The Amateur Astronomer's Guide to the Deep-Sky Catalogs

Description

Every amateur astronomer has at least heard of the many different catalogs of deep-sky objects; the most well known are the Messier, the Caldwell, the Herschel, and the NGC. All of these catalogs are, in general, readily available, but very few amateur observers are in a position to choose the best catalog for their particular deep-sky observing program, know how to use the catalog, or even realize just how many there are out there! The Amateur Astronomer's Guide to the Deep-sky Catalogs is a single compilation of the historical and modern astronomical deep-sky catalogs. It discusses their origins, compares what's in them, explains how to interpret the data they contain, and even outlines how readers can create suitable 'custom' catalogs for their own use. The last section provides a set of three deep-sky catalogs created by the author, for observers of different levels of experience, from newcomer to expert. Front Matter....Pages i-x Claudius Ptolemy and the Almagest ....Pages 1-41 The Abd-Al-Rahman Al-Sufi Catalog....Pages 43-49 Ulugh Beg....Pages 51-54 The Tycho Brahe Catalog (1598)....Pages 55-82 The Johannes Hevelius Catalog....Pages 83-122 The Charles Messier Catalog....Pages 123-129 The Johann Elert Bode Catalog....Pages 131-136 Christian Mayer Catalog....Pages 137-141 The Herschel Catalogs....Pages 143-171 J. L. E. Dreyer and the NGC Catalog....Pages 173-350 Halton Arp and the Arp Catalog....Pages 351-361 The Caldwell Catalog....Pages 363-368 Back Matter....Pages 369-380