The Practical Astronomer’s Deep-sky Companion

As an amateur astronomer with years of experience, I marvel at the joy experienced by a beginner who successfully hunts down their first deep-space object in a telescope. No matter what age or skill level, "nailing" a previously unobserved object through the eye­ piece, both instantly defines their love of the hobby and gives a feeling of scientific accomplishment no matter how well known to others the object may be. With the advancement in computer-guided telescopes and automatic object center­ ing, the amateur astronomy hobby has experienced tremendous and unprecedented growth. First timers are attending public observing sessions or summer star parties with low-cost computer-controlled telescopes, and are instantly rewarded with views of celes­ tial objects with strange names and numbers. But: what to look at? Can I see it through my telescope? For the seasoned observer the problem is different: "I've seen that object a thousand times, can anybody show me something new?" Astrophotographers, novice and seasoned, often wonder about capturing new objects on film or CCD, but first spend hours poring through star charts familiarizing themselves with the star field, selecting guide star, etc. The contents of this book combines, in a clear and concise manner, information that will assist beginner, novice, intermediate and advanced amateur astronomy hobbyists. The objects are all visible in medium-to-large-aperture telescopes and provide a wide selection of objects to observe or photograph. vii Contents Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Xl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andromeda. · 1 Aquarius. .4 Aquila ... . · 7 Aries ..... . · 9 Auriga .... . 12 Bootes .... .

From the reviews:

"The printing quality and the illustrations are superb – some of the best examples of their type. … For astrophotographers, classical or CCD the book is a must. For the amateur or the keen observer it is a valuable work which will give plenty of ideas for new objects to observe. … it is a book I would thoroughly recommend to anyone interested in astronomy." (Albert Renard, Universe, Vol. 52 (2), 2004)

"I was very impressed by ‘The Practical Astronomer’s Deep-Sky Companion’. … The images are really beautiful ... . It is made for outdoor use, it provides relevant basic data for every object, and the entire book … can still be read under dark skies, using a red flashlight. … is reasonably priced. If you are a deep sky observer, beginner or advanced, and you are looking for a ready to go observing list for outdoor use, then I can recommend this book highly." (Backyard Astronomer, November, 2003)

"Designed to be taken out into the field during observing sessions, it provides essential detailed, concentrated information for finding, observing and imaging the most interesting deep-sky objects. The book is organized by constellation. Each spread features images, information, position, locator maps, recommended exposure times for telescopes of various apertures and much more! All the objects in this book are visible in medium-to-large aperture amateur telescopes. Recommended for field observers." (Richard Taylor, Spaceflight, Vol. 45 (11), 2003)

"As part of the Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy series Springer have produced another book on deep sky astronomy. Unlike many of the others this is in a large A4 format with plastic covers, a nice touch if you want to take it into the field. … As a quick reference book for objects to look at I think this is quite a useful addition to the literature." (Owen Brazell, Astronomy Now, September, 2003)

"This is an incredibly useful book, aimed atastronomers of all levels of expertise and experience … . The layout is extremely helpful, each constellation being covered separately, excellent large scale and more detailed individual maps, technical details in a clearly formatted and large print … and actual photographs of every single object covered in the book. These are of greatest use to the ever increasing numbers of CCD equipped astro-photographers … ." (Philip Bridle, BBC Radio, 2003)