and it will still be accurate. A waning crescent is lit on the left side, and a waxing crescent is lit on the right side. There are two different types of crescent moons.
If less than half of the moon is lit, it’s called a crescent moon. You can see all eight phases over the period of a month.These phases are the different levels of reflection of the light from the sun. The Earth’s atmosphere is what creates the appearance of the moon being different colors. The moon reflects the light from the sun. Although it appears to be a variety of colors, it’s actually gray. The moon consists of metal and rock, just like the Earth. This process takes roughly 27 days to complete. The moon orbits the Earth, meaning it circles our planet. There are over 200 moons in our solar system.
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