Deep-Sky Companions: The Messier Objects

First of all I have to say that O'Meara is a brilliant writer and a superb visual observer. He manages to capture the spirit of observing and you feel like he is right next to you at the eyepiece when you read the book. But the defining thing about this book is the superbly detailed eyepiece impressions. Indeed he sees more through the eyepiece of a 4" TeleVue Genesis than most people through much larger telescopes. Its all about training ones eyes to see detail. Most of us are mere "peekers", just taking quick glimpses of objects. O'Meara encourages and inspires us to push our vision to the limit, to drink in the faint details of a galaxy's spiral arms. I for one have been inspired. Very highly recommended for visual observers.

This book is a tremendous help to those of us setting out to find the Messier objects. The biggest problem with finding objects is figuring out what they should like like in a telescope -- sometimes I've got something in the finder or telescope and I'm not certain what it is. O'Meara solves that problem by providing photographs and his terrific drawings, not to mention is verbal paintings which could make a blind person see the objects. He devoted hours to each single object, waxing poetic at times about the merits and downsides to every single object. The first few chapters give some good history and background of Messier and other famous comet hunters. As a final plus, the book is printed on very high quality glossy paper so it's a pleasure to read. As a field guide, it would have been helpful to have it spiral bound, but that's my only suggestion for improvement. The author even includes a helpful appendix of other interesting sky objects that are not Messier objects, all of which are worthwhile telescope targets. A winner!

Most problems amateurs have with the Messier objects is a) finding them, and b) once they "think" they have found it, knowing what it "should" look like, and c) once they do actually have it, knowing and understanding what they are looking at. This book really helps with (b) and (c). A Telrad bullseye would have helped with (a), but one can't have everything. This is a great, easy-to-read and use companion for anyone who likes looking for the deep-sky objects.

At first I was reluctant to buy this new book because I already own several Messier books. However, the author has clearly established this book as a must have for amateur astronomers that are interested in deep sky objects. The key to the success of the book is a combination of the text, photos, excellent finder charts, and the unique drawings. The author writes in a personal style and adds many new ways to observe and view deep sky objects, ie appreciate the messiers. This book in combination with the recently published "year round messier marathon" by pennington will allow relatively new amateur astonomers to locate and observe galaxies, star clusters, and nebulae.

I am new to the hobby of astronomy and have been reading every book I can get my hands on. While I have come across several books that filled me in on planatary and lunar observations, these books were lacking in their descriptions of the Messier objects. Oh, I knew I should take a look at these celestial treasures. But which ones? And what would they really look like? Thank God for O'Meara's book! It was an unfortunate discovery for me that the pictures I see of various nebulas and galaxies are not the same views I will encounter in my 8-inch Newtonian reflector. (The cameras bring out more detail or the pictures are taken on bigger scopes.) However, what O'Meara does is describe each member of Charles Messier's 18th century catalogue, enclose a black and white photo, and then a detailed sketch of what he saw through a 4-inch telescope. The book is in numerical order so finding the various objects is very easy. When I am planning a night of observing, I simply leaf through the book, find some interesting objects and then check to see if they will be out that night. I can then study his descriptions so that I will know what I am looking for. Fantastic! This is essential for any beginning astronomer and I dare say it would be an interesting read for non-observers as well.