Introduction

James Mullaney; Wil Tirion

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511933790.001

Branchett, B., Observe: The Herschel Objects, The Astronomical League, East Peoria, IL, 1980. The original manual for observing the 400 Herschel objects selected as targets for the US-based Astronomical League's Herschel 400 Club. (See below for its sequel which contains an additional 400 objects.) For more information, go to: http://astroleague.org/al/obsclubs/herschel/hers400.html

Bratton, M., The Complete Guide to the Herschel Objects, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, publication due 2011. This major new observing reference provides a complete re-examination of William Herschel's entire catalogue of some 2,500 star clusters and nebulae (many of the latter being galaxies, unrecognized as such in his time), while retracing the footsteps of this great astronomer's life as an observer and telescope maker. Contains detailed notes about each object's visual appearance (including those considered lost or nonexistent), and includes hundreds of images of the most fascinating wonders supplemented by dozens of eyepiece sketches. This amazing book is destined to become the ultimate reference on Sir William's pioneering discoveries.

Burnham, Jr. R., Burnham's Celestial Handbook, Volumes 1, 2 and 3, Dover Publications, New York, 1978. One of the most comprehensive guidebooks to the heavens ever written, this modern classic covers some 7,000 celestial wonders including many Herschel objects. Simply a “must have”!

Clerke, A., The Herschels and Modern Astronomy, Cassell and Company, London, 1895. A charming overview of all three Herschels and their impact on astronomy of the time.

Cole, C. and Pratt, C., Observe: The Herschel II Objects, The Astronomical League, West Burlington, IA, 1997. A follow-up manual to the original roster (see above), giving 400 more Herschel objects selected as targets for the US-based Astronomical League's Herschel Club.

Dreyer, J. L. E., New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars, Royal Astronomical Society, London, 1971. The ultimate reference covering all of the discoveries of both William and John Herschel (including those objects actually found by Caroline Herschel).

Dreyer, J. L. E. (ed.), Scientific Papers of Sir William Herschel, The Royal Society, London, 1912. This compendium, reprinted jointly by the Royal Society and the Royal Astronomical Society, is an extremely valuable reference for those desiring to read William Herschel's published papers without having access to the Philosophical Transactions in which they originally appeared.

Evans, D., Herschel at the Cape, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 1969. A work devoted exclusively to the many discoveries of Sir John Herschel during his famous survey of the southern sky at Cape Town, South Africa.

Frommert, H., The Interactive NGC Catalog Online. A superb Internet resource for the latest updated version of the original NGC and its two Index Catalogues. Also contains images of each object from the Digital Sky Survey. To access it go to www.seds.org/~spider/ngc/ngc.html or simply enter its title in your computer's search window.

Hartung, E., Astronomical Objects for Southern Telescopes, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998. Perhaps the ultimate descriptive work on the visual appearance of deep-sky wonders of all types as seen from the Southern Hemisphere. (Also includes many objects visible from the Northern Hemisphere.)

Hirshfield, A. and Sinnott, R., Sky Catalogue 2000.0, Volume 2, Sky Publishing and Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1985. A companion volume to Wil Tirion's famed Sky Atlas 2000.0, it contains data on thousands of deep-sky wonders plotted in the Atlas itself including many Herschel objects (listed by their NGC numbers only).

Holden, E. S., Sir William Herschel, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1881. An excellent in-depth account of William's life and work – one of the very finest ever written.

Hoskin, M., The Herschel Partnership: As Viewed by Caroline, Science History Publications Ltd., London, 2003. Offers fascinating new insights into the working relationship between Sir William and his devoted sister by a noted historian of astronomy.

Hoskin, M., William Herschel and the Construction of the Heavens, Norton and Norton, New York, 1964. Yet another, earlier contribution by Hoskin, focusing on Sir William's cosmology.

King, H. C., The History of the Telescope, Dover Publications, New York, 2003. Has one of the best concise accounts to be found of William Herschel's life, telescopes, and work.

Lubbock, C., The Herschel Chronicle: The Life Story of William Herschel and His Sister Caroline Herschel, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1933; reprinted by the William Herschel Society, London, in 1997. One of the most in-depth accounts of these two Herschels ever published.

Mullaney, J., The Herschel Objects and How to Observe Them, Springer-Verlag, New York, 2007. An upbeat, non-technical overview of the subject by the co-author of this Atlas emphasizing the pleasure to be derived from observation of these objects. Features images and descriptions of 165 of the best showpieces from Sir William's catalog.

Mullaney, J., Celestial Harvest: 300-Plus Showpieces of the Heavens for Telescope Viewing & Contemplation, Dover Publications, New York, 2002. This work, originally self-published in 1998, contains extensive descriptions of many of the finest Herschel objects by both classic and modern-day observers.

O'Meara, S. J., Steve O'Meara's Herschel 400 Observing Guide, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2007. Comprehensive coverage of the Herschel Club's original target list of 400 objects written by the foremost visual observer in the world today. Features detailed finder charts, vivid descriptions, and eyepiece sketches of each entry.

Sidgwick, J. B., William Herschel, Explorer of the Heavens, Faber and Faber, London, 1953. Comprehensive work by a noted British authority on observational astronomy.

Sinnott, R. W. (ed.), NGC 2000.0, Sky Publishing Corporation and Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, MA, and London, 1988. An updated and corrected version of Dreyer's original NGC and its two Index Catalogues for the current standard positional Epoch 2000.0.

Smyth, W. H., The Bedford Catalogue, being Volume Two of A Cycle of Celestial Objects, Willmann-Bell, Inc., Richmond, VA, 1986. This reprinted classic from 1844 is the one that really “started it all” in terms of turning observers on to the fascinating world of deep-sky observing with small instruments. It contains detailed and often very quaint descriptions of the visual appearance of many of the brighter Herschel objects using Sir William's original designations.

Sulentic, J. and Tifft, W., The Revised New General Catalogue of Nonstellar Astronomical Objects, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ, 1973. The comprehensive update of the original NGC containing the notorious “nonexistent” Herschel objects based on the Palomar Sky Survey photographic plates.

Steinicke, W., Revised NGC and IC Catalog. This superb Internet resource offers the very latest data available online for the original NGC and its two Index Catalogues. To access it, go to the site for The Interactive NGC Catalog Online (see above) and click on the Revised NGC/IC data link shown.

Steinicke, W., Observing and Cataloguing Nebulae and Star Clusters: From Herschel to Dreyer's New General Catalogue, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2010. The fascinating history of the discovery, observation, description and cataloguing of star clusters and nebulae in the nineteenth century has largely gone untold – until now! This well-researched volume is the first comprehensive historical study of the NGC itself, and is an important resource for those interested in the history of astronomy in general and visual deep-sky observing in particular. It covers the people, observatories, telescopes and techniques used during this golden age of discovery, as well as many prominent deep-sky wonders themselves.

Webb, T. W., Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2010. First published in 1859 as a single volume, this charming classic quickly became the most beloved and used guidebook of its day, and its popularity has continued right up to the present time despite being out-of-print. In later editions, it was split into two volumes containing nearly 4,000 targets (the majority being double and multiple stars). With the exception of the Messier objects, the clusters and nebulae described in it were given with their original Herschel (as well as NGC) designations. This classic is once more available as a self-contained single volume in this new edition from Cambridge.