Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars

This article is about the William Herschel catalogue. For "Catalogue des nébuleuses et des amas d'étoiles", the 'Nebulae and Star Cluster Catalogue', see Messier catalogue.

The Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars (CN) is an astronomical catalogue of nebulae first published in 1786 by William Herschel, with the assistance of his sister Caroline Herschel. It was later expanded into the General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars (GC) by his son, John Herschel, in 1864. The CN and GC are the precursors to John Louis Emil Dreyer's New General Catalogue (NGC), compiled in 1888 and used by current astronomers.

History

The Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars was first published in 1786 by William Herschel in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London.[1] In 1789, he added another 1,000 entries,[2] and finally another 500 in 1802,[3] bringing the total to 2,500 entries. This catalogue originated the usage of letters and catalogue numbers as identifiers. The capital "H" followed with the catalogue entry number represented the item.[4]

In 1864, the CN was expanded into the General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars (GC) by John Herschel (William's son).[5] The GC contained 5,079 entries. Later, a complementary edition of the catalog was published posthumously as the General Catalogue of 10,300 Multiple and Double Stars. The small "h" followed with the catalogue entry number represented the item.[4]

In 1878, John Louis Emil Dreyer published a supplement to the General Catalogue.[6] In 1886, he suggested building a second supplement to the General Catalogue, but the Royal Astronomical Society asked Dreyer to compile a new version instead. This led to the publication of the New General Catalogue (NGC) in 1888,[7] and its two expansions, the Index Catalogues (IC), in 1895[8] and 1908.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ Herschel, W. (1786). "Catalogue of One Thousand New Nebulae and Clusters of Stars" (PDF). Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 76: 457–499. Bibcode:1786RSPT...76..457H. doi:10.1098/rstl.1786.0027.
  2. ^ Herschel, W. (1789). "Catalogue of a Second Thousand of New Nebulae and Clusters of Stars; with a Few Introductory Remarks on the Construction of the Heavens". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 79: 212–255. Bibcode:1789RSPT...79..212H. doi:10.1098/rstl.1789.0021.
  3. ^ Herschel, W. (1802). "Catalogue of 500 New Nebulae, Nebulous Stars, Planetary Nebulae, and Clusters of Stars; with Remarks on the Construction of the Heavens". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 92: 477–528. Bibcode:1802RSPT...92..477H. doi:10.1098/rstl.1802.0021.
  4. ^ a b Joseph S. Tenn (29 April 2013). "Keepers of the Double Stars". Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage. 16 (1) (published March 2013): 81–93. arXiv:1304.5494. Bibcode:2013JAHH...16...81T. ISSN 1440-2807.
  5. ^ Herschel, J. F. W (1864). "Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 154: 1–137. Bibcode:1864RSPT..154....1H. doi:10.1098/rstl.1864.0001.
  6. ^ Dreyer, J. L. E. (1878). "A Supplement to Sir John Herschel's "General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars"". Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy. 26: 391–426. JSTOR 30079091.
  7. ^ Dreyer, J. L. E. (1888). "A New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars, Being the Catalogue of the Late Sir John F.W. Herschel, Bart., Revised, Corrected, and Enlarged" (PDF). Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society. 49: 1–237. Bibcode:1888MmRAS..49....1D.
  8. ^ Dreyer, J. L. E. (1895). "Index Catalogue of Nebulae Found in the Years 1888 to 1894, with Notes and Corrections to the New General Catalogue". Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society. 51: 185–228. Bibcode:1895MmRAS..51..185D.
  9. ^ Dreyer, J. L. E. (1910). "Second Index Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars; Containing Objects Found in the Years 1895 to 1907, with Notes and Corrections to the New General Catalogue and to the Index Catalogue for 1888–94" (PDF). Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society. 59: 105–198. Bibcode:1910MmRAS..59..105D.