[FOTZeiss] Fw: Mullaney: "The Finest Deep-Sky Objects"

[Glenn A. Walsh]

FYI

gaw



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--- On Fri, 8/12/11, arcturussj at aol.com <arcturussj at aol.com> wrote:

From: arcturussj at aol.com <arcturussj at aol.com>
Subject: [DOME-L:4632] Some Comments About "The Finest deep-Sky Objects"
To: dome-l at googlegroups.com
Date: Friday, August 12, 2011, 4:15 PM



 


Dear Planetarians,
 
Since many of you over the years have used The Finest 
Deep-Sky Objects reprint from the Sky & Telescope series in 
the mid-sixties by Wally McCall and myself at planetarium and observatory public 
viewing nights, I wanted to share a few comments about it.
 
First, I never considered this work a finalized roster.  Among other 
showpieces, the Crab Nebula (M 1) definitely should have been 
included!  It wasn't for a number of involved reasons.  I just hope 
Messier and Lord Rosse have forgiven us for this omission!  It is, of 
course, included in my Celestial Harvest: 300-Plus Showpieces of the Heavens 
for Telescope Viewing & Contemplation (originally self-published 
in 1998 & 2000, then reprinted by Dover Publications in New York in 
2002).
 
Secondly, at the time we wrote our series, Sky & Telescope was 
very "straight-laced" and had no patience with aesthetic or exclamatory remarks 
in describing celestial sights - the way Smyth, Webb, Barns, Burnham and 
many other classic observers so beautifully did in their works.  So sadly, 
the descriptions are very sterile and give little hint of the joy to be found in 
observing objects on the list. This has always been a source of deep 
personal regret to me.  Fortunately, I've certainly corrected this in 
Celestial Harvest - which contains thousands of such exhalted glowing 
accounts!
 
Finally, I was privileged about 20 years ago to be given a 
behind-the-scenes tour of the 200-inch Hale reflector at Palomar (at one point I 
actually hugged the mounting!)  It's always been said that no one 
ever actually looks through the telescope itself.  In the control room I 
saw on one of the control panel desks a dogged-eared, well-worn copy of The 
Finest Deep-Sky Objects!  Somebody (maybe many somebody's) were using 
it to look through the Big Eye.  Can you imagine the views!!!
 
Clear skies always,
Jim Mullaney
 

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