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.
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Editorial Reviews
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 Online
'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
"The layout is very well thought out. ... The book is very well indexed to ensure that there is no difficulty in locating objects. ... [The author] works through the objects in a carefully planned and methodical way, ensuring that a minimum of telescope time is employed both in locating objects and in moving from one object to the next. The author explains clearly how to locate each object and gives a short description. ... I would recommend this book to experienced observers who wish to progress beyond the Messier and the Caldwell objects." - Alex Crowther, Astronomy & Space
"...a very good book, whose main strength is its instructions for locating objects. Even if you are not interested in seeing all the Herschel 400 objects, I recommend it as a good mid-range guide to the deep sky." --Journal of the British Astrological Association
Michael Bakich, Astronomy Online
'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
"The layout is very well thought out. ... The book is very well indexed to ensure that there is no difficulty in locating objects. ... [The author] works through the objects in a carefully planned and methodical way, ensuring that a minimum of telescope time is employed both in locating objects and in moving from one object to the next. The author explains clearly how to locate each object and gives a short description. ... I would recommend this book to experienced observers who wish to progress beyond the Messier and the Caldwell objects." - Alex Crowther, Astronomy & Space
"...a very good book, whose main strength is its instructions for locating objects. Even if you are not interested in seeing all the Herschel 400 objects, I recommend it as a good mid-range guide to the deep sky." --Journal of the British Astrological Association
Book Description
In this guide Steve O'Meara leads the observer through the 400 galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters in the Herschel 400 list in a carefully planned and methodical way. Ideal for astronomers who have tackled the Messier objects, this richly illustrated guide will help the amateur astronomer hone their observing skills.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good down to earth method to get there,
By
This review is from: Steve O'Meara's Herschel 400 Observing Guide (Hardcover)
For who is accustomed to lavishly laid-out O'Meara's other guides (the Deep-Sky Companions), well, this is not it. No beautiful sketches taken at the ocular from the master, no thoroughly developed histories of the objects, their discovery and particularities.
Instead, what you have here is a very clearly laid-out plan to tackle the Herschel 400 night by night, month by month, short descriptions to what there is to see and the difficulty of the object, a description of the the nightly star-hop to bag them, and a smallish picture of the object. It reminds me of The Year-Round Messier Marathon Field Guide: With Complete Maps, Charts and Tips to Guide You to Enjoying the Most Famous List of Deep-Sky Objects, in that it is really a guide to get there. In all, a very good book, quite useful if you intend to go deeper than Messier. One thing though (and four stars instead of five)- as compared to his previous guides, the mapping is dissapointing, and the finder maps are quite useless; you will need a good star atlas (Sky & Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas, or Sky Atlas 2000.0, 2nd Deluxe Edition by Wil Tirion (Author), Roger W. Sinnott (Author)) along to tackle the faint fuzzies.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book I really use,
By
This review is from: Steve O'Meara's Herschel 400 Observing Guide (Hardcover)
I use this book every time I go out to knock out another part of the Herschel 400 list. Mr O'Meara has created just the right book for the purpose. I really like his Messier book and the drawings in it are just what I needed to get started with deep sky objects. This book is different, than the Messier book, but is still just what I need to work this much harder list.
By now, I get the principle of what something looks like, and how it looks different than photographs. Now, I just want some help finding the object. This book gives me just what I need to bridge the gap between an atlas and the object I am looking for. I start out with an area of the sky I want to investigate on a particular month. Mr O'Meara's approach takes me from a simple atlas through a practical star hop to the object. Using a simple Dobsonian scope, I am not able to just scan the area for a bright object (like I did with the Messier objects). Instead, I need hints and surrounding stars to hone in to the exact area of sky I will be looking at. The attached photo for each object is just enough to let me know that I am looking at the object I am meant to be seeing. I have not glommed in on a nearby brighter object. I have used the book to find 54 of the 400 so far. The binding is staying in good shape, though some of the pages are warped with dew. This practical book will likely be worn out by my search through these deep sky objects. But like a great text book, I will hold on to it as a testament to the work I did and the things I learned while I was growing in my observing skills.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Herschel 400 seen by the best eyes in Astronomy,
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This review is from: Steve O'Meara's Herschel 400 Observing Guide (Hardcover)
Steve O'Meara is not only one of the most prolific of writers in Astronomy, but also blessed with incredibly sharp vision. He described visually radial banding in the rings of Saturn years before it was proven with the Cassini probe! His sharpness of vision is in evidence by his attention to detail and consistency of presentation that makes Herschel 400 a "must own" field guide for the amateur and professional observer. One word of advice to the visually challenged, some of the Herschel objects are very faint; a large Dobsonian mounted Newtonian telescope of 12" or larger equipped with quality eyepieces will bring out the resolution and details that you might expect to see from the photographs in the book.
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