Celestial Harvest: 300-Plus Showpieces of the Heavens for Telescope Viewing and Contemplation

This book describes more than 300 of the finest celestial wonders that can be viewed with common "backyard" telescopes. The author uses an abbreviated descriptive form to accommodate as much information on observation as possible for both field and armchair use. In addition to the many showpieces themselves, nearly 24 other special objects are listed. The author also points out that many of these deep-sky objects are visible to the unaided eye on a dark, clear night and prove wonderful sights in binoculars and low-power telescopes. The sun, moon, and planets in the Earth's solar system, as well as such brighter asteroids as Ceres, Juno, and Vesta, are described and their positions given, as are open star clusters, diffuse nebulas, supernova remnants, spiral galaxies, elliptical galaxies, the milky way, and a host of other astronomical phenomena. Unabridged republication of a book first published by the author in 1998.