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

~ James Mullaney (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (October 9, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486425541
• ISBN-13: 978-0486425542
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,071,108 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fine Catalog of Stellar Showpieces, May 29, 2003

By	Joseph A. Bergeron (Binghamton, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Mullaney does a fine job of sifting through thousands of deep-sky objects to select those most likely to impress users of small telescopes. His descriptions are enjoyable, if occasionally overly florid, with an annoying overuse of exclamation points. His bias for double stars is evident, but I have no real complaint about that. Doubles are pretty and charming and often underappreciated. Mullaney apparently composed the manuscript using some primitive word-processing software that forced him to include additional objects at the back of the book instead of in the main constellation listings.

Overall, the sincerity of the writing, plus the intelligence of the 300 or so objects selected, makes this perhaps the best available list of objects that goes beyond the Messier catalog (better than the spurious Caldwell list, for example).