A Visual Astronomer's Photographic Guide to the Deep Sky (eBook)

My love affair with the cosmos began, probably, when I stared, open-jawed, for two hours at the film Star Wars. Although I was only three at the time, I can remember subsequently drawing pictures of stars and planets and ‘X-wings.’ I quickly became a science fiction addict, watching re-runs of Star Trek and various other series. And so, I desperately wanted a way of seeing some of these objects for myself. My parents bought me a cheap (supermarket) ‘scope when I was 11, which I then proceeded to set up in my sister’s room (the only one with a southernly view) and stargaze through her window. Neither my father nor I could ever get it to focus properly. Of course, at the time, I had no knowledge or understanding of air currents, seeing, or indeed how to use a telescope or star chart. Nevertheless, even with the horrendous optics of this small telescope I could make out some craters on the Moon – I was hooked! I decided to ‘save up’ for something better. After several birthdays I finally bought myself a reasonable ‘scope – a 9.25 inch Dobsonian, and spent many a clear night sitting on the garage roof (my sister wanted her room back!) gazing at the wonders of the universe. Soon after, university beckoned. I studied Chemistry, with a subsidiary in Astronomy. Although I very much enjoyed the latter, I was unable to continue as the university (at the time) did not offer Astronomy as a major degree. And so, my hobby took an enforced break, which was then extended by teacher training, getting married, and emigrating to east Africa. It was there, under the clear equatorial skies of Kenya, that my love of the cosmos was rekindled and my wife bought me a 5” Newtonian telescope for my birthday. I was astonished by the things I was able to see with such a small aperture. It just goes to show the difference a truly dark sky makes. Since then, I have been interested in visual astronomy and what deep sky objects really look like. Having subsequently returned to the UK and settled in South Bedfordshire, I developed a keen interest in sketching at the eyepiece and have spent many a nocturnal hour gazing through my ‘scope, having told my wife I wouldn’t be outside for ‘too long.’ Eventually, I began to wonder why there wasn’t a book that showed photographs of the ‘visual’ image (i.e., what can be seen at the eyepiece). It seemed that descriptions of DSOs varied slightly from writer to writer and Hubble Space Telescope images told me very little about what I could actually see in my backyard. That was how this book was conceived. And so now, here it is......I trust that it will give you as much pleasure to read as it was for me to write. Enjoy and clear skies!

Preface 8
Acknowledgments 10
Contents 12
About the Author 16
Chapter 1: Observing Plans and Techniques 18
Before You Start 18
Observing Techniques and Tips 20
Averted Vision 20
Movement 21
Time 21
Chapter 2: Accessories and ‘Pimping’ Your ‘Scope 22
Dew Shields 22
Head Shroud 22
Flocking 22
Filters 23
Chapter 3: Sketching 28
Chapter 4: Constellation Observing Lists and Photos 32
Trumpler Classification System for Open Clusters 34
Shapley–Sawyer Concentration Class for Globular Clusters 35
Hubble’s Galaxy Classification System 35
Andromeda 37
M 31 37
M 32 38
M 110 40
NGC 404 41
NGC 752 43
NGC 891 44
NGC 7662 46
Aquarius 48
M 2 48
M 72 49
M 73 51
NGC 7009 52
NGC 7293 54
Aquila 55
NGC 6709 55
NGC 6738 56
NGC 6751 58
NGC 6755 59
NGC 6760 61
NGC 6781 62
NGC 6804 64
Aries 66
NGC 772 66
Auriga 68
M 36 68
M 37 69
M 38 71
NGC 1893 72
NGC 1907 74
NGC 1931 75
NGC 2281 76
Boötes 78
NGC 5466 78
Camelopardalis 79
NGC 1501 79
NGC 1502 80
NGC 2403 82
NGC 2655 83
Stock 23 84
Cancer 86
M 44 86
M 67 87
Canes Venatici 89
M 3 89
M 51 91
M 63 92
M 94 94
M 106 95
NGC 4214 97
NGC 4244 98
NGC 4449 100
NGC 4490 101
NGC 4631 103
NGC 4656 104
NGC 5005 106
NGC 5033 107
Canis Major 109
M 41 109
NGC 2345 110
NGC 2359 112
NGC 2360 113
Capricornus 115
NGC 6903 115
Cassiopeia 116
Cr 26 116
Cr 36 118
Cr 463 119
IC 289 121
M 52 122
M 103 124
NGC 129 125
NGC 185 127
NGC 281 128
NGC 457 130
NGC 663 131
NGC 7635 133
NGC 7789 134
Cepheus 136
NGC 40 136
NGC 6939 137
NGC 6946 139
NGC 7023 140
NGC 7129 142
NGC 7160 143
NGC 7235 145
Cetus 147
M 77 147
NGC 246 148
NGC 936 149
Coma Berenices 151
Abell 1656 151
Mel 111 152
M 53 152
M 64 154
M 85 155
M 88 157
M 91 158
M 98 160
M 99 161
M 100 163
NGC 4274 164
NGC 4293 166
NGC 4414 167
NGC 4494 169
NGC 4559 170
NGC 4565 172
NGC 4725 173
Corona Borealis 175
NGC 6085 and 6086 175
Corvus 176
NGCs 4038 and 4039 176
NGC 4361 177
Crater 179
NGC 3636 and 3637 179
NGC 3672 180
NGC 3892 182
Cygnus 184
M 29 184
M 39 186
NGC 6819 187
NGC 6826 189
NGC 6888 190
NGC 6910 192
NGC 6960 193
NGCs 6992 and 6995 194
NGC 7000 196
NGC 7008 196
NGC 7026 197
NGC 7027 199
NGC 7063 200
Delphinus 202
NGC 6934 202
NGC 7006 203
Draco 205
NGC 5866 or M 102? 205
NGC 5907 206
NGC 6503 208
NGC 6543 209
Eridanus 211
NGC 1232 211
NGC 1535 212
Gemini 214
IC 443 214
M 35 215
NGC 2129 217
NGC 2158 218
NGC 2266 220
NGC 2304 221
NGC 2355 223
NGC 2371 and 2372 224
NGC 2392 226
NGC 2395 227
NGC 2420 229
Hercules 231
M 13 231
M 92 232
NGC 6210 234
Hydra 236
M 48 236
NGC 3242 237
Lacerta 239
NGC 7209 239
NGC 7243 240
Leo 242
Abell 1367 242
M 65 and M 66 243
M 95 245
M 96 247
M 105 and NGC 3384 248
NGC 2903 250
NGC 2964 251
NGC 3187, 3190, and 3193 253
NGC 3521 254
NGC 3607 256
NGC 3628 257
NGC 3651 258
NGC 3753 260
NGC 3810 261
Leo Minor 263
NGC 3003 263
NGC 3344 264
NGC 3432 266
Lepus 268
NGC 1784 268
Libra 270
NGC 5792 270
Lynx 272
NGC 2683 272
Lyra 274
M 56 274
M 57 275
Monoceros 277
M 50 277
NGC 2232 278
NGC 2237–2239 280
NGC 2244 281
NGC 2251 282
NGC 2261 284
NGC 2264 285
NGC 2301 286
NGC 2343 288
Ophiuchus 290
IC 4665 290
M 9 292
M 10 293
M 12 294
M 14 296
M 107 297
NGC 6572 298
NGC 6633 300
Orion 302
M 42/43 302
M 78 304
NGC 1662 306
NGC 1788 307
NGCs 1973, 1975, and 1977 308
NGC 1981 310
NGC 2022 311
NGC 2024 313
NGC 2194 314
Pegasus 316
M 15 316
NGC 7331 317
Perseus 319
M 34 319
M 76 320
NGC 869 and 884 322
NGC 1023 323
NGC 1342 324
NGC 1491 326
NGC 1528 327
NGC 1582 328
Pisces 330
M 74 330
Puppis 332
M 46 332
M 47 333
NGC 2440 335
NGC 2539 336
Sagitta 338
M 71 338
Sagittarius 340
M 17 340
M 18 342
M 23 343
M 24 and NGC 6603 345
M 25 346
NGC 6445 348
NGC 6716 349
NGC 6818 351
Scutum 353
M 11 353
M 26 354
NGC 6712 356
Serpens Caput 358
M 5 358
Serpens Cauda 360
M 16+IC 4703 360
IC 4756 361
Sextans 363
NGC 3115 363
Taurus 365
M 1 365
M 45 366
NGC 1514 367
NGC 1647 369
NGC 1746 370
NGC 1807 372
NGC 1817 373
Triangulum 375
M 33 375
Ursa Major 377
M 40 377
M 81 379
M 82 380
M 97 382
M 101 383
M 108 385
M 109 386
NGC 2841 388
NGC 3079 389
NGC 3184 391
NGC 3877 392
NGC 3941 394
NGC 4026 395
NGC 4088 397
NGC 4157 398
NGC 4605 399
Ursa Minor 401
NGC 6217 401
Virgo 403
M 49 403
M 58 405
M 59 406
M 60 408
M 61 409
M 84 and M 86 411
M 87 412
M 89 414
M 90 415
M 104 417
NGC 4216 418
NGC 4388 420
NGC 4438 421
NGC 4526 423
NGC 4535 424
NGC 4567 and 4568 426
NGC 4699 427
NGC 4762 429
NGC 5746 430
Vulpecula 432
Cr 399 432
M 27 433
NGC 6802 434
NGC 6823 436
NGC 6940 437
Chapter 5: Observation Records 439
Recommended Texts and Websites 440
Recommended Texts 440
Useful Websites and Downloadable Software 441
Index 442