Observing lists are great way to introduce observers to a sampling of objects to observe. They are always challenging, often surprising, occasionally perplexing, and sometimes boring.
I was delighted to discover last month that I had completed the Herschel 400 Catalogue. I wasn't really on a mission to complete this list, in fact I've been working on it off and on since the summer of 1996, when I bought a Herschel 400 Object Log. The universe isn't going anywhere, so what's the hurry? It's taken me five years to complete this list. It took me longer for the Messier catalogue, and I am darned proud of that fact. In our hobby, there are no performance requirements. We are not at work. No one is judging us. No one is counting how long it takes to observe objects with our own eyeballs. It is up to us. It is one of the few times in our lives that we are in complete control. What we observe is up to us. And so, it was up to me to observe the Herschels, and here is my story.
The version of the log I have been using was produced by Jim Brunkella of Starsplitter Telescopes. I picked it up while volunteering for the week at Universe 96, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific/Astronomy Magazine's summer conference in Santa Clara that year. Over the years I have bought and used many observing books and atlases. I like to use the Herald Bobroff Astro Atlas and the Kepple/Sanner Night Sky Observers Guide right now. In fact my sweetie pie (we were married in January 2000 and still qualify as newlyweds) Mojo and I had to buy a second set of these books so we wouldn't fight over their use when out with some of our nine telescopes. We met observing at Fremont Peak, for those of you newer observers. Now on to the Herschels!!
Rather than tell you about all the 400 objects, or list these objects, I think I'll take you on a stroll down memory lane and describe the most beautiful, the most weird, and the most boring objects in this great catalogue. I record all my observations by hand in observing notebooks. I note where I made the observations and who I was observing with. The small group of friends I observe with sets the observing scene. It's like a celestial travelogue. I like the sensation of the photons smashing into my eye, burning the image into my memory for all time. I like the sound of graphite scratching on paper. I'm old fashioned that way. Plus, when I want to recollect my observing sessions when it's raining or yucky, I pull out the notbook and curl up on a comfy chair and recall the great times I had finding these objects for the first time. Observing is a great hobby, isn't it? We can all enjoy it rain or shine.
I sketch many of the objects I observe. I make vivid notes in my notebooks. I take frequent breaks. I break for the planets, for example. I take long breaks sometimes and become a lunatic for months on end, doing nothing but sketching the moon night after night, or sketching sunspots in the daytime. I take breaks and concentrate on Sidewalk Astronomy when the weather is good. I take breaks to break in new telescopes and redo the Messier catalog. I take breaks to fall in love and get married (and take the obligatory Australian astronomical honeymoon). But between all these breaks, the Herschels were there waiting to be captured.
My white Herschel binder is filled with pages of these objects, organized by season, by constellation, by NGC number. In between each constellation are observing articles I've photocopied from my favorite magazines, Amateur Astronomy and Deep Sky. Tucked in with these articles are observing writeups from the great amateur observers whose writing makes me want to go out and observe as soon as I've read their reports.
My binder is like a favorite book. The paper is soft and pliant from re-reading and page turning. Quick sketches and observing notes litter many pages. Some pages are crinkled from dew. Some are torn from overuse. My binder is a lovers journal of the sky., a sky lovers journal It is a treasured posession and I never go observing without it.
So now it is my great pleasure to take you on a short tour of the Herschel 400 Catalogue. I hope many of you have stumbled upon some of these objects. I insist that those of you who haven't started looking at these objects do so. In fact, I insist! Do not be afraid. Try to find some of them as soon as possible!
These objects are there waiting for you! And darn it, these are all gorgeous objects for you to find and then see with your own eyeballs! Pictures may paint an awesome picture and look fantastic in a frame on the wall or on the computer monitor, but nothing beats a real look at the eyepiece. Nothing beats photons hitting your eye at the eyepiece. Nothing beats observing the majesty of our universe. Yes, we observational observers cherish great photos, but this article is about observing via eyeballs, the Herschel 400.
Small telescope? Yes, you can see many if not all of the Herschel 400! Medium telescope? Enjoy what the Universe has to offer. Large telescope? Take your time and enjoy what is the astronomers say, Apeture rules!
First Herschel observation (after the Messier objects) was on 4/27/97 and 5/3/97. Observing site Holokolokai Petroglyph Beach Park near Kona, Big Island of Hawaii. The telescope I was using was a F/5 15 inch LITEBOX telescope. I repeated these a week later at Dillingham Airfield on Oahu. NGC 4027 and 4038 in Corvus were my first Herschels, and competed with Hale Bopp over the Pacific Ocean that first night. But first, a glorious picnic with the Mauna Kea Astronomical Society and then John Dobson at the eyepiece behind me on the big island of Hawaii. NGC 4038 is the lovely ring-tail galaxy and seeing it for the first time at latitude 21 rather than my home latitude of 37 was splendid! I was off to a great start!
Last Herschel 6/3/00. Fremont Peak F/4.5 17.5 LITEBOX NGC 3962 in Crater. Not too far from Corvus, my first catch. NGC 3962 is a lovely elliptical galaxy. In my big 17.5 scope it was easy to see the bright nucleus and gauzy halo. Only one Herschel in Crater.
My favorite Herschel 10/4/97. First light with Strider, my 12.5 inch LITEBOX at Dillingham Airfield, Oahu: Mag 7 NGC 253 is one of the most beautiful spiral galaxies of all. It presides over the constellation Sculptor. My most recent observation of this object was 8/27/00 at 2:00 am at Glacier Point Yosemite through my 17.5 inch LITEBOX., just three days ago. It's still a favorite of mine. As the Pleiades, Saturn and Jupiter rose near Half Dome, a handful of people were torn away to see the big spiral galaxy.
Most challenging Herschel (aside from the whole Virgo list) was one I had trouble with on 6/13/98. It was NGC 5897 in Libra. Through my 12.5 inch LITEBOX on my back deck this globular cluster in Libra was a toughie for me. Libra has many really great galaxy families like 5915/5915 and 5858/5861 and 5898/5903. But these are not Herschels. There's only one Herschel on the 400 list for this constellation. There are plenty of tough ones. But that just makes it more satisfying when you get to a pretty object.
Favorite friends I've observed Herschels with: On the southern slope of the East Molokai volcano, facing south, I observed NGC 6905, the sweet blue flash planetary nebula in Delphinus. I flew my 12.5 LITEBOX to Molokai and observed with the telescope's mirror maker, Pierre Schwaar and the telescopes maker, Barry Peckham. Pierre is gone now, so that great trip, with three nights observing on Molokai thru three LITEBOXes is a special memory. This was on 5/26/98. It was Pierre, who noticed I had left my clear lens cap on my eyepiece. No wonder we couldn't get Sirius in focus!
Best observing night(s) 9/21/98 at Fiddletown where I logged dozens of objects in Sagittarius, Ophiuchus and around the Milky Way. Other great nights are noted in my logbook. I had several terrific observing nights at the Swing Cafe in Lagunitas in 1998. August 14, 1998 was one of the best, and my first foray into Draco. January 24, 1998 on Mount Tamalpais was the first time I observed Stephen's Quintet in Pegasus through my 12.5 incher. I wen't home after a great night of observing, set up my scope on the back deck at 3:00am and kept on observing, finding the quintet again. NGC 7331 in Pegasus will always be a special object to me because it's a starhop to the quintet. It's a Herschel, too!
What about the E. T. cluster, NGC 457? It's a great object. Or NGC 2440, the mini-bug nebula in Puppis. How about the spindle galaxy in Sextans, NGC 3115. Who doesn't love NGC 6543, the cat's eye nebula in Draco or the little gem planetary in Sagittarius, NGC 6818. The mini-M33, NGC 6946 in Cepheus. Or the little spiral, NGC 6207 near the great Hercules cluster, M013. All these and more are waiting for you to find in the Herschel 400. I'm glad I took the time to go through this list. I made a lot of new friends and visited with old friends along the way.