Astrophotography Object Lists
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On this page a number of well known astronomical catalogues and lists are provided containing information and images of potentially suitable 'targets' for Astrophotographers. These are presented in the form of searchable database tables and galleries. The following can be accessed by clicking the image buttons listed in the right hand column Messier; the 109 Deep Space Objects (DSOs) catalogued by the French astronomer Charles Messier as an aid to their avoidance, these ‘embarrassing’ objects were often with the telescope available at the time wrongly mistaken for comets; Caldwell; 109 more DSOs compiled by the famous astronomer and broadcaster Patrick Caldwell-Moore, which included important galaxies, clusters and nebula omitted by Messier, as well as a number of southern hemisphere specific objects; Herschel 400; a selection of the brightest members of the 2508 ‘clusters and nebula’ discovered by William Herschel and his sister Caroline during the period 1783 to 1802; as compiled by the Ancient City Astronomy Club of St. Augustine, Florida; ‘Hidden Treasures’ List; a further 109 DSO’s compiled by the well known observational astronomer and author Stephen James O’Meara, intended to supplement the three previous lists, and includes a number of ‘best and bright’ objects omitted by them. ‘A’ or Astrophotographers' List; this is our own list, once again it contains 109 objects, but is different from the rest because, it is an imagers list, showcasing the finest examples of the ‘Art of Heaven’, and includes not only DSOs but Solar System Objects like the Moon and Planets as well as Earth based subjects such as a Sunset or an Aurora. For the more adventurous Astrophotographer - a DSO database is provided with thousands of Deep Space 'fuzzies' to image, with a 'What's Up' Wizard to see what's visible from where you are. This comprehensive DSO list includes all the well know catalogues of Messier, Caldwell, Herschel, Stephen O'Meara, the 'A' List, plus the complete NGC and IC, Barnard's catalogue of Dark Nebula, Lynd's catalogues of Bright & Nark Nebulae; as well as Abell’s Clusters of Galaxies, Hickson Compact Galaxy Groups, Perek Kohouteck Planetary Nebula, Planetary Nebula Catalogue, Sharpless HII Regions and Van Den Berg Reflection Nebula. In all over 20,000 Deep Space objects of all types are included - open clusters, globular clusters, planetary nebulae, emission nebulae, reflection nebulae, supernovae, galaxies and galaxy clusters. As a bonus the complete Bright Star Catalogue can be found here too, as can information on all 88 astronomical constellations in both the northern and southern hemispheres. Those interested in the Moon will also find a Lunar Database of over two thousand features to photograph, and a Lunar Phase Calendar for any day, month and year from 1930 to 2025 is also provided.
Moon Phase Calendar