Now before you all dash off and ask Steve Gottlieb about this list and request a copy, this list has been available comercially for some time. It is now known as the Orion DeepMap 600. It is a road-map sized chart of the 600 finest celestial objects visible from the Northern Hemisphere. I do think some of them require more southern exposure, but that's what the literature states. Steve's original 500 were supplemented with doubles and variables to bring the list to 600. But I'll always think of the list as the Gottlieb 500 - it was my first foray into the deep sky.
Back in about 1994 or so I was beginning to take my homemade 10 inch F/7.3 reflector, Stardust out in public. A few timid years of deck observing had finally convinced me it was time to road test my baby. I stuck some socks between tailgate and mirror and put the scope in a borrowed station wagon. My long tube was too big for my car, so it had never left the front or back deck. I was a lone observer in those days.
Up the road I went to my first star party. Up to the Rock Springs parking lot on Mount Tamalpais. I was pretty comfortable showing the public some of the Messier objects, the planets and the moon. But I hungered for more.
Steve Gottlieb, Ray Cash and Jim Shields were fellow members of the SFAA. I had read their observing reports in the club newsletter (Jim was the editor at the time) and was ready for more challenging projects. With such great observers sharing their knowledge in our newsletter and at star parties, I felt prepared for the next observing steps. Ray and I were frequent contributors to the newsletter back then, and it was Ray who gave me this treasured paper chart. At the top of the first page is this heading: Table of top 500 Deep Sky Objects. Underneath is the name Steve Gottlieb. As a celestial coincidence, Ray has just updated his web page to showcase the Orion DeepMap 600 - just as I write this report! What fantastic timing!
I tucked this paper list of objects in with my one and only star chart back then - my little beloved 8 x 11 inch red cardboard covered messier chart entitled A Starhoppers Guide to Messier Objects by Lenore Freeman. I still have fond memories of using that first book. It reminds me of my budding interest in deep sky observing.
With great anticipation, I began checking off the objects I had already observed. The Messiers were eliminated, but not before I looked at each one anew. This was years before I had other telescopes. My Stardust and I spent many happy nights out on the back deck hunting the interesting and beautiful objects on the Gottlieb 500 list.
My favorites? To complete this list I needed to observe from the Southern Hemisphere. So my very favorites are those I observed from Ayers Rock in April of 1999 and Wiruna in the Blue Mountains in April of this year 2000. The SMC in the constellation Tucanae. NGC 104 or 47 Tucanae, the drop-dead gorgeous globular cluster near the SMC. NGC 346 and 362 also in Tucanae. NGC 2442, a barred spiral in the flying fish constellation, Volans. I sketched this object using 4 different telescopes, from my 12.5 inch Strider up to a 20 inch Obsession. Interesting to see how much more detail emerges as aperture increases.
More favorites have to be the Dorado objects. LMC (a agglomeration of hundreds of named objects), NGC 1566, 1672 and maybe the prettiest object in the entire sky, 30 Dorado or NGC 2070, the Tarantula Nebula.
Another favorite on this list is the Superman Galaxy (named so by Tectron Telescope's Tom Clark). NGC 1300 in Eridanus is a stunning barred spiral that looks like the "S" on Superman's shirt - only backwards. I observed this one from Chiefland's Astronomy Village through Tom's 36 inch Yard Scope 2 around Christmas last year.
It took a couple trips south of the equator to finish this list. But, what's the hurry? We all observe at a pace that fits our style, our time commitments, our families, and yes, even our age! As one friend just mentioned, he feels an urgency to see as much as he can before it is too late. These objects are rushing from us. Our observing time is short. I still enjoy a leisurely stargaze. I can look at an object for hours, sketching and talking to it. I love the diversity each of us utilizes as stargazers. Our common passion has so many avenues from which to choose.
The objects on this list, which I named the Gottlieb 500 are perhaps the most interesting and most beautiful of all objects on all lists. I like the fact that experienced observers such as Steve personally selected the objects. When I dream, I dream of spirals and puffs of nebulosity. I see clusters and tarantulas. I see flying fish and great ships. I see the objects listed on my Table of top 500 Deep Sky Objects. Thanks Steve for taking the time to create this list. Thanks Ray for opening the door to the universe beyond the Messier list. It has been a wonderful journey, a journey I'll take again and again.
I hope some of you purchase the Orion DeepMap 600. It's a road map to the stuff that dreams are made of.