Quote:
Originally Posted by ausastronomer
Hi Jacquie,
Patrick Moore is more a lunar observer than a Deep Sky Observer.
To be truthful I don't know how much of an observer he is period. He has written a lot of books and his TV show "The Sky at Night" has run for several decades on the BBC for the simple reason he presents well to "the aristocrats" with his refined tones and monocle.
Looking at the omissions and inclusions in the Caldwell list it is obvious to most experienced observers that he has never observed a lot of the targets in the list. One notable exclusion is NGC 2808 which is a globular cluster in Carina and one of the most impressive globulars in the entire sky. It is indeed far brighter and more impressive than many of the Messier Globulars. Yet some how, Patrick Moore couldn't find a spot for it. On the other hand he has included some nondescript nothing targets which are very difficult in small telescopes.
Cheers,
John B
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Apparently the list was created as a compliment to the Messier catalogue, basically an attempt to include bright objects particularly those at far southern declinations missing from the Messier catalogue. It even includes the same number of objects. That would give me the impression that the list is aimed at beginners which makes the inclusion of objects like IC 1613 over other far brighter targets all the more bizarre.