Actuallyi must say that the descriptions etc of the objects is up to O meras standard but the photos are appalling in my opinion. Corona Australis is reduced to two light over exposed blobs in a totally dark background and many of the galaxies are very poorly represented in particular NGC1365 which is a mess.
Pity as it detracts from the overall opinion of southern objects.
Actuallyi must say that the descriptions etc of the objects is up to O meras standard but the photos are appalling in my opinion. Corona Australis is reduced to two light over exposed blobs in a totally dark background and many of the galaxies are very poorly represented in particular NGC1365 which is a mess.
Pity as it detracts from the overall opinion of southern objects.
I have to agree with you there Allan,the photo's reminds me of my copy of the 1980 version of the Messier Catalogue.
Cheers
Photos: I now have both "Southern Gems"and "Imaging the Southern Sky" and am able to compare the photos in each.
O'Meara does explain in Chapter 1 of "Gems" that the object images are reproduced from (and with the permission of) the DSS. That goes some way to explaining what might otherwise be the bland appearance of what are supposed to be sparkling gems.
In their "Imaging "book, Chadwick and Cooper do at least present colour images but through a combination of the paper weight/texture and the reproduction method used, the images are a long way short of being pleasing. They are at best, photocopy standard with the ink balance out of whack and done on cheap paper.
In defence of both, however, it should be said that neither book is for the coffee table. They are meant to be working books in which the reader will generally be content with descriptive images rather than definitive.
Both books will always be very close to my scopes and will be well-thumbed in a very short time. If only I had a reason to roll back the roof and put these books to good use..
Photos: I now have both "Southern Gems"and "Imaging the Southern Sky" and am able to compare the photos in each.
O'Meara does explain in Chapter 1 of "Gems" that the object images are reproduced from (and with the permission of) the DSS. That goes some way to explaining what might otherwise be the bland appearance of what are supposed to be sparkling gems.
In their "Imaging "book, Chadwick and Cooper do at least present colour images but through a combination of the paper weight/texture and the reproduction method used, the images are a long way short of being pleasing. They are at best, photocopy standard with the ink balance out of whack and done on cheap paper.
In defence of both, however, it should be said that neither book is for the coffee table. They are meant to be working books in which the reader will generally be content with descriptive images rather than definitive.
Both books will always be very close to my scopes and will be well-thumbed in a very short time. If only I had a reason to roll back the roof and put these books to good use..
Peter
I also have both books and you are completely right Peter. Not coffe table books but to be used at the scope as a working reference.
Allan
Mine arrived today.
I had a look at the images and they are exactly the same standard as in the other 4 books in the series, reproduced fromm the DSS. I have no issue with this as those images are what I often use to get some info to confirm observations I am uncertain of and meing monochrome they wre more useful. This book is intended as a visual guide so images that are closer to the eyepiece view are the best. He includes sketches that again are helpful.
I quickly ran through the list of objects and I have observing note on 107 of the 120 objects in the main guide and 27 of the 42 "additional" objects. Luckily many of them are still to be nabbed with "Henrietta" so still have some work to do.
I am glad O'Meara has dropped the 109 objects with 20 in an appendix for the numbers he has used this time!
Goober. Most if not all these objects would be easy from Hawaii, abit low but O'Mearas site at Volcano would still be great for viewing them. He does state that he has also spent time in Oz, NZ, Sth Africa and Sth America.
Cheers - got mine at the PO box this morning. Surprised to see he has relisted some items from his earlier books (mainly Caldwell Objects). Still, I'll take it! Great series of books.
I have a question about the book Southern Gems, does it contain anything new or from a different perspective than Hartungs 2nd edition or The Night Sky Observers Guide 3, southern volume, to make it worth purchasing.
Southern Gems describes 120 objects in detail. All of these were seen by James Dunlop with a 9" speculum reflector when he made the first good catalogue of southern clusters, nebulae and galaxies from Parramatta, Sydney in 1826.
For each object O'Meara gives basic data, historical descriptions, a DSS B&W image, a finder chart, a drawing and 2 or more pages of interesting information.
The book also includes 42 additional objects, 6 of these from the SMC and 14 from the LMC. Appendix C gives a brief history of the early telescopic exploration of the far-southern sky. http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic...-southern-gems
James Dunlop was a poor man and not well educated. The rich and well educated gave him and his catalogue a hard time in the 1800s. This book (Southern Gems) finally gives Dunlop the recognition he deserves. He was an amazing Scottish/Australian astronomer, he discovered hundreds of objects in just 7 months with the equivalent of a modern 6" reflector.
Here are wikisky.org images of the 120 objects in Southern Gems.
Most images have fields 56 arc-mins by 56 arc-mins.
Planetary nebulae have fields 28' by 28'. https://picasaweb.google.com/1100488...NmBqrC6xdOrLw#
Five extra fields are also included.
Amazon com au is selling Deep-Sky Companions: Southern Gems by Stephen James O'Meara for $19.95 + $10 delivery
In Southern Gems, Stephen James O'Meara makes a detour beneath the southern skies, presenting a fresh list of 120 deep-sky objects for southern hemisphere stargazers to observe. Showcasing many exceptional objects catalogued by the pioneering observer James Dunlop, known as the 'Messier of the southern skies', all are visible through small- to moderate-sized telescopes or binoculars under dark skies.