• Simply THE most comprehensive guide to the Messier Objects ever published • Combines detailed historical, astrophysical, statistical and observing information for each object with stunning astrophotos and telescope sketches • Reproduces the text of Messier’s famous catalog, along with biographies of Messier and his contemporaries • Compares modern views with historical sketches from Lord Rosse, John Herschel and other illustrious figures The 110 star clusters, nebulae and galaxies of Messier’s famous catalog are among the most popular of all the deep sky objects and are beautiful targets for amateur observers of all abilities. This stunning new atlas presents a complete and lively account of all of the Messier objects. Details for each object include a thoroughly researched history of its discovery, historical observations and anecdotes, the latest scientific data detailing its astrophysical findings, and descriptions for observers to view the objects, be it with the naked eye or a large telescope. This atlas has some of the world’s finest color astrophotos, labeled photos pointing to hidden details and neighboring objects, as well as historical sketches by well-known figures alongside new deep sky drawings. Quite simply, this is THE most far-reaching and beautiful reference on the Messier objects there has ever been, and one that no observer should be without!

Reviews & endorsements

‘I received your book and must say that it is absolutely beautiful! You have created an amazing review of the Messier objects. Congratulations on a breathtaking publication!’ – Phil Harrington, author of Star Ware and Touring the Universe through Binoculars

Authors

Ronald Stoyan, Interstellarum magazine
Ronald Stoyan is editor-in-chief of Interstellarum, one of Germany’s main astronomy magazines. He was the founding director of the German deep sky organization ‘Fachgruppe Deep-Sky’, and has authored and coauthored six books on practical astronomy.

Stefan Binnewies, Amateur astrophotographer
Stefan Binnewies is a leading astrophotographer and travels around the world to get the best shots. He has worked on several amateur observatory projects, including helping to establish the Capella Observatory near Windhoek, Namibia.

Susanne Friedrich, Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Garching, Germany
Susanne Freidrich is an editor for Interstellarum and a visiting scientist at Max-Planck-Institute for extraterrestrial physics. A trained astrophysicist, she has been observing the sky both visually and photographically for more than 25 years.

Translator

Klaus-Peter Schroeder, Universidad de Guanajuato, Mexico
Klaus-Peter Schroeder is Professor of Astronomy at the University of Guanajauto, Mexico. An avid amateur astronomer and photographer since youth, he has published several books on astrophotography and is a regular contributor writing for amateur astronomy magazines.

Table of Contents

Preface
How to use this book
The life of Charles Messier
The observations of Charles Messier
The catalog of Charles Messier
Statistics of the Messier objects
Observation of the Messier objects
Photography of the Messier objects
The objects themselves
Glossary
List of figures
Table of sources.