| Back around 1980, the Ancient City Astronomy Club (ACAC) initiated a list of 400 deep sky objects to observe as an observing program for it's members. This was done based upon a letter in Sky & Telescope magazine by James Mullaney (of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) who suggested a list of Sir William Herschel objects be generated for observing after completing the Messier list of objects. This list, known as the "Herschel 400", has gained popularity over the years, and has become a much sought after award by serious amateur astronomers. A more extensive write-up of the history of the program, and the actual list of objects comprising the list, is available on the Astronomical League's web site ( http://www.astroleague.org/al/obsclubs/herschel/hers400.html ). Because Sir William Herschel discovered almost 2500 objects, which became part of the New General Catalog (NGC), all of the objects contained in the Herschel 400 list, have assigned NGC designations. It is with this in mind that we present the Herschel 400, based upon the list on the Astronomical League's web site (as as linked above). |
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