The first edition of this stunning reference atlas was hailed as the most comprehensive, detailed, and beautiful account of the Messier objects then available. The second edition of the Atlas continues this trend, with thoroughly updated astrophysical, historical, and observational information and new large-scale color photos for every object.

Much is yet to be discovered about the fascinating large-scale structures of the universe. Bernard Abrams, former Director of the Deep-Sky section of the British Astronomical Association and Michael Stecker, a celebrated California-based astronomical photographer, explain what we currently know of the near and far universe and present some of the most spectacular astronomical photographs ever taken. The accompanying CD-ROM offers a veritable explosion of hundreds of beautiful color images that illustrate local and distant structures and galaxies.

About the Author Jonathan Phillip Blackwell was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and lived there until age twelve. As a military brat, Blackwell traveled to Kentucky, Tennessee, Colorado, Kansas, and California. He graduated from Washington Union High School in Freemont, California in 1962 and worked for Bishop Moving and Storage in Long Beach before joining the U.S. Air Force in 1964. Blackwell spent sixteen years in Japan and nine months in Vietnam before being medevacked out. He served in the U.S.A.F. for twenty-six years. He later drove trucks, some long haul, for thirteen years. Blackwell has played guitar in a band, and he also loves to play chess. He taught C141s and C130s Phase II school. Blackwell is interested in plate tectonics, astrology, astronomy, the mind, and making big puzzles, but his true love is writing novels. Blackwell has lived all his goals and then some. He is presently widowed and living in Ogden, Utah.

"Letters to the Editor" issued as Part 2 and separately paged from v. 148, 1967