We are very grateful that our Honorary President, David Levy, has been willing to share with us an RASC-Friendly list of his favourite gems of the deep sky, objects that have particularly attracted his attention during his forty years of comet hunting, and so well described in his book "Deep Sky Objects: The Best and Brightest From Four Decades of Comet Chasing," published by Prometheus Books, New York, in 2005. Observers of these objects will benefit from referring to the book in order to read David's descriptions of them, along with the stories of his first encountering them in the night sky.

In the following list, which has been specially prepared for the RASC by Leo Enright and David Levy, the 383 objects on the list that appeared at the back of that book have been reduced to 156 by the elimination of objects (76) from the far southern sky, and by the elimination of objects that are already named on the observing lists published in the RASC Observer's Handbook, namely The Messier Catalogue (58 objects), The Finest NGC Objects (59), and The Deep Sky Challenge Objects (10). A number of double and variable stars (16), asterisms (4), and faint or 'photographic' objects (13) has also been eliminated, though locating these objects, especially the brightest of the "doubles and variables" is strongly encouraged. This list is truly "RASC-friendly", with ALL of its 156 objects being easily visible from Canada. Please refer to the book for information about David's many favorite objects. The book is available in the astronomy section of good bookstores everywhere or from relevant websites. RA and declination are for 2000.

These lists may also be downloaded in text or pdf file formats.

1. The objects on this list are numbered according to the numbers they have in David Levy's book, Deep Sky Objects: The Best and Brightest From Four Decades of Comet Chasing, where his 384 objects are numbered chronologically, that is, according to the order of their being located in the night sky by the author. Therefore, this list provides an instant reference to the objects described in that book. (Renumbering the objects would have added needless confusion, and without an additional numbering system, would have abandoned the ready reference to the wealth of information in the book.)
2. This list has been shortened from over 380 objects in the book to the present 156 objects, in order to harmonize with conventions of previously published RASC Observing Lists. Specifically, from the list in the book, the following objects have been deleted: 76 objects south of Dec. -30 degrees, 58 objects that appear in our Messier Catalogue, 59 objects found on our Finest NGC Objects List (L1 being the single exception), and 7 objects found on our Deep Sky Challenge Objects List. In addition, 16 double or variable stars, 4 asterisms, and the Gegenschein were deleted, though observing them is strongly encouraged. Please refer to the book for information about these additional objects.
3. Object #384. This object refers to an authentic recognition of a previously unnamed asterism, or possibly a compact cluster, of 9 stars of mag. 10 to 11, at the position given, in the constellation Puppis. Lacking an NGC, or other, previous designation, it is now recognized as 'Levy 384'. (L.E.)