Long long ago, before internet, computerised telescopes and dslr cameras sketching at the eyepiece was a bit tougher than today but for me, no reason to throw away all pencils and blending stumps. I still believe that if I want to get up really close and personal, I have to sketch the objects that I observe.

To stay in practice I sketch the first mission that catches my attention in the live feeds on Slooh, preferably not my own mission. Each mission is 5 minutes and I have to pay close attention. The process of reducing my rough sketch is much easier now with the added bonus of an image and imaging software. The coolest is the ‘invert’ tool in photoshop!

Some may argue that sketching while observing online is crooking. Then maybe doing astro photography using specialised cameras and software falls in that category too 😛

I say as long as you enjoy doing astronomy to the full, any which way is more than ok.