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Deep Sky Objects: The Best And Brightest from Four Decades of Comet Chasing
by David H Levy
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Prometheus Books (2005-11-07)
ISBN: 1591023610
EAN: 9781591023616
Dewy Decimal #: 523
Paperback: 362 pages
SKU: C078BGR
Condition: Used: Like New
Comments: Clean unmarked pages. Clean unmarked cover. Has some shelf wear. 100% satisfaction guaranteed. All orders include an e-Book about starting your own Internet Business in PDF format. FREE Domestic DELIVERY CONFIRMATION! We ship daily Mon-Sat and will let you know when your item has shipped along with your e/DC number. [HI, AK, PR, VI, GUAM, SAIPAN & West Coast customers, please use Expedited Shipping, otherwise it may take longer than the estimated 14 business days.] Items are from a smoke free and air conditioned environment.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
Veteran comet hunter and eloquent popular astronomy writer David H. Levy takes amateur sky-watchers on a fascinating journey into deep space in this enthusiastic and informative survey of the many far distant yet observable objects in the night sky. Light years beyond our solar system, deep sky objects include such intriguing phenomena as red stars, double and triple stars, mysterious star patterns, globular clusters, nebulae, galaxies, and quasars. Designed to be accessible for even beginners, Levy’s clear, elegant descriptions will guide astronomy buffs in any hemisphere and locale (light-polluted cities as well as dark countryside) to the wonders of our enormous universe. As the discoverer or codiscoverer of twenty-one comets, including the famous Shoemaker-Levy 9 that crashed into Jupiter in 1994, Levy has devoted many decades of experience to observing the night sky. Over the years he has located about 300 deep sky objects, of which the 111 "best and brightest" are featured in this book. Along with a finder chart, Levy offers a physical description and a discussion of each object’s history and beauty. Proceeding from objects closest to our solar system to those farthest away, Levy gives readers an awe-inspiring glimpse into the structure of the cosmos. Complete with both color and black-and-white photos, plus many helpful illustrations, Deep Sky Objects is the ideal guide to the wonders of the universe for both experienced and novice star gazers.
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Customer Reviews
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Good list; so-so book.
Rating  (3)
Date: 2006-05-03
9 out of 9 customers found this reveiw helpful
This book really can't decide what it wants to be, and feels like it's a few editorial rounds away from being a finished book.
The book has an odd overall structure, and the organization within chapters is a free-association mess of object descriptions, personal recollections, observing advice and seemingly whatever happens to cross Levy's mind.
It's frustrating because there are elements of a good book here, but as it stands it doesn't really work as an observing guide, reference book or personal memoir, despite trying to be all three.
The list of objects itself, currently available on the internet, is an excellent and useful list which could form the basis of an interesting personal observing program.
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Veteran comet chaser teaches amateurs how to observe!
Rating  (5)
Date: 2006-03-11
2 out of 6 customers found this reveiw helpful
David Levy is a veteran comet discoverer - one of the most successful discoverers in history - and wants others to share in his personal achievement and joy in locating unusual deep sky objects. You don't have to live in the country to be able to observe distant objects: DEEP SKY OBJECTS: THE BEST AND BRIGHTEST FROM FOUR DECADES OF COMET CHASING can count city-dwellers among its astronomy fans, providing positions, magnitudes, history and best observation times to accompany a running commentary of the author's discoveries and excitement about his findings. It's this excitement which makes DEEP SKY OBJECTS unique in the world of amateur astronomy titles, pairing specifics on how and what to observe with a veteran comet chaser's exciting discoveries.
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Catalog of objects that might look like comets
Rating (5)
Date: 2006-01-23
3 out of 7 customers found this reveiw helpful
Perhaps the most famous astronomers of our time, Mr. Levy is one of the most successful comet discoverers in history (actually he's tied for third place in the number of comets found). His finds include the Shoemaker-Levy comet that crashed so dramatically into Jupiter. His formal education includes a degree in Englash. His astronomical activities came as a hobby. Who better to write a book aimed at the amateur astronomer?
This book is based on a list of objects visible in the sky that might be confused with comets. He began this list many years ago to avoid mis-identification as he searched for comets. Here he lists, describes, and usually photographs these items from deep into space. The objects are arranged from 'nearby,' that's say up to a few hundred light years away, to billions of light years.
I can't help but wonder what Galileo would have thought of this book as he spent his final years under house arrest for publishing a book saying that four moons orbited Jupiter.
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