Deep-Sky Companions: The Caldwell Objects

Description

The Caldwell Catalogue, compiled by the late Sir Patrick Moore (1923-2012), has delighted amateur astronomers worldwide since its publication in 1995. Twenty years on, Stephen James O'Meara revisits his guide to these 109 deep-sky delights, breathing new life into them and the 20 additional observing targets included as an appendix. This second edition retains O'Meara's detailed visual descriptions and sketches, accompanied by stunning new images taken by amateur photographer Mario Motta and observations by Magda Streicher. The astrophysical descriptions have been updated to account for the many advances in our understanding of the objects, not least due to an armada of space-borne observatories and the new technologies used in large ground-based telescopes. Ideal for observers who have completed the Messier objects and are looking for their next challenge, Deep-Sky Companions: The Caldwell Objects is a fitting tribute from a renowned visual observer to one of astronomy's most famous personalities.

A superb writer, photographer, and naturalist, Stephen James O'Meara is author of several highly acclaimed books, including others in the celebrated Deep-Sky Companions series. O'Meara earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Northeastern University and is well known among the astronomical community for his engaging and informative writing style and his remarkable skills as a visual observer. O'Meara spent much of his early career on the editorial staff of Sky and Telescope before joining Astronomy magazine as its Secret Sky columnist and a contributing editor. Among his many achievements, he was the first to sight Halley's Comet on its 1985 return and the first person to determine the rotation period of the distant planet Uranus. One of his most distinguished feats was the visual detection of the mysterious spokes in Saturn's B-ring before spacecraft imaged them. O'Meara has been honored with several awards, including the prestigious Lone Star Gazer Award for 'advancing astronomy through observation, writing, and promotion, and for sharing his love of the sky', and the Caroline Herschel Award for his planetary discoveries. The International Astronomical Union renamed asteroid 3637 O'Meara in his honor. O'Meara is also a contract photographer/videographer for National Geographic Creative.

Review of the first edition: 'Deep-Sky Companions: The Caldwell Objects is a beautifully written, personal guide for observing 109 of the most beautiful objects in the night sky, plus twenty more personally chosen deep-sky treasures. Coupled with O'Meara's own meticulous observations, the rich observational history and current scientific knowledge of each object bring this book to life, and the depth of O'Meara's writing makes it a real gem.' David H. Levy, co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 Review of the first edition: 'Stephen James O'Meara's Deep-Sky Companions: The Caldwell Objects is an indispensable guide for anyone who observes the night sky with a quality amateur telescope from a reasonably dark place. Here are tips for viewing - and understanding - more than one hundred entrancing galaxies, star clusters and nebulae available to the backyard enthusiast. With its wealth of scientific and historical information, and its poetic sensibility, the book gave me immense pleasure even before I left my easy chair.' Chet Raymo, author of 365 Starry Nights and An Intimate Look at the Night Sky 'The author has gone to great lengths to research the discovery and history of the Caldwell objects, and the pertinent information is supplied for each, eg., discoverer, coordinates, magnitude, size, and the original description by the discoverer ... Information garnered by modern professional telescopes and satellites is included, along with an image and finder chart. The authors personally observed the Caldwell objects with a 'backyard' telescope, and a sketch is included with each. Twenty objects not noted by Messier or Moore, but worthy of observation, are then described by the author ... If you have an interest in hunting down celestial goodies and have exhausted the Messier list, this book is for you; even if you have not, this will complement your search ... I found this book a fascinating read and would thoroughly recommend it.' Malcolm Gough, The Observatory 'The claim of a wealth of information in this book not found anywhere else in popular astronomy is well justified ... history, astrophysics and latest research findings of each object - it comes with. If the interest is simply in observing, [then] the non-colour photo, basic data, finder chart and sketch by the author are more than enough to get the readers started ... Despite the recommendation that it is to be used together with Deep-Sky Companions: The Messier Objects ... this book can actually stand alone ... Under a dark sky condition, the objects are all observable with at least a 4-inch telescope, binoculars or even just the naked eye.' B. Ishak, Contemporary Physics