1,001 Celestial Wonders to See Before You Die: The Best Sky Objects for Star Gazers (The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series)
Michael E. Bakich
Language: English
Pages: 479
ISBN: 1441917764
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
1,001 Celestial Wonders is a guide to the night sky's brightest and most fascinating objects. Each target is accessible to amateur astronomers using medium-sized telescopes from a dark site. In fact, many are so bright they remain visible under moderate light pollution, as from the outskirts of a city or the suburbs of a town. The book provides a chronological target list, making it easy to use. No matter what night you choose, this book will show you many of the most memorable objects to observe, whether you are using a small telescope or even binoculars, or an instrument of larger aperture. This is far more than just a list of interesting objects. It is structured so that objects of various observing difficulty are included, which will help readers become better observers, both encouraging beginners and challenging long-time amateur astronomers. This book is designed to be easy-to-use at the telescope, and observers will appreciate each object's standardized layout and the book's chronological organization. Finally, many amateur astronomers function best when presented with a list! Even the Meade Autostar® controller features a 'best tonight' list (although the list is far less comprehensive and detailed than the catalog provided in this book), a feature that has proved extremely popular. 1,001 Celestial Wonders offers a life-list of objects any observer would be proud to complete.
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rear edge of the Crab’s shell. Object #80 M48 Anthony Ayiomamitis OBJECT #80 Constellation Right ascension Declination Magnitude Size Type M48 (NGC 2548) Hydra 8h14m –58480 5.8 540 Open cluster Our next target is visible to sharp-eyed observers at a dark site without optical aid. Large binoculars resolve a couple dozen of its brightest stars scattered over 18 of sky. A 6-inch telescope reveals about 75 stars sprinkled across the entire field of view. Increasing the magnification increases the
sits in a no-man’s land of faint stars. Look for it not quite 2.58 north of magnitude 3.1 Alpha (a) Lyncis. OBJECT #111 Constellation Right ascension Declination Magnitude Size Type Notes NGC 2832 Lynx 9h20m 338440 11.9 3.00 by 2.10 Elliptical galaxy in Abell 779 Our next object resides in galaxy cluster Abell 779, which lies less than 0.78 south-southwest of magnitude 3.1 Alpha (a) Lyncis. NGC 2832 is the brightest member of the cluster. It has an oval shape and measures 50% longer than it is
at powers in excess of 200Â, the interior appears oval, like an eye or a football. The inner 1000 appears hollow, except for the dim central star. A faint spherical shell 4000 across encloses the ‘‘eye.’’ Your best bet for observing the outer shell is to use a 12-inch or larger scope, an eyepiece that provides about 100Â, and a nebula filter. February 69 Much of the Ghost’s blue-green color comes from oxygen atoms absorbing ultraviolet radiation from the central star and reradiating it as
secondary by some 230 times. Be patient when you observe this pair. Crank the magnification past 150Â to separate the components enough so the primary doesn’t overwhelm its companion. The common name Adhara (sometimes spelled Adara), comes from the Arabic ‘‘al Adhara,’’ meaning ‘‘the virgins.’’ That name refers to a now-extinct constellation that included several other nearby bright stars. Adhara is the second-brightest star in Canis Major, but its Greek-letter label, Epsilon, indicates it should
Contributing Editor Stephen James O’Meara called it the Ghost Globular because it resembles a ghost image of the globular M55 (Object #597). 180 1,001 Celestial Wonders to See Before You Die Object #389 M5 Sally and Curt King/Adam Block/NOAO/AURA/NSF OBJECT #389 Constellation Right ascension Declination Magnitude Size Type M5 (NGC 5904) Serpens (Caput) 15h19m 28050 5.7 17.40 Globular cluster Our next target is the great globular cluster M5 in Serpens — the brightest globular in the
