Normally, I center subjects in my sketches. However, if there is a nearby bright star or asterism, I will compose the sketch to include this along with the subject. For this drawing of NGC 2024, the Flame nebula, 1.9 magnitude Alnitak anchors the left side of the field. The other seven anchor stars are strategically selected to serve as reference points across the entire field of view.

Emission nebulae have the potential to offer such a rich variety of detail. But to see all that detail, dark adaptation has to be maximized. So, I like to spend the first 10 minutes working on field stars. This gives my eye an opportunity to become further dark adapted and get acquainted with the object. Twenty-three field stars--some as faint as mid-12th magnitude--fill out the field in this sketch.

When drawing nebulosity, I begin by roughing out areas where the brightest portions of the nebula are seen. Rubbing the lead into the page both softens the overall appearance and extends nebulosity into other areas. I usually make several passes to achieve the desired range of depth and texture. Knowing this, I use very little pencil lead in each pass. It's easy to deepen nebulosity by adding more lead. And while it's also possible to erase to lighten an area, that is a more risky approach.

So at this stage of the sketch, I add just enough pencil lead to define the general shape and texture of the nebula. The technique I use is to hold the pencil almost like a dinner knife and gently rub the side of the pencil against the page. I'm not concerned about the rough appearance as this will soften with finger rubbing.

To achieve the desired softness, I use my finger to smudge the pencil lead, rubbing first along the lines of nebulosity which have been roughed in and then rubbing the lead across the page to fill in between the bright portions. This technique smooths and lightens while spreading nebulosity around the field of view. of course, if an area of sky appears to be absent of nebulosity in the eyepiece, I'll avoid rubbing lead into that area of the sketch. This process of adding pencil lead and rubbing is repeated until the desired texture is achieved. Finally, I use MegaStar as a reference to scale the stars to suggest relative brightness. The final result is a delicate, intricate sketch with tremendous depth of field.

Sometimes, anchoring the sketch is as simple as drawing one or two stars. In this drawing of the Blinking planetary, NGC 6826, the anchors are the 10.4 magnitude central star of the nebula and a single 11th magnitude star stationed about 2 arc minutes to the south. Although the central star is brighter, it appears fainter to the eye because it is surrounded by a bright nebula. In fact under less than ideal conditions, it is common to see the star with under direct gaze, the nebulosity with averted vision, but not both together. This phenomenon has earned NGC 6826 its famous moniker.

Over the course of 15 or 20 minutes, I draw another 31 field stars to complete the framework for this sketch. While drawing the stars, I study the nebula. Does it appear annular? Is any part brighter than another? How constant does the central star appear? Does the outer or inner edge appear sharply defined or rough? This is the kind of detail I'm in search of while framing the subject.

To get the most detail from deep-sky objects, it is important to use moderate to high magnification. My sketch is based on a 190X view in the Starfinder. This is a pretty simple object to draw. NGC 6826 appears annular and even in brightness in my 10-inch, f/4.5 reflector. The central star is constantly visible and clearly separated from the surrounding nebulosity. Using just the tip of my pencil, I carefully draw the nebula making sure to use very little lead. I don't want the subject to look too bright in the final rendering.

Using the finger smudge technique, I soften the planetary nebula's appearance by rubbing in small circular motion with just the very tip of my finger. This also smooths the nebula and lowers its apparent brightness. Finally, I scale the stars to indicate relative brightness. The end result captures the appearance of the Blinking planetary quite well.