The Astronomers Behind the Historical Surveys

What follows is a brief historical narrative of some of the more important figures in the history of deep sky astronomy during the age of the telescope. Far from being a complete listing, the following does highlight some of the important figures involved in expanding our view of the universe. Once the telescope was invented and accepted as a useful scientific instrument, along with improvements in the optics of both reflectors and refractors, it became possible for various astronomers to carry out systematic surveys of the nighttime sky, cataloging the various objects they encountered along the way.