The Deep-Sky Observer's Year.. A Guide to Observing Deep-Sky Objects Throughout the Year

Deep-sky observing is perhaps the most popular field for amateur astronomers, and now that commercially-made large-aperture telescopes are becoming relatively inexpensive it can be doubly rewarding. The price of specialist CCD cameras is dropping as well, so many amateurs can make beautiful images of objects that ten years ago were strictly the province of professional observatories. One of the biggest dilemmas faced by non-professional observers remains what to look at - which interesting objects are visible at a particular time of year. Following an introduction describing how and what to observe, The Deep-Sky Observer's Year provides a month-by-month guide to the best objects to view. Each is given a "star rating" according to how difficult it is to observe. In addition to images produced by amateur astronomers and photographs from the archives of NASA, ESA and ESO, there is background information about the objects along with lots of useful tips, hints, and resources (especially about what's available on the Internet) for deep-sky observers.