The Caldwell Objects and How to Observe Them 2009th Edition

From the reviews:

“A well balanced, expert and practical book with which to arm oneself before setting about the Caldwell Objects, which will appeal to amateur astronomers at all levels of experience. In his usual style the author introduces some humour into the text … . I recommend you buy The Caldwell Objects and how to observe them.” (Gordon Rogers, Journal of the British Astronomical Association, Vol. 120 (1), 2010)

“If you’re tired of the same old Messier objects and want to see something that doesn’t have an ‘M’ number, The Caldwell Objects And How To Observe them is definitely for you. Its detailed information tells you how best to observe the 109 deep-sky objects … . Mobberley’s book … has all the depth and usefulness you need. Overall … this is a very practical and highly recommended book.” (Paul Money, Sky at Night Magazine, March, 2010)

“Book, as expected, is primarily concerned with the description and details of the Caldwell objects and these are covered to the depth suitable for an amateur astronomer. … It sets out to be a reference book … . author’s personality and humour does come through in his writing, making the book an easv and enjoyable read … . charts do provide the reader with the general location in the sky and for this they are useful. … I would happily add it to my collection.” (Simon Dawes, The Observatory, Vol. 130, August, 2010)

There have been only a handful of famous deep sky “catalogs,” including Charles Messier’s, which was the first and remains the most famous. Messier was a comet hunter, and in the late 1700s he published a list of 109 objects in the sky that were not comets.

In December 1995, Sky & Telescope published a list of deep sky objects sent to them by British amateur astronomer extraordinare, Sir Patrick Moore (officially, Sir Patrick Caldwell-Moore). It was a huge hit! Sir Patrick may be the most prolific authors of astronomy books for all time and has been presenting the BBC Sky at Night television series since April 1957. Moore’s list contained 109 non-Messier objects that were Patrick’s favorites, many of them visible only in the southern hemisphere. Accompanying the list of objects were long exposure black and white and color photographs of some of these objects.

In this book Martin Mobberley, who has known Sir Patrick Moore for many years, describes these objects and tells how to locate them. He discusses the best ways to visually observe them and image them. He also tells a little of Moore’s life and observing practices and how he made his choices for the “catalog.”

If you’re wanting a challenge for your newly acquired telescope, or are interested in seeing what others have highlighted as some of the greatest sights in the night sky, this book will set you on the path of discovery.