The handbook Astronomy (Handbuch für Sternfreunde), edited by G.D. Roth, will soon appear in its fourth edition. Newly written by 25 authors, the two volumes contain an additional chapter: Extragalactic Objects. The intention of my 50-page contribution to these volumes is to show the amateur astronomer that extragalactic work is not disappointing, ending in the northern sky with a fuzzy picture of the Andromeda Nebula.

The former editions of Roth’s handbook were mainly characterized by the statement that the observation of extragalactic objects is beyond the capabilities of the amateur. In the last ten years the situation has drastically changed, especially because of new photographic techniques and sensitive emulsions and the availability of CCD’s even for amateur astronomers. Small telescopes are no hindrance to doing interesting extragalactic work.