Stargazer's Life List
INTRODUCTION
Life Lists
Following
in the tradition of her grandfather, Texas naturalist Roy Bedichek,
my wife, Jane, is a birder. Having accompanied her on many birding
expeditions, I often witnessed her joy and satisfaction at sighting
a "lifer" – a bird she had never previously seen. Like most serious
birders, she keeps a "life list" of all the types of birds she has
seen, and she even keeps a running total of the number of birds on
her life list.
After several years of birding with Jane, it occurred to me that
I, as a stargazer, didn’t have a comparable list of my cosmic
conquests. Like most stargazers, I had pages of observing notes, and
I’d completed several lists for pins and certificates. But nowhere
did I have a composite list of all the objects I’d seen, nor did I
even know how many I’d seen. I was envious of Jane and her fellow
birders.
So I looked through my library of amateur astronomy books and
other resources thinking surely someone must have published a life
list for stargazers. But the search turned up very little. I found
several "favorites" lists of different individual’s favorite
objects, but these were, of course, quite limited. The only attempt
at a life list I found was in the back of Leslie Peltier’s The
Binocular Stargazer (Kalmbach Publishing, 1995), and while it
was similar to what I was looking for, it wasn’t sufficiently
comprehensive to satisfy my needs. In keeping with the focus of the
book, his list was limited primarily to binocular objects, and the
objects selected for inclusion were still rather arbitrary.
Therefore I set about to compile a stargazer life check list that
was comprehensive down to the 10th magnitude – what I can
ordinarily see with my (at best) average eyes peering through my 8"
Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. The result is the following listing of
over 1,200 objects (and phenomena) – solar system, constellations,
asterisms and superpatterns, stars, open clusters, bright nebulae,
globular clusters, planetary nebulae, galaxies and a few "others."
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Magnitude Life Lists
I decided to add another dimension to the life list concept, one
that even birders don’t have. In the lists that follow, objects are
grouped according to magnitude. All objects brighter than magnitude
1.5 are included in the "1st Magnitude Stargazer Life
List," all at least 1.5 but less than 2.5 magnitude are in the "2nd
Magnitude List," and so on down to the "10th Magnitude
List." And there are two additional lists: "Lifers Beyond the
Challenge Lists." and "Soalr System."
Grouping objects in this manner provides an objective means for
determining one’s level of stargazing achievement, beyond simply the
total number of objects seen. A new stargazer, after observing all
the objects on the 1st Magnitude List, can consider
himself or herself a 1st Magnitude Stargazer. Then she or
he can set about to achieve the 2nd Magnitude Stargazer
level, and so forth. Those reaching the 8th, 9th
and 10th Magnitude Stargazer levels would be veterans
worthy of considerable admiration.
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Location
Much to the chagrin of most of us stargazers, not all objects are
available for observation from our viewing latitudes. (Wouldn’t we
in the U.S. love to see some of those Southern Hemisphere beauties
like the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, 47 Tucanae and the Eta
Carina Nebula?) Therefore, each object is additionally classified as
North, Mid or South.
North objects are situated beyond (north of) declination 40°
North, Mid objects are between 40° North
and 40° South, and South objects are
beyond (south of) 40° South. For
stargazers in midnorthern latitudes (i.e., most of the U.S.),
objects listed under South will never rise above the horizon, or
will not rise far enough for easy viewing. The opposite, of course,
holds for southern stargazers. Mid objects can be seen from
virtually any inhabited place on Earth.
In establishing one’s stargazer level, it seems reasonable that
northerners not be required to observe South objects, and
southerners not be required to observe North objects. (Those of us
living and observing in the southern states are fortunate to be able
to see further into the Southern Celestial Hemisphere, which
undoubtedly explains part of the popularity of the Texas Star Party
held near latitude 30° N.)
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Suggestions for Using the Lists
It is intended that this Stargazer's Life List will be used in
whatever manner best suits each individual. Since keeping such a
list and record is primarily for one’s own satisfaction and personal
fulfillment, it is entirely up to each person to deal with related
issues, such as establishing the criteria for what is regarded as an
observation. The following are offered only as suggestions for your
consideration.
Most objects are preceded by "N B T" where N = a naked eye
observation, B = a binocular observation, and T = a telescopic
observation. The appropriate letter(s) can be circled to record your
observation. (Some naked-eye objects, such as constellations, simply
have a space for checking them off.) The additional space is
provided for whatever notes, if any, you wish to add, such as the
date, time and location of your observation, instrument(s) used, and
the power(s) at which the observation was made.
Here are some issues you will need to resolve for yourself: Can
you count an observation if you used your telescope’s GoTo
capabilities to find it? Can you count it if you see it in another
person’s scope after they have found it? Do you have to see it in
all the ways it can be seen – N, B and/or T – to count it? For what
it’s worth, here’s how I resolve these issues for myself.
My ancient scope doesn’t even have GoTo capabilities, but even if
it did, I still like the challenge of finding objects on my own and
would derive more satisfaction from being able to check off a new
lifer if I found it myself. However, if I were unable to find an
object without GoTo, I would still count it as an observation and
simply record the use of GoTo in my notes. Likewise, when I have
observed a new object in another’s scope, I counted it but gave
appropriate credit in my notes.
Many objects can be seen in more than one way, and I like to see
them in all the ways I can, as far as it is practical and
meaningful. For example, it’s satisfying viewing Omega Centauri with
naked eyes, through binoculars, and telescopically – each view
providing it’s own type of satisfaction. However, I count an object
as an observation once I have seen it by any means.
This Life List is intended to supplement, not replace, the
observing log or journal many stargazers like to keep. Indeed, it is
from log or journal entries that one can record observations on
these lists. And it certainly is not meant to replace any of the
other observing programs, such as those sponsored by the
Astronomical League.
One final user suggestion: for quickly moving from one section to
another, I have added tabs to my personal copy. You might wish to do
the same. Computer labels cut in half, then folded in half work
great.
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About the Objects and Their Listings
In determining each object’s magnitude for selection and
classification, I primarily used the following data sources:
- Sky Catalogue 2000.0, Vol. 2: Double Stars, Variable Stars
and Nonstellar Objects (Alan Hirshfeld and Roger W. Sinnott,
Sky Publishing Corp., 1985)
- Sky Atlas 2000.0 Companion [2nd edition] (Robert
A.Strong and Roger W. Sinnott, Sky Publishing Corp., 2000)
- The Deep Sky Field Guide to Uranometria 2000.0 (Murray
Cragin, James Lucyk and Barry Rappaport, Willmann-Bell, Inc, 1993)
- The Night Sky Observer's Guide, Vols 1 & 2 (George
Robert Kepple and Glen W. Sanner, Willmann-Bell, Inc, 1998)
Occasionally I found differences in objects’ stated magnitudes (as
well as sizes and other characteristics) from one source to another,
so for some objects I simply used my own judgment in deciding which
source’s data to use.To the best of my knowledge, the list
contains the following:
- all major solar system objects (and phenomenon) (151)
- all constellations (88)
- all major superpatterns and asterisms (17)
- all 1st-magnitude stars (21)
- selected multiple, variable and other stars (181)
- all NGC and Messier open clusters brighter than magnitude
10.5, selected others (387)
- all globular clusters brighter than magnitude 10.5 (103)
- all planetary nebulae brighter than magnitude 10.5 (32)
- all bright nebulae brighter than magnitude 10.5 (29)
- all galaxies brighter than magnitude 10.5 (216)
- a handful of other objects that do not easily fit within
another category.
The lists include all objects in the Messier and Caldwell catalogs
as well as all objects in the Astronomical League's more popular
observing programs.
A word regarding magnitudes: as most stargazers know published
magnitudes of nonstellar objects can be quite misleading. An
object’s magnitude is determined by measuring the total
amount of light radiating from it and treating it as if all the
light was coming from a single point. The practical effect of this
can be considerable in terms of how easy or difficult it might be to
see a given object. The larger the object, the more its total light
is spread over a larger area, making its magnitude value more
misleading.
This especially affects nebulae, star clusters and galaxies.
Consider, for example, these four 6th-magnitude objects:
M33 (Triangulum Galaxy), M8 (Lagoon Nebula), M13 (Hercules Globular
Cluster) and any 6th-magnitude star. All give out about
the same amount of light, but their sizes vary considerably. A 6th-magnitude
star can be seen more easily than M8 or M13, yet both of these are
much easier to see than the larger M33. (Thus M8 and M13 are
far more likely than M33 to be showcased at public star parties.)
As for the lists, there may be occasions where you wish to
quibble with the magnitude classification of a particular object.
Since this is for your own personal use, I would urge you to feel
free to modify it as you see fit. There are blank lines at the end
of each Magnitude list you may use for moving objects, adding any
objects that have been omitted, or for any other notes you wish to
make. (If you have suggestions for additions, corrections or changes
for subsequent printings, please send them to the author. They will
be welcomed and appreciated.)
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Other Sections of This Book
The second major section, Brightest Constellations, Stars and
Deep-Sky Objects, contains distribution tables of objects to 10th
magnitude and summary lists of the brightest constellations, stars
and deep-sky objects by type and magnitude. The final section is the
Master Index of Objects for easily and quickly locating objects.
