Saturn sketched by Patrick Moore, 24-inch telescope at 815x, made on February 24, 1980, at 7:45 UT. David J. Eicher library
A few weeks ago, I began one of the bravest tasks I’ve ever taken on: cleaning my basement thoroughly, down to a level of going through each of thousands of papers, for the first time in 20 years. In the process, I unearthed a forgotten surprise, a box of carefully preserved and packaged astronomical drawings from 45 amateur astronomers scattered across the globe. The amateurs sent their sketches to me because I was in the midst of working on a planned book on astronomical sketching for Cambridge University Press that never came to pass.
So I plan on plucking a few of these pieces of astronomical art out over the coming days and months and sharing them with you here. I start with a drawing of Saturn made by the legendary British astronomer and television star Patrick Moore. Enjoy!