Concise Catalog of Deep-Sky Objects

This Second Edition of the Concise Catalog of Deep-sky Objects is a thorough primer for the curious amateur astronomer who is interested in understanding the astrophysical nature of the most observed deep sky objects. Equally valuable when used as background reading or at the telescope eyepiece, the book enables amateur astronomers to enhance their viewing experience by gaining a better understanding of the objects that they are observing. The past decades have seen an unprecedented increase in our understanding of objects commonly observed by amateur astronomers. Much of this growth is the result of experimental data obtained with a new generation of professional telescopes. However, most of this professionally generated information is contained in journals that most amateur astronomers either do not have access to or would find difficult to read. At the same time the advent of affordable, mass-produced, good-quality telescopes and astrophotography equipment in addition to affordable, computer driven "go-to" mounts for these telescopes - have removed several major obstacles that less experienced amateur astronomers previously faced(inadequate optics, the inability to find objects in the eyepiece and long camera exposure times)and created a need for a book that concisely presents the latest astrophysical information on the many more objects now being observed by amateur astronomers. Herein basic data on each object (e.g., magnitude, location, distance, age if known) is presented in point form, in order to allow the reader to quickly access the information. This is followed by a quick brief that captures the most interesting astrophysical facts about the object. While there are thousands of deep sky objects observed by amateur astronomers, only about 500 or so of these objects are commonly observed by a wide audience. Thus, this book is limited to coverage of approximately 500 of the most commonly observed objects in the Northern Hemisphere and as an enhancement for the second edition - additional objects visible from the Southern Hemisphere. The book also includes all the popular amateur astronomy lists such as the Messier list, the Herschel 400 list and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Finest NGC list. Good-quality mateur photographic images of all the Messier objects are now also included.