The Herschel Objects and How to Observe Them (eBook)

James Mullaney is an astronomy writer, lecturer and consultant who has published more than 500 articles and five books on observing the wonders of the heavens, and logged over 20,000 hours of stargazing time with the unaided eye, binoculars and telescopes. Formerly Curator of the Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science in Pittsburgh and more recently Director of the DuPont Planetarium, he served as staff astronomer at the University of Pittsburgh’s Allegheny Observatory and for Spitz Space Systems. He has also been an editor for Sky & Telescope, Astronomy, and Star & Sky magazines. One of the contributors to Carl Sagan’s award-winning Cosmos PBS-Television series, his work has received recognition from such notables as Sir Arthur Clarke, Johnny Carson, Ray Bradbury, Dr. Wernher von Braun, and former student – NASA scientist/astronaut Dr. Jay Apt. In February of 2005, he was elected a Fellow of the prestigious Royal Astronomical Society of London.

Preface 7
Acknowledgments 9
Contents 10
William Herschel's Life, Telescopes and Catalogs 16
Introduction 17
Who Was Sir William Herschel? 17
From Musician to Stargazer 17
Uranus and The King's Astronomer 18
Caroline and Sir John 19
Explorer of the Heavens 20
Herschel's Telescopes 24
Early Instruments 24
A Telescope-Making Business 24
The Small and Large 20-Foot 26
The Great 40-Foot 27
Herschel's Catalogs and Classes 29
Double and Multiple Stars 29
Star Clusters, Nebulae and Galaxies 30
Miscataloged Objects 32
The GC, NGC, and NGC 2000.0 33
Observing Techniques 35
Is This Really Necessary? 35
Dark Adaptation 35
Averted Vision 37
Color Perception 38
Visual Acuity 38
Magnification and Field of View 39
Sky Conditions 40
Record-Keeping 42
Finding Them 43
Personal Matters 45
Exploring The Herschel Showpieces 47
Showpieces of Class I 48
Bright Nebulae 48
Aries 48
Bootes 48
Cancer 49
Canes Venatici 49
Coma Berenices 51
Corvus 52
Delphinus 53
Draco 54
Eridanus 55
Leo 55
Lynx 56
Ophiuchus 57
Pegasus 58
Perseus 59
Sagittarius 61
Scutum 61
Sextans 61
Ursa Major 62
Virgo 63
Showpieces of Class IV 68
Planetary Nebulae 68
Andromeda 68
Camelopardalis 69
Cassiopeia 70
Cepheus 71
Corvus 73
Cygnus 74
Delphinus 75
Draco 75
Eridanus 76
Gemini 77
Hercules 77
Hydra 78
Monoceros 78
Ophiuchus 78
Orion 79
Puppis 80
Sagittarius 81
Taurus 82
Ursa Major 83
Virgo 84
Showpieces of Class V 85
Very Large Nebulae 85
Andromeda 85
Antlia 86
Camelopardalis 87
Canes Venatici 88
Cetus 90
Coma Berenices 92
Cygnus 92
Draco 94
Fornax 94
Leo 95
Orion 95
Sagittarius 96
Sculptor 98
Triangulum 99
Ursa Major 100
Showpieces of Class VI 101
Very Compressed and Rich Clusters of Stars 101
Bootes 101
Cassiopeia 101
Cepheus 102
Coma Berenices 103
Gemini 104
Hydra 106
Libra 106
Monoceros 106
Ophiuchus 107
Orion 108
Perseus 108
Sagittarius 109
Scorpius 110
Sculptor 110
Showpieces of Class VII 111
Compressed Clusters of Small and Large Stars 111
Andromeda 111
Aquila 112
Auriga 112
Camelopardalis 113
Canis Major 114
Cassiopeia 114
Cepheus 115
Cygnus 115
Monoceros 115
Perseus 116
Puppis 116
Sagittarius 117
Taurus 117
Vulpecula 118
Showpieces of Class VIII 120
Coarsely Scattered Clusters of Stars 120
Auriga 120
Cassiopeia 120
Cygnus 121
Lacerta 121
Monoceros 121
Ophiuchus 123
Orion 123
Puppis 123
Scutum 125
Taurus 125
Vulpecula 126
Samples of Classes II & III
Faint Nebulae and Very Faint Nebulae 127
Andromeda 127
Aquila 128
Cassiopeia 128
Cetus 129
Coma Berenices 129
Draco 130
Gemini 130
Hercules 131
Hydra 131
Leo 132
Leo 132
Pegasus 133
Sagittarius 133
Triangulum 134
Virgo 134
Virgo 135
Showpieces Missed by Herschel 136
How Did This Happen? 136
List of Overlooked Showpieces 136
Aquarius 137
Aquila 137
Auriga 137
Camelopardalis 138
Cassiopeia 138
Cepheus 139
Cetus 139
Cygnus 139
Fornax 140
Hercules 140
Lyra 140
Monoceros 140
Ophiuchus 142
Orion 142
Sagittarius 143
Taurus 144
The "Missing" Herschel Objects 145
Where Did They Go? 145
The Disappearance of H VIII-44 146
Some "Nonexistent" Herschel Objects 146
Aquila 147
Aquila 147
Auriga 147
Cancer 147
Canis Major 147
Canis Minor 148
Cepheus 148
Cepheus 148
Cetus 148
Cygnus 148
Cygnus 148
Cygnus 148
Cygnus 148
Delphinus 149
Gemini 149
Monoceros 149
Monoceros 149
Monoceros 149
Orion 149
Orion 149
Puppis 149
Puppis 150
Puppis 150
Sagittarius 150
Sagittarius 150
Taurus 150
Taurus 150
Taurus 150
Taurus 150
Vulpecula 151
Conclusion 152
Herschel's Legacy 152
"The Construction of the Heavens" 152
Making the Photon Connection 154
Herschel Clubs 156
Selected Herschel References 158
Books and Manuals 158
Journal and Magazine Articles 160
Target List of 615 Herschel Objects 161
About the Author 176
Index 178