Deep-Sky Companions: The Secret Deep

Stephen James O'Meara

Jun 2011 · Cambridge University Press

About this ebook

In this fresh list, Stephen James O'Meara presents 109 new objects for stargazers to observe. The Secret Deep list contains many exceptional objects, including a planetary nebula whose last thermal pulse produced a circumstellar shell similar to the one expected in the final days of our Sun's life; a piece of the only supernova remnant known visible to the unaided eye; the flattest galaxy known; the largest edge-on galaxy in the heavens; the brightest quasar; and the companion star to one of the first black hole candidates ever discovered. Each object is accompanied by beautiful photographs and sketches, original finder charts, visual histories and up-to-date astrophysical information to enrich the observing experience. Featuring galaxies, clusters and nebulae not covered in other Deep-Sky Companions books, this is a wonderful addition to the series and an essential guide for any deep-sky observer.

About the author

Stephen James O'Meara is author of several highly acclaimed books, including others in the celebrated Deep-Sky Companions series. He is well known for his precise drawings of astronomical objects as seen through the telescope, his engaging and informative writing style and for his remarkable skills as a visual observer. Steve spent much of his early career on the editorial staff of Sky and Telescope, before joining Astronomy magazine as its Secret Sky columnist and a contributing editor. An award-winning visual observer, he was the first person to sight Halley's Comet on its return in 1985 and the first to determine visually the rotation period of Uranus. One of his most distinguished feats was the visual detection of the mysterious spokes in Saturn's B-ring before most spacecraft imaged them. Amongst his achievements, Steve has received the prestigious Lone Stargazer Award, the Omega Centauri Award and the Caroline Herschel Award. Asteroid 3637 was named O'Meara in his honor by the International Astronomical Union. In his spare time, Steve travels the world to document volcanic eruptions. He is a contract videographer for National Geographic Digital Motion and a contract photographer for the National Geographic Image Collection.