Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars
Precursor catalogue to the modern New General Catalogue.
Last updated
Hui Yang (University of Illinois) and NASA/ESA · Public domain
William Herschel's initial 1786 publication in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London introduced the Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars.[1] The system of employing letters and catalogue numbers to label celestial objects was pioneered by this catalogue.[2] An uppercase "H" paired with the entry's number served as the designation for each object.[2]
Quick Facts
- First published
- 1786
- Compiler
- William Herschel
- Assistant
- Caroline Herschel
- Total entries initial
- 1000
- Expanded by
- John Herschel (son)
- Final catalogue
- New General Catalogue (NGC) in 1888
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
By 1802, after adding 1,000 entries in 1789 and 500 more in 1802, Herschel's catalogue totaled 2,500 items.[1] A supplement to the General Catalogue was issued by John Louis Emil Dreyer in 1878.[3][4] Dreyer's 1886 proposal for a second supplement was redirected by the Royal Astronomical Society, which instead requested he produce an entirely new compilation.[3]
What the research sources say
Dreyer's 1878 supplement was published in the Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy.[4] The supplement was authored by John Louis Emil Dreyer and based on the work of Sir John F. W. Herschel.[4] The stated date of the supplement is 1878.[4]
References
- Wikipedia, "Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Herschel, "Catalogue of One Thousand New Nebulae and Clusters of Stars", Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 1786, p. 457–499; Herschel, "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, 1789, p. 212; Herschel, "Catalogue of 500 New Nebulae, Nebulous Stars, Planetary Nebulae, and Clusters of Stars; with Remarks on the Construction of the Heav en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Joseph S. Tenn, "Keepers of the Double Stars", Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 29 April 2013, p. 81–93 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dreyer, "A Supplement to Sir John Herschel's "General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars"", Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, 1878, p. 391–426 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Dreyer, "A Supplement to Sir John Herschel's "General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars"", Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, 1878, p. 391–426. facts only, no text reused. archive.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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