Steve Gottlieb (amateur astronomer)

Lore & Background

Gottlieb began systematically observing Messier objects in 1977 using a 6-inch reflecting telescope. Over the years he employed many different scopes, observing from dark sky sites near the San Francisco Bay Area, the Sierra Nevada foothills, and star party events in California and elsewhere. By 2017 he had logged all 7,840 entries of the NGC Catalogue, completing the list after several visits to the Southern Hemisphere. His resulting compendium of visual observing reports has become a valuable resource for amateur astronomers.

Gottlieb describes himself as a 'hardcore visual observer', having never developed an interest in astrophotography. For him, 'it's always been about the aesthetics at the eyepiece in a large scope'. As his interests developed, he researched at the nearby UC Berkeley astronomy library, comparing his observations with those of professionals and with the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey. While so doing he discovered numerous errors and conflicting data, so began corresponding with other astronomers including Dr. Harold Corwin of the University of Texas.

Gottlieb became one of the principal investigators of the NGC/IC Project, a collaboration among professional and amateur astronomers to identify and image objects, compile historical observations, and correct mistakes in the NGC and IC catalogues. He also worked with various telescope makers to correct the databases of computerized digital setting circles and GoTo systems, and later gathered the list of objects and wrote descriptions for the 'DeepMap 600', a popular folding star chart.

Reader's Guide

Gottlieb's significance lies in his comprehensive visual survey of the NGC Catalogue, making him the only known person to have visually observed all valid NGC objects. His compendium of observing reports serves as a valuable resource for amateur astronomers seeking to locate and identify deep-sky objects. As a principal investigator of the NGC/IC Project, he helped correct numerous errors and conflicting data in the historic catalogues, working alongside professional astronomers like Dr. Harold Corwin. His contributions also include improving the databases of computerized telescope systems and creating descriptions for the DeepMap 600 star chart. Through his writing as a Contributing editor for Sky and Telescope magazine and his public lectures, Gottlieb has promoted visual observing to a wide audience, emphasizing the aesthetic experience at the eyepiece over astrophotography.

Did You Know?

• Gottlieb earned a master's degree in mathematics at UC Berkeley in 1973.
• He taught high school mathematics in the East Bay for 37 years.
• He became a principal investigator of the NGC/IC Project after discovering errors in the catalogues.