Hi all,
I am a graphic designer recently laid off due to the virus. Because of this unfortunate event, I am now working on my portfolio that I kind of neglected in recent years. But, to make the work fun as well as useful, I thought I would do something related to astronomy. I have decided to create a set of 12 info graphics (that can be used as a wallpaper), displaying the brightest and most easily observable deep sky objects (three for each season for now). I want the images to be most useful for kids interested in astronomy and possibly beginner astrophotographers who are just starting out in the hobby and looking for easy targets. I plan to cover the Northern Hemisphere as I live there, but I am open to adding Southern targets in the future.
I am drawing each season with a different background art and color scheme to make them pop while keeping a consistent layout. I have created two prototypes that you can find here:
Fall - Andromeda
Winter - Pleiades
As for the targets, because I aim for helping kids and beginners, I would like to include mostly bright, easily detectable (with the naked eye or a small telescope) objects that are also above 30 degrees altitude (measured from an average 45 degree North latitude). My criteria for picking targets is the following:
- High brightness so it might be visible with the naked eye
- High altitude so it is easier to spot and photograph
- Has interesting features that make it a good target to view or photograph
Based on the above criteria, I have chosen the following targets (I am also thinking of including the milky way as a bonus in the summer, which was suggested by the folks over at CloudyNights):
Fall:
- M31 - Andromeda Galaxy
- M33 - Triangulum Galaxy
- Double Cluster in Perseus
Winter:
- M42 - Orion Nebula
- M45 - Pleiades
- M1 - Crab Nebula (haven't decided yet; maybe too faint)
Spring:
- M81 - Bode's Galaxy
- M101 - Pinwheel Galaxy
- M51 - Whirlpool Galaxy (haven't decided yet; maybe too faint)
Summer:
- M13 - Hercules Globular Cluster
- M16 - Eagle Nebula
- North America Nebula or Swan Nebula (haven't decided yet)
This list, however, is by no means final! And that is actually why I am here. If you have any suggestions for better targets (or for the project as a whole), please let me know! I welcome any suggestion, comment, or constructive criticism.
Thanks for reading it!
I am a graphic designer recently laid off due to the virus. Because of this unfortunate event, I am now working on my portfolio that I kind of neglected in recent years. But, to make the work fun as well as useful, I thought I would do something related to astronomy. I have decided to create a set of 12 info graphics (that can be used as a wallpaper), displaying the brightest and most easily observable deep sky objects (three for each season for now). I want the images to be most useful for kids interested in astronomy and possibly beginner astrophotographers who are just starting out in the hobby and looking for easy targets. I plan to cover the Northern Hemisphere as I live there, but I am open to adding Southern targets in the future.
I am drawing each season with a different background art and color scheme to make them pop while keeping a consistent layout. I have created two prototypes that you can find here:
Fall - Andromeda
Winter - Pleiades
As for the targets, because I aim for helping kids and beginners, I would like to include mostly bright, easily detectable (with the naked eye or a small telescope) objects that are also above 30 degrees altitude (measured from an average 45 degree North latitude). My criteria for picking targets is the following:
- High brightness so it might be visible with the naked eye
- High altitude so it is easier to spot and photograph
- Has interesting features that make it a good target to view or photograph
Based on the above criteria, I have chosen the following targets (I am also thinking of including the milky way as a bonus in the summer, which was suggested by the folks over at CloudyNights):
Fall:
- M31 - Andromeda Galaxy
- M33 - Triangulum Galaxy
- Double Cluster in Perseus
Winter:
- M42 - Orion Nebula
- M45 - Pleiades
- M1 - Crab Nebula (haven't decided yet; maybe too faint)
Spring:
- M81 - Bode's Galaxy
- M101 - Pinwheel Galaxy
- M51 - Whirlpool Galaxy (haven't decided yet; maybe too faint)
Summer:
- M13 - Hercules Globular Cluster
- M16 - Eagle Nebula
- North America Nebula or Swan Nebula (haven't decided yet)
This list, however, is by no means final! And that is actually why I am here. If you have any suggestions for better targets (or for the project as a whole), please let me know! I welcome any suggestion, comment, or constructive criticism.
Thanks for reading it!
