Copyright 2002-2004 Michael A. Covington.
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Last revised 2004 March 21

For up-to-date information about recent astronomical discoveries, consult online encyclopedias and other reference sources. It is not possible to record every new discovery here. The following are updates that pertain directly to the content of the book as it was written in 2002.

Throughout: For the whole story on pronouncing Latin names, see Latin Pronunciation Demystified.

[p. 128] The B.A.A. double star section is not very active, but double-star work is also coordinated by the Webb Society, which I encourage double-star observers to join.

[p. 161 footnote] I think what I said here is correct, but there is a dissenting opinion. According to Brück, The Peripatetic Astronomer, p. 46, the Admiral pronounced Smyth just like Smith, and the pronunciation with long I (as in smile) was adopted by his son, Charles Piazzi Smyth.

[p. 187 object 47] After "A dark country sky is required" add: "to see the whole set of galaxies. M60 itself is quite bright."

[p. 192 object 57] The phrase "ghost of Jupiter" was apparently first applied to this object by Captain William Noble. In his book, Hours with a Three-Inch Telescope (London and New York, 1886), he describes it as "one of the most remarkable planetary nebulae in the heavens ... a pale blue disc, looking just like the ghost of Jupiter." This book in turn comprises material reprinted from articles that Capt. Noble wrote for the magazine Knowledge. For him, of course, "ghost of Jupiter" was a description, not a name.

[p. 219 object 130] I am no longer convinced that Barnard 86 is the object Herschel described as "Loch im Himmel," though admittedly that object remains unidentified. See Corrections to the First Printing for more about this.

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