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Visual Astronomy of the Deep Sky
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Clark, R.N., Visual Astronomy of the Deep Sky,
Cambridge University Press and Sky Publishing,
(book of 355 pages), 1990.
Copyright Roger N. Clark and Sky Publishing.
Contents
1. About This Book
2. The Human Eye
- Introduction
- Rods and Cones
- Units of Brightness
- Dark Adaptation
- Contrast Discrimination
- Averted Vision
- Exposure Time
- Color
- Vision and Health
- Summary
3. The Eye and the Telescope
- Telescope Basics
- Aberrations
- Types of Telescopes
- The Refractor
- The Reflector
- Catadioptric Telescopes
- Telescope Mountings
- Eyepieces
- Field of View
- The Role of a Telescope's f/ratio
- The Exit Pupil
- Seeing and Resolution
- Filters
- Using the Telescope to Find Objects
- Celestial Coordinates.
- Precession
- Finders
- Miscellaneous Topics
- Summary
4. The Faintest Star Visible in a Telescope
- Introduction
- Magnification
- Finding Tonight's Magnitude Limit
- Summary
5. Making Drawings and Keeping Records
- Introduction
- Written Descriptions
- Drawings
- Drawing Method 1: The Initial-Blind Method
- Drawing Method 2: Filling In Details
- Drawing Method 3: The Double-Blind Method
- Summary
6. A Case Study: The Whirlpool Galaxy Messier 51
- Introduction
- Brightness Profile of M51
- Visual Detection
- Discussion and Summary
7. A Visual Atlas of Deep-Sky Objects
- The Personal Equation
- Averted vs. Direct Vision
- The Observations and Drawings
- Definitions
- M31, The Andromeda Galaxy (NGC 224), M32 (NGC 221), M110 (NGC 205)
Galaxies in Andromeda
- NGC 246 Planetary Nebula in Cetus
- NGC 253 Galaxy in Sculptor
- M33 (NGC 598) Galaxy in Triangulum
- M74 (NGC 628) Galaxy in Pisces
- M76 (NGC 650-651) Planetary Nebula in Perseus
- NGC 891 Galaxy in Andromeda
- M77 (NGC 1068) Seyfert Galaxy in Cetus
- NGC 1365 Barred Spiral Galaxy in Fornax
- M45 The Pleiades Open Cluster in Taurus
- M1 (NGC 1952) The Crab Nebula: Supernova Remnant in Taurus
- M42 (NGC 1976), M43 (NGC 1982) The Great Nebula in Orion
- NGC 2023, NGC 2024 IC 434 (The Horsehead Nebula) Nebulae in Orion
- M78 (NGC 2068) and NGC 2071 Diffuse Nebulae in Orion
- NGC 2261 Hubble's Variable Nebula in Monoceros
- M46 (NGC 2437) Open Cluster in Puppis with
- NGC 2438 a Planetary Nebula
- M67 (NGC 2682) Open Cluster in Cancer
- NGC 2903 Spiral Galaxy in Leo
- M81 (NGC 3031) Spiral Galaxy in Ursa Major
- M82 (NGC 3034) Peculiar Galaxy in Ursa Major
- M96 (NGC 3368) Galaxy in Leo
- M105 (NGC 3379), NGC 3384, NGC 3389 Galaxies in Leo
- M108 (NGC 3556) Galaxy in Ursa Major
- M97 (NGC 3587) The Owl Nebula: Planetary Nebula in Ursa Major
- M66 (NGC 3627), NGC 3628, M65 (NGC 3623) Galaxies in Leo
- M109 (NGC 3992) Galaxy in Ursa Major
- NGC 4038, NGC 4039 The Ringtail Galaxy in Corvus
- M99 (NGC 4254) Galaxy in Coma Berenices
- M106 (NGC 4258) Galaxy in Canes Venatici
- M100 (NGC 4321) Galaxy in Coma Berenices
- M84 (NGC 4374), M86 (NGC 4406), and 13 Other Galaxies in Virgo
- NGC 4449 Galaxy in Canes Venatici
- M87 (NGC 4486), NGC 4476, NGC 4478 Galaxies in Virgo
- NGC 4565 Edge-on Galaxy in Coma Berenices
- M90 (NGC 4569) Galaxy in Virgo
- M104 (NGC 4594) The Sombrero Galaxy in Virgo
- M94 (NGC 4736) Galaxy in Canes Venatici
- M64 (NGC 4826) The Black Eye Galaxy in Coma Berenices
- M63 (NGC 5055) Galaxy in Canes Venatici
- NGC 5128 Peculiar Galaxy in Centaurus
- NGC 5139 (Omega Centauri) The Great Globular Cluster in Centaurus
- M51 (NGC 5194) The Whirlpool Galaxy in Canes Venatici, NGC 5195
- M83 (NGC 5236) Galaxy In Hydra
- M4 (NGC 6121) Globular Star Cluster in Scorpius
- M13 (NGC 6205) Globular Cluster in Hercules
- M20 (NGC 6514) The Trifid Nebula in Sagittarius
- M8 (NGC 5623) The Lagoon Nebula in Sagittarius
- NGC 6530
- M16 (NGC 6611) The Eagle Nebula in Serpens
- M17 (NGC 6618) The Omega Nebula and Open Cluster in Sagittarius
- M11 (NGC 6705) Open Cluster in Scutum
- M57 (NGC 6720) The Ring Nebula in Lyra
- M27 (NGC 6853) The Dumbbell Nebula in Vulpecula
- NGC 6888 The Crescent Nebula in Cygnus
- NGC 6946 Galaxy in Cepheus
- NGC 6960 and NGC 6992-5 The Veil Nebula in Cygnus
- NGC 7000 The North America Nebula in Cygnus.
- M15 (NGC 7078) Globular Star Cluster in Pegasus
- M2 (NGC 7089) Globular Star Cluster in Aquarius
- NGC 7293 The Helix Nebula in Aquarius
- NGC 7331 Spiral Galaxy in Pegasus
- NGC 7662 Planetary Nebula in Andromeda
- Conclusions
8. Appendices
- A. Suggested Reading
- B. Star Clusters for Finding Your Limiting Magnitude
- C. Air Mass Function, Atmospheric Extinction,
and othert calculations
- D. Symbols and Their Definitions
- E. A Catalog of Deep Sky Objects
- F. Optimum Detection Magnifications for Deep Sky Objects
Bibliography
Index
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Last Modified March 24, 2002