7 replies to this topic

[ABQJeff]

I have done 111 Objects for Light polluted Skies, Messier Catalog, Caldwell Catalog, Pensack 500, Deep Map 600, TAAS 200, TAC Eye Candy, Herschel I 400, Roger Clark's 610, Illustrated 650 DSOs guide and nearing completion of Menard 400 and Stephen O'Meara's Hidden Treasures and Secret Deep.  So I am trained up to tackle Herschel II! 

 

After playing with my new Night Vision device for a couple nights, I wanted to get back to straight glass observing.  So last night I kicked off Herschel II observations on about 15 galaxies from my driveway (19-20.5 mpsas looking at Zenith down to the East).   Primary instrument C11 Edge with 0.7x reducer (primary eyepieces will be: Morpheus 12.5mm at home and Ethos 13mm at my dark site.)

 

First impressions:  No eye candy here!  Every observation took some level of skill, but I at least detected every one, even a 13.3 mag galaxy.  Great fun!  I love the challenge.

 

And in the end, after I am done I can go back thru and do it all again with the PVS-14!...

 

Jeff

Edited by ABQJeff, 22 May 2025 - 06:35 PM.

[Jay_Reynolds_Freeman]

When doing that gets tired, you could try to chase down all the NGC objects ... :-)

 

Clear sky ...

[cliff mygatt]

I agree, the Herschel IIs were no eye candy but it is cool to follow in the footsteps of Sir William Herschel.  Good luck on your quest and enjoy the night vision rig.

[ABQJeff]

Now at 81 objects observed from my home 19.5 mpsas skies (on average).  While there have been some tough ones I have been able to at least detect everyone (no need to bust out the PVS-14 unless just see it better.)

 

Interestingly a good percentage I had observed before from my other lists (example, a “big” one coming up is East/West Veil).

[Bill Weir]

You know there is really only one Herschel list. 

https://www.stellar-...ing LogBook.pdf

 

I guess if you want to get picky there are also all of the double stars from him and his son.

http://www.handprint...rschel_All.html

 

Then there are also Caroline’s objects. 

https://skyandtelesc...ial-showpieces/

 

Could keep you busy for awhile.

 

Bill

[Redbetter]

I haven't specifically targeted the Herschel 400 II list, although I did do so for the original Herschel 400.  However, I have been slowly working on the H2500, usually a few each session.  Progress has been slow due to the vast majority being galaxies that are best viewed during the wet/overcast season here.  My coverage of Herschel NGC's from 3000 to 5000 is relatively sparse, 6000 to the end in 7800's is complete from what I can tell, as are those below 2000.

 

There are at least two H400 II objects that aren't real:  NGC 1990 and NGC 2253.  (I am not sure why non-existent objects were put on a "best of" list.)  Excluding those, I am at 311 logged, with 87 left to go, possibly fewer.  Similarly, I haven't specifically worked on the Herschel 3 list of 300 objects, although by my count I have done at least 182 of them.  

 

What really slows me down is that I prefer to scout each NGC in Wikisky first. to see if there are other galaxies in the surrounding field, knots, multiple cores, and the like.  Chances are that I won't view most of these NGC's again, so I take the opportunity to view whatever interesting things are nearby. Many/most of the NGC galaxies have other galaxies near, so I end up making finder images to hunt for other objects or penciling in galaxies in Uranometria, and spend much of my time on these dimmer/tougher galaxies.  For NGC 4816 last night, I tracked down 5 CGCG's, 5 PGC's, and one I haven't found a designation for yet--and if the field wasn't drifting into a brighter portion of sky and getting lower I might have bagged a few more.

[Alvin Huey]

The Herschel 400 - II list has two slight modifications in the last 5 years.  As Redbetter said, NGC 1990 and NGC 2253 were deleted.

 

The first revision added NGC 281, 6535, 6729 and 7714, then the second revision deleted those four and added NGC 1985, 4517 and 7492.

 

If you haven't seen it, here is an observing guide for the Herschel 400, Part II.

[ABQJeff]

The Herschel 400 - II list has two slight modifications in the last 5 years. As Redbetter said, NGC 1990 and NGC 2253 were deleted.

The first revision added NGC 281, 6535, 6729 and 7714, then the second revision deleted those four and added NGC 1985, 4517 and 7492.

If you haven't seen it, here is an observing guide for the Herschel 400, Part II.

Thanks! That observing guide is cool. The sketches are wonderful. I am using the Sky Safari list, which contains the false entries, so will be sure to add the updated items.