My first Magazine Sky & Telescope - 03.2019 | Página 37

noted several faint galaxies. I was able to locate three of them
through the 21-inch scope: PGC 1929454, PGC 1924297,
and PGC 40071. They are all within 15′ of the star. IC 4470
near NGC 5712 (both galaxies) is an example of a possible
Herschel object that I observed, though it’s not on the origi-
nal list of 2,500. In fact, I found that IC 4470 was actually
easier to spot than NGC 5712.
PGC 40071
Final Tally
Do I believe that I’ve spotted all of the visible Herschel
objects? Probably, but I’m not sure that any of us who went
on this quest can say that with complete certainty. One dif-
fi culty arises from of the method of recording object positions
by astronomers in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Charles
Messier, Pierre Méchain, William Herschel, and others didn’t
use coordinates consistently in their catalogs. They also gave
positions in relation to nearby stars or other deep-sky objects.
Mistakes were made when later astronomers tried to match
the descriptions of the object positions to right ascension
and declination — M91 and possibly M103 are examples of
Messier objects with mistaken identities.
How many Herschel objects are observable? I’ve found
that the totals vary from 2,397 to 2,520. How many have
I logged? I counted 2,517. Subtracting the duplicates and
multiple listings for NGC 2264 (cluster and nebula) and
M20 (four sections of the Trifid Nebula), my total number
of actual galaxies, clusters, nebulae, stars, multiple stars,
and asterisms is 2,477.
Besides these 2,500+ objects, Wolfgang Steinicke has
identified 55 more objects that Herschel observed but didn’t
include in his three separate catalogs that eventually became
his complete listing of 2,500 objects. I checked Wolfgang’s list
and noted that I had observed 27 of them. I haven’t decided
yet whether I will try for the remaining 28. I need a rest from
searching for what some of us call faint fuzzies.
I estimate that someone with experience, good vision, a
dark-sky observing site, and the desire for the hunt can find
all of William Herschel’s deep-sky objects with scopes of 14 to
16 inches. Good luck to all who try this quest. You have to be
obsessed, crazy, or both to attempt this. I feel I was both.
¢ TOM REILAND has been observing the night sky for more
than 45 years. He worked at the Allegheny Observatory as the
Assistant Astronomer for 22 years and Senior Observer 10 of
PGC 1929454
PGC 1924297
p COULD IT BE? NGC 4317 was listed as a faint star by Herschel. Tom
Reiland couldn’t fi nd the star when he observed the fi eld but did spot
three galaxies, all within 10′ of the given position (box). Could one of the
galaxies be the actual object Herschel observed?
those years, and then founded and became director of the
Wagman Observatory. Along with Tom Hoffelder, Tom is one
of several independent originators of the Messier Marathon in
1975. In July 1985 Tom discovered an open cluster subsequent-
ly named Reiland 1 (see S&T: Nov. 1988, p. 582), and in 2004 he
was honored with the naming of asteroid (10320) Reiland. He
was also the fi rst to report the discovery of SN 2011dh in M51.
FURTHER READING: See “The Herschel Sprint” by Mark Bratton
in the April 2015 issue of Sky & Telescope (page 34) for an account of
an extraordinary night of observing by William and Caroline Herschel.
HERSCHEL CATALOG RESOURCES: Jim Mullaney, Wolfgang
Steinicke, and David Bishop all supplied the author with useful in-
formation in his searches. Here are some links:
messier.seds.org/xtra/similar/herschel.html
www.klima-luft.de/steinicke/index_e.htm
Tracking Down Designations
The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) Digitized Sky Survey website (https://is.gd/stsci_dss) locates objects by
their designations. This is useful for identifying sources’ true names. Just input the object designation in the search bar, and
the website will return results indicating whether or not the object is truly known by that name or if it goes by another one
(for example, if it has another NGC number other than the one entered). You can also retrieve an image of the ¿ eld.
Another useful website for this purpose is the SIMBAD database maintained by the University of Strasbourg:
simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/
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