Concise Catalog of Deep-Sky Objects

This book is for the amateur astronomer who wants to know about the astrophysical nature of deep sky objects. The information is presented in a concise format and is equally valuable when used as background reading or alternatively at the telescope eyepiece or while waiting for astroimaging exposures to complete in the field. The past decades have seen an unprecedented increase in professional astronomers’ understanding of astrophysical objects. However, generally this information is contained in journal publications that most amateur astronomers either do not have access to or would find difficult to read. In this book, basic data on each object (e.g. magnitude, location, distance, age if known) is presented in a way that allows the reader to quickly access the information. This is followed by some remarks that capture the most fascinating astrophysical facts. Although there are thousands of deep sky objects observed or imaged by astronomers, only a small number of these are commonly observed or imaged by a wide audience. Thus, coverage here is limited to the most commonly imaged or observed objects in the Northern Hemisphere, along with 30 from the Southern Hemisphere, many of which are visible from the southern limits of the United States. An enhancement for the 3rd Edition is the addition of objects that rounds out the book’s coverage to also include those that are most commonly targeted by astroimagers in addition to all the commonly observed visual objects.