Herschel and Hisschel

By Aaron B. Clevenson, ALCor

Welcome to the 10th article on Astronomical League Club certifications. This month we will we go beyond Messier, beyond Caldwell, to the pair of ultimate certifications: The Herschel 400 Club and the Herschel II Club.

So what do you do? You’ve seen all the basic stuff, all the easy stuff, but you crave for more. Where do you go? You follow in the footsteps of Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel. Of the 8000 or so objects in the NGC (New General Catalog), Herschel found 2477 of them. The first list, the Herschel 400, is a collection of mostly faint, inconspicuous objects that will take patience and tenacity to find. A 6-inch scope can do it, but it is a challenge. The second list, Herschel II (or as I refer to it, Hisschel, after all, we don’t want to be discriminatory…), is where you go when you have completed this first list. Herschel II is a collection of very faint objects (magnitudes 11 through 13), doable, but very challenging. A 10-inch scope is needed to see some of the more difficult objects. I haven’t done this one yet. In fact, only 26 people have done it at all (plus Herschel himself of course). And then there are 1677 more objects that Herschel found: that’s Herschel III through Herschel VI? Be sure to keep good records (the usual information) and to sketch what you see.

So what do you give someone who has everything (met all the other challenges)? Why matching His(schel) and Her(schel) certifications. May the Force be with you! You’ll need it for these. Join us next month when we drop back to a world more aligned with reality (for most of us) the Binocular Deep Sky and Southern Sky Binocular Club certifications. Until then, Happy Hunting!