M34 is an open cluster in the constellation Perseus and can be found 5 degrees to the northwest of the star Algol. This open cluster is the 6th closest Messier object at around 1500 light years away from Earth.
This was the second object I sketched on the night of December 15, 2020, the first being NGC457. As I was sketching this object clouds slowly started to creep in. I did my best to not rush this sketch because of the clouds, but as they came in I was losing view of some of the dimmer stars that I don't typically add to my sketches until I place the brightest of the stars. The stars I missed were the ones that usually pop in and out of view with averted vision. While in images of this cluster you will see that the brightest stars of the cluster have a blue color, I was not able to make out any color at the eyepiece so I didn't add any color to keep it true to what I saw at the telescope.
 |
| Sketch of open cluster M34 in the constellation Perseus |
I used black canson paper, and a white charcoal pencil to place the stars. Any dimming of the stars I used a kneaded eraser, but had to wait for it to warm up inside as it became hard and unusable in the 14F weather that night.
If you'd like to see where this object is located in the sky along with a time lapse of this sketch being made be sure to check out the video below:
Comments