Customer Reviews

The Next Step: Finding and Viewing Messier's Objects

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As telescope owner for two years now, I was ready to take the next step and start viewing DSOs, in particular the Messier list. This book provides everything you need to get started hunting these celestial wonders. The photos and charts are first rate. In fact the chart layout is so helpful that I am using these instead of my sky atlas. The scope section offers useful suggestions on eyepiece choices. The Messier Marathon section is most helpful for sequencing your marathon viewing session. The book also provides a fascinating history of Messier and the other astronomers of his times, which added to my appreciation of amatuer and professional astronomy and the enjoyment of this passion.

(Those of you new to astronomy and unfamiliar with "messy objects", please see the last paragraph of this review.)

I needed a book on Messier objects, and I picked this one nearly at random. This was my luckiest find in a long time. I have recently started using a GoTo telescope, and these things are great - but - when it came to Messier objects, I just wasn't sure of what it was I was looking for. Humongous Hubble-like photos were of no use at all.

Not only does this book have a photo for each of the 112 objects - two added by the book's author to correct an oversight - but the photos show each object as it appears at 48X, which is just the power I use (and recommend) for searching and centering. I've found this book totally indispensable for Messier objects.

And there's more. There are star charts with the M-objects mapped. There's tons of advice on finding and observing these things. It covers the life and work of Charles Messier and his colleagues in detail. It even contains, for each object, the cataloger's (usually Messier) own comments as they appear in the original catalog.

Since this is the only Messier book I own, I can't compare it to others, and I probably never will. For my use as a backyard telescope astronomer, I can't conceive of what more information I'd need on the Messier objects, or on the man who thankfully took all that time to compile them.
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For new astronomers: Once you can identify the major constellations and stars, and have worked your way through the moon and planets - probably with your first telescope - you're ready for the "deep sky" objects, which are star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. The first category of deep-sky objects is called the "Messier objects", named after the man who, with help, cataloged 110 of these visible in the northern hemisphere with a moderate 40X-100X telescope. Some, but not very many, are visible to the naked eye. Being able to find, view, and - important - talk intelligently about these objects is a big step to being a "serious amateur astronomer". If this is what you want to do, you've found the right book.

I read O'Meara's book on the Messier objects, and eventually bought this one after reading the reviews on Amazon. I sometimes don't trust Amazon reviews because they are often too glowing. In this case, the reviews are accurate. This book delivers what it advertises, in simple, concise, and organized fashion. I like the way the photographic view is from a small telescope, which allows you to easily compare what you are looking at with what you see. This book comes with me when I search the night sky, together with "turn left at Orion", and my "Collins star atlas". I especially like the modern, color typeset and also the interesting historical introduction to one of the most famous Nerds in history. Messier would be so proud, and of course so surprised at how his little atlas of things to avoid became a timeless reference.

If you want one text on the Messier objects, then this would be the one.

I was a little hesitant to order this book at first, being a typical astronomer with one too many astronomy books. However, this thing is EXACTLY what I wanted/needed as I have been a Messier afficianado since childhood. This book has an EXCELLENT intro, with some perfectly written historical information. I had thought about skipping this section, but found it to be quite entertaining and informative. The rest of the book is a catalog of "M" objects, with PHOTOS of the Messier object RELATIVE TO THE SURROUNDING SKY through 'reasonable' amateur telescopes (read: "non mega $10000-plus, super dark sky 30" observatory scopes), along with observing tips and facts.

And I should mention that it is VERY reasonably priced given that it is hardback and partially in color.
This book is gonna get some use...Highly recommended!

As a fairly new astronomer to the community, I purchased this book looking for a good reference to the Messier objects. It is exactly that.

Each object has been granted a double spread, with a brief description, various catalog summary information and an idea of when best to observe each object. A description of the object as viewed through the eyepiece is provided and ranked on it's difficulty to locate (East / Hard). A good quality B/W photo is also provided so that you can get an idea of what to look for.

The book included a nice introductory paragraph on who Mr. Messier was and his history, a comprehensive glossary and a reproducable observing log for each object.

This is exactly what I was looking for.

This book is nicely done, easy to use, and not overly patronizing. I strongly recommend this book over Steven O'meara's Messier Object book. In contrast to Stephen O'Meara, Ken Graun treats his readers like equals and does not toot his own horn. Ken Graun has simply laid out a very nice resource with good photos that show realistic views of the sky. O'Meara, in contrast provides unrealistic images and commentary thick with self-importance. If you want to have some help looking for M objects, but are confident that you don't need someone telling you how to wipe yourself, then get Ken Graun's book. Also, Ken's historical information and photos are quite nice.

For years I have been looking for a book about observing Messier's objects (and others as well) which would show a brief description, a chart and consistent photos of what you can actually see in the eyepiece of a smaller telescope. This book is exactly what I wanted. I own many books about observing including Burnham's trilogy, O'Meara, The Night Sky Observer's Guide and I love them all. However, Ken's book is the best practical publication for observing Messier's objects for its format and consistency. It comes in a smaller size, hardback and can be easily taken outside. It does not contain lengtly descriptions or personal stories with hand drawn pictures in reverse colours or glossy colour pictures of what you will never see in a telescope. Instead, it covers only essential information with black and white photos of each object (of what you will see in a telescope) and charts. The introduction is also excellent - brief and informative. Unlike O'Meara's book (which is also very good in its own way), Ken's photos are consistent in size, scale, orientation and magnification. I absolutely love this book and recommed it to everybody. I hope that more books in a similar format (containing other deep sky objects) will show up on the market in the future. This book should be packaged with every small and medium size telescope sold.

In the last 4 months The Next Step has become my favorite astronomy book. I observe stars with a 20x80 binoculars. Even though this book is design for small telescopes it works great for me. The photos give me a realistic sense of what I can see with my binoculars. For example in the past I could not find M103 because I was expecting a bigger object; once I knew its true size and shape it was easy to find. The following are some of the things I really like about this book:
- Small enough to take into the field
- Excellent binding
- Good quality paper
- Great photo quality
- All photos are the same dimensions: 2.3 degrees x 1.3 degrees
- Helpful description on locating and identifying each object
- Detail star charts

"The Next Step. Finding and viewing Messier's Objects" is actually very usefull to find and view all Messier objects. Book starts with a biography of Charles Messier, followed by general instructions for finding and observing Messier objects. In this section there is a little section title "Strategies for manually finding Messier or other Deep Sky Objects", the Strategy 1 starts with this sentence "Several Messier objects can be seen by most observers with the naked eye, even in light-polluted skies...", in my opinion this is too much optimistic, I think that even author considered it optimistic as he finish with this comment "Observers vary in their ability to see objects with the naked eye. Some of my friends can see the M33 galaxy in dark skies while I can barely see it using my telescope".

The most important section of the book begins on page 108 and finish on page 331, here each Messier object has an individual review which include the original Messier description, NGC description and location, facts information (type of object, magnitude, distance, etc.) followed by a detailed description of the object as it is seen using a 4-inch refractor at 48X, and presents a picture black and white of each object, very similar to the actual image we see of each object with the telescope. All pictures are shown at the same scale (2,3º x 1,3º) for an easy comparison of different objects.

A curiosity: author has included Double Cluster as M111 and M112 giving explanations why he included them, I consider this a sensible choice on his part. As summary, this book will made very easy to observe all Messier's objects, I recommend it strongly.

Deep Sky Objects (DSO) are hard to see. This is partially because they are faint and the viewer doesn't know what to look for. A star chart shows where something is, but not what it looks like. Hubble images are pretty, but not realistic.

This author uses a small 4" scope, concentrates on a typical backyard scope eyepiece of about 20mm, and takes every picture to scale. Every messier object is photographed, much like it will look to the viewer. This is an encredible aid and sets this book apart from all the other Messier resources I have been using.

If you want to search for the Messier objects, this is the book for you. You will need a good set of charts.