Product Description

The Herschel 400 is a list of 400 galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters, picked from over 2,500 deep-sky objects discovered and catalogued by the great eighteenth-century astronomer Sir William Herschel and his sister Caroline. It comprises 231 galaxies, 107 open clusters, 33 globular clusters, 20 planetary nebulae, 2 halves of a single planetary nebula, and 7 bright nebulae. In this guide Steve O'Meara takes the observer through the list, season by season, month by month, night by night, object by object. He works through the objects in a carefully planned and methodical way, taking in some of the most dramatic non-Messier galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters in the night sky. Ideal for astronomers who have tackled the Messier objects, this richly illustrated guide will help the amateur astronomer hone their observing skills.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #72551 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 380 pages

Review
'O'Meara takes a list of admittedly faint objects and injects new life into them. Right or wrong, many amateur astronomers won't consider you a top-level observer until you've completed the Herschel 400. Don't do it for them, however. Pick up this book, set up your telescope, and do it for yourself. It's a lot of fun.' Michael Bakich, Astronomy.com

'If you want to see more obscure objects than those in the Messier catalogue, try the Herschel 400. … The book is also well thought out because it looks at the objects on a seasonal and monthly basis. Each month is then subdivided into seven observing nights, ideally near new Moon, that should allow enough time to view all the objects for that month. … This book is a great way of pushing beyond the popular Messier catalogue to broaden your viewing horizons.' BBC Sky at Night Magazine

'O'Meara is well known for his columns in both Sky & Telescope and Astronomy magazines as well as his previous three books on deep-sky observing. The Herschel guide is a bit different from his previous ones as, due to the larger number of objects presented, there are only short descriptions of each one along with an image from the DSS. The book starts with a short introduction to deep-sky observing and then the meat of the book is divided into … sections that cover when to observe objects by season. … it is a far better guide to the Herschel objects that the one available from the AL. It is well presented … to be recommended to observers looking for an organized project with medium-sized telescopes after completing the Messier list.' The Observatory

'O'Meara … a world-renowned visual observer, has now produced a comprehensive guide to the Herschel 400, using notes from his own observations …The most useful parts of the book are the meticulously detailed instructions for star hopping to each object, starting with a familiar naked-eye start and then homing in on the target step-by-step using readily identifiable star patterns. These instructions are obviously the work of someone who knows and loves the sky. … the Herschel 400 Observing Guide is a very good book, whose main strength is its instructions for locating objects. Even if you are not interested in seeing all of the Herschel 400 objects, I recommend it as a good mid-range guide to the deep sky.' Journal of the British Astronomical Association

'… very nicely produced … very well thought out. … very well indexed…' Astronomy and Space

About the Author
Steve O'Meara earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Northeastern University and has spent much of his career on the editorial staff of Sky & Telescope magazine.The Texas Star Party gave him its Omega Centauri Award for 'advancing astronomy through observation, writing, and promotion, and for his love of the sky,' and the International Astronomical Union named asteroid 3637 O'Meara in his honor. Among his many astronomical achievements, he was the first to sight Halley's Comet on its 1985 return; he noticed the dark 'spokes' in Saturn's B ring before the Voyager 1 spacecraft imaged them; and he was the first person to determine the rotation period of the distant planet Uranus. A superb writer, photographer and naturalist, Steve O'Meara enjoys traveling the world with his wife, Donna Donovan O'Meara, to document volcanic eruptions. Their work has appeared in the National Geographic magazine, and on television. He is sought after internationally for his dynamic lectures on astronomy and volcano topics. Steve is also a contract videographer for National Geographic Digital Motion.

Customer Reviews

Lacking the heart of previous work.
The Herschel 400 is a list of 400 objects catalogued by the eighteenth century astronomers Caroline and William Herschel. I put Caroline's name first here because she apparently made a couple of new discoveries, not on Messier's list, and this prompted William to start his own in-depth search for new "nebulae". Working together the search produced over 2,500 objects of which the most impressive 400 were chosen to create the Herschel 400 catalogue. Objects in this catalogue include galaxies, open clusters, planetary nebulae, bright nebulae and globular clusters.

If you have exhausted the Messier and Caldwell catalogues, then the Herschel 400 may well be next on your list. O'Meara has listed these objects month by month for ease of observing. He tells you clearly how to locate each object and gives a general (usually short) description for each object. Black and white images as well as wide-field and narrow-field star charts accompany the text to make location of the objects easier. All the objects are listed in Appendix A, there is an Appendix B checklist of the 400, and there is a good index. But I find the book is a let-down after the superb Messier objects, Caldwell Objects and Hidden Treasures all written by O'Meara, and all incidentally also published by Cambridge.

So what went wrong? In my opinion, if you have a winning formula stick with it! If it ain't broke don't fix it. Several things have changed from the winning formula, none of which I personally find an improvement. The first and most important part that is missing as far as I'm concerned is the superb in-depth description of objects as given in his previous works. The general descriptions given in the Herschel 400 are short, accurate and clinical - not much "heart and soul" has gone into this work. I have a feeling that this book was turned out rather quickly - although I could easily be wrong on this. Other small changes in detail also annoy. Although this is published by Cambridge just like Messier objects, Caldwell objects and Hidden Treasures, the book is a different format from the others (27.6 x 21.8 x 3 cm) and sticks out noticeably on the shelf from the others - why? O.K. so it's not in the Deep-Sky Companions series of books - but then you might ask, why again? Stephen James O'Meara has also become Steve O'Meara on the cover of the Herschel 400 - sorry, but none of these changes improve things for me at all. Finally the price! This book is really rather expensive, even for a specialist readership.

So to summarise. If you want a book of the Herschel 400 objects, how to find them, what they look like, and a general description of them - this is the book. But be prepared for disappointment. If you have enjoyed the Messier objects, the Caldwell objects and Hidden Treasures half as much as I have, then the Herschel 400 will leave you feeling let down. I just don't get the impression that O'Meara's heart and soul went into this one. And once again, did I mention the price?