This is a
collection of observing guides I have developed for the
serious deep sky observer.
Check back
from time to time, as I tend to make additions.
They are captured in the revision history located
at the back of each Observing Guide.
Most of these
guides are available through my regular publisher at a
nominal cost. They are provided for convenience as
I realize that some of you don't have a laser printer,
let alone a duplex printer. Or just don't want to
bother printing the whole book and then taking it to a
print shop to have it coil bound. I am
pleasantly surprised at my publisher's final price as it
is cheaper than printing the whole thing at a print
shop, color stock covers and then coil binding it.
One observer noted that when he sent the 2013 OOTW to
Kinko's and had them print them double-sided in black
and white, then bound them with a clear cover on the
front and black vinyl on the back. It cost him
about $29! It is about half that from my publisher.
Just another
way of making them available for a modest cost to all.
Hope that you feel that this option is valuable
for you. The best
part is I'll still keep my free PDF version
here! Just click on the image to the left of
each book to download the PDF. To access
them - click here for a listing
of available guides or the link next to each book below. Again these
print books are COIL-BOUND for ease of use at the
telescope, especially those with large reflectors with
ladders. They are "at the eyepiece" field guides,
NOT armchair books. :)
The Herschel
Objects
For large telescopes
(16" or larger) The
Vorontsov-Velyaminov Catalogue of Interacting
Galaxies (Part I) - Dr. Boris
Vorontsov-Velyaminov of Sternberg Astronomical
Institute, Moscow University, created this list of
interacting galaxies in 1959. A majority of the
systems were found on the POSS plates from the Palomar
48-inch Schmidt astrograph. The original Part I
list contained 355 systems, many of which are listed by
Dr. Halton Arp AFTER Dr. V-V did his list.
Note: This observing guide will contain only the
non-Arp VV objects as the Arp are covered in my
publication, “Observing the Arp Peculiar Galaxies”.
The
Vorontsov-Velyaminov Catalogue of Interacting
Galaxies (Part II) – This
interactive catalogue consists of 497 objects created in
1976 as Boris continued his work on interactive
galaxies. The list starts with VV 356 and ends
with VV852. Many of these
objects require a fairly large telescope (16"+) (482
pages, 84MB) Print Version - Note: The
number of pages exceeds the limit for coil binding as it
would not fit even the largest coil. This print
version is available in hardback only.
Variable
Galaxies – A
selection of 60+ variable galaxies, most are observable
with a 20" telescope. This class of objects
includes BL Lacertae, Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), and
Optically Violent Variable quasars (OVV). (145 pages,
49MB) Print Version The Local
Group –Galaxies
within our celestial backyard. Some of the
Local Group members are close enough that you can see
some of their globular clusters, H-II regions, OB
associations, and open clusters. They are clearly
marked and offer a great challenge for those with large
telescopes. (84 pages, 46MB) Print Version Updated: Added new resources based on recent scholarship since the original release of this guide back in 2008. Corrected some mislabeled globular clusters, H II regions, and OB associations. See Revision History for complete list.
Flat
Galaxies - A
selection of 170+ Flat Galaxies from the Revised Flat
Galaxy Catalogue. Many are dim and require a large
telescope. I recommend a 16" or larger scope to
tackle the majority of objects in this list.
(188
pages, 72MB) Print Version
Ring Galaxies - A
selection of ring galaxies generated by a good friend,
Jimi Lowrey. He observes about 15 times a month
with his 48” f/4 reflector. Some of them are
pretty tough and will require a very large telescope,
such as Jimi’s 48" reflector. (384 pages,
55MB) Print Version
The Rose
Catalogue of Compact Galaxies - Dr. James
A. Rose wrote a paper discussing a small selection of 33
northern and 5 southern very compact galaxy groups for
large telescopes. This list is considered to be a
bit more challenging than the Hickson Galaxy
Groups. Recommend 18"
or larger scope as most are very small and dim.
All objects in this list are visible in the spring
months. (89 pages, 10MB) Print Version
16” or larger
scope is recommended. (431 pages, 46MB)
Print Version
Challenging
Observing Projects for very large telescopes (30"
or larger)
Selected
Shakhbazian Galaxy Groups –
Very challenging compact galaxy groups, much more
challenging than the Hickson Compact Galaxy
Groups. Dr. Shakhbazian et al published a
list of 377 groups. 60+ brightest groups in
this guide.
The Palomar Compact Galaxy Catalogue - A select sampling of 60 of 459 compact groups. This list was created by Dr. Angela Iovino of Italy, using similar selection criteria as Hickson, Shakhbazian, and Rose in their respective projects. The criteria are a bit tighter and use an automated algorithm scanning POSS plates > 40 degrees from the galactic equator. This
list
is the ultimate compact galaxy list. All of them
are less than an arc minute. Think about it, 1 arc
minute is 60 arc seconds, meaning that many entire
Palomar Compact Galaxy groups would be covered by
Jupiter! (76 pages, 9MB) Print Version
For smaller telescopes (8” and up) Selected
Small Galaxy Groups – Small
Galaxy Groups inspired by the Astronomical League Galaxy
Clusters Observing Club with some additional
selections. 60+ groups. 8” or larger
scope. (150 pages, 54MB) Print Version
Galaxy
Trios and Triple Systems – Galaxy
Trios inspired by Miles Paul’s list and by the
Astronomical League Galaxy Groups Observing Club.
But there are much more than the two original lists,
some very challenging for large telescopes such as my
30" reflector. 240+ trios and triple
systems. 8” or larger scope. (287 pages,
84MB) Print Version
March 2024: This guide was
refreshed. See revision history.
Most are
observable with an 8” scope, while a few are challenging
in 30" and larger telescopes. (128 pages, 10MB)
Print Version
Planetary
Nebulae and Supernovae Remnants- Planetary
nebulae, supernovae remnants, and protoplanetaries that
are observable above about -50° declination and
north. About 350+ objects were
included. Many stellar planetary nebulae were left
out. (337 pages, 80MB) Print Version Deep Sky
Forum Observing Guides Object of
the week 2012 - An
observing book/log comprising all of the 2012
'Object of the Week' as posted at Deep Sky Forum.
Members
chose and discussed a different object every week.
You'll find a great selection of objects varying in type
and difficulty. Many objects may require at least
an 18" telescope and dark skies. (140 pages, 12MB)
Print Version
Object of
the week 2013 - An
observing book and log comprising all of the 2013
'Object of the Week' plus selected objects from the Off
the Beaten Path forum as posted at Deep Sky Forum.
Members chose and discussed a different object every
week. You'll find a great selection of objects
varying in type and difficulty. (246 pages, 28MB)
Print Version Texas
Star Party Advanced Observing Guides Galaxy
Illusions (2013) - A handy
observing list for Larry Mitchell's and Jim Chandler's Texas Star Party Advanced
Observing List. Observe BOTH galaxies in at least
20 pairs to qualify for the pin. (42 pages, 4MB) Print Version
Seeing Red
(2014) - Observing
Guide for Larry Mitchell's Texas Star Party Advanced
Observing List. Observe at least 20 objects to
qualify for the pin. (42 pages, 4MB) Print Version Inverting
on a computer as demonstrated on my Observing Tips
page In
FoxIt, click on Tools\Preferences... Then click on
Documents on the left side. Under Document Color
Options, place a check box on Replace Document
Colors. Click on the Custom Color radio button,
change the page background to black and document text to
white (or whatever you want). Click on OK. If
you want to view in full screen with no borders...then
click on Full Screen in the same left-hand menu under
Tools\Preferences... remove all check marks except
the last one. Click on OK. On
my small laptop, I rotate the image clockwise (as I hold
my laptop with the screen on the left-hand side, you can
rotate the other way around if you prefer the screen on
the right-hand side.) Then press F11 for full
screen.
Note: Some of
these documents are best printed on both sides of the
paper to maximize the usefulness on the field as the
two-page spreads are built to be used together. It
is best to coil bind the pages. Any business
printing business can do that for you. For the
documents with a two-page spread per object, if you want
each object to appear on the same sheet (front and
back), add a blank page or delete one of the blank pages
at the beginning of the book. Printing
the Guides (two ways) 1. If you
have access to a duplex printer, then you’re
set. 2. If
you are using a standard laser printer, then...
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