Sir William Herschel observed and cataloged nearly 2,500 star clusters, nebulae and galaxies during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His was the first large catalog of deep-sky objects, dwarfing Charles Messier's 103-object catalog. Messier's final catalog was published in 1781, the same year Herschel discovered Uranus. In the more recent past, members of the Ancient City Astronomy Club of St. Augustine, Florida, culled 400 objects from Herschel's original catalog. This list, adopted by the Astronomical League as the Herschel 400, is embraced by many amateurs as the observing project they take on after completing the Messier objects.

Observing these nebulae, star clusters and galaxies is a great way to hone your skill with a telescope and become intimately acquainted with the night sky. Below, you'll find links to my observation notes and sketches for each object in the Herschel 400. All observations were made with my 10-inch Meade Starfinder Newtonian. Many of the observations were made at magnifications producing exit pupils between 1-mm and 2-mm in size, which is an excellent range for many deep-sky objects. Among those objects I observed at larger exit pupils, several would have benefitted from higher magnification, and I'm currently re-observing these objects. So please, stop by on occasion to see what's new.

I've organized my observations by NGC number and there are some discrepancies between my list and the Astronomical League list that bear explanation. You may notice I've substituted NGC 650 for NGC 651. Both designations refer to the same planetary nebula, M76 or the Little Dumbbell, and NGC 650 is preferred. NGC 2372, which is the same object as NGC 2371, has been dropped from my list. NGC 6882, which is most likely a duplicate observation of NGC 6885, has also been dropped. To compensate for the loss of two objects, I've added NGC 4039 and NGC 4340 to my list. Both galaxies were observed and cataloged by Herschel. Both are adjacent to objects already in the Astronomical League's observing list, which means they would likely be observed anyway. With the above changes, you'll find links to my observations for 400 discreet objects.

40 | 129 | 136 | 157 | 185 | 205-M110 | 225 | 246 | 247 | 253 | 278 | 288 | 381 | 404 | 436 | 457 | 488 | 524 | 559 | 584 | 596 | 598-M33 "Pinwheel" | 613 | 615 | 637 | 650-M76 "Little Dumbbell" | 654 | 659 | 663 | 720 | 752 | 772 | 779 | 869 & 884-Double Cluster | 891 | 908 | 936 |

1022 | 1023 | 1027 | 1052 | 1055 | 1084 | 1245 | 1342 | 1407 | 1444 | 1501 | 1502 | 1513 | 1528 | 1535 | 1545 | 1647 | 1664 | 1788 | 1817 | 1857 | 1907 | 1931 | 1961 | 1964 | 1980 | 1999 |

2022 | 2024-Flame Nebula | 2126 | 2129 | 2169 | 2185 | 2186 | 2194 | 2204 | 2215 | 2232 | 2244 | 2251 | 2264 | 2266 | 2281 | 2286 | 2301 | 2304 | 2311 | 2324 | 2335 | 2343 | 2353 | 2354 | 2355 | 2360 | 2362-Tau Canis Major Cluster | 2371 | 2392-Eskimo Nebula | 2395 | 2403 | 2419 | 2420 | 2421 | 2422-M47 | 2423 | 2438 | 2440 | 2479 | 2482 | 2489 | 2506 | 2509 | 2527-Half-hearted cluster | 2539 | 2548-M48 | 2567 | 2571 | 2613 | 2627 | 2655 | 2681 | 2683 | 2742 | 2768 | 2775 | 2782 | 2787 | 2811 | 2841 | 2859 | 2903 | 2950 | 2964 | 2974 | 2976 | 2985 |

3034-M82 | 3077 | 3079 | 3115 | 3147 | 3166 & 3169 | 3184 | 3190 & 3193 | 3198 | 3226 & 3227 | 3242-Ghost of Jupiter | 3245 | 3277 | 3294 | 3310 | 3344 | 3377 | 3379-M105 & 3384 | 3395 | 3412 | 3414 | 3432 | 3486 | 3489 | 3504 | 3521 | 3556-M108 | 3593 | 3607 & 3608 | 3610 | 3613 & 3619 | 3621 | 3626 | 3628 | 3631 | 3640 | 3655 | 3665 | 3675 | 3686 | 3726 | 3729 | 3810 | 3813 | 3877 | 3893 | 3898 | 3900 | 3912 | 3938 | 3941 | 3945 | 3949 | 3953 | 3962 | 3982 & 3998 | 3992-M109 |

4026 | 4027 | 4030 | 4036 & 4041 | 4038 & 4039-Ringtail Galaxy | 4051 | 4085 & 4088 | 4102 | 4111 | 4143 | 4147 | 4150 | 4151 | 4179 | 4203 | 4214 | 4216 | 4245 | 4251 | 4258-M106 | 4261 | 4273 & 4281 | 4274 & 4278 | 4293 | 4303-M61 | 4314 | 4346 | 4340 & 4350 | 4361 | 4365 | 4371 | 4394 | 4414 | 4419 | 4429 | 4435 & 4438 | 4442 | 4448 | 4449 | 4450 | 4459 & 4477 | 4473 | 4478 | 4485 & 4490 | 4494 | 4526 | 4527 & 4536 | 4535 | 4546 | 4548-M91 | 4550 | 4559 | 4565 | 4570 | 4594-M104 | 4596 | 4618 | 4631-Whale & 4656-Hockey Stick | 4636 | 4643 | 4654 | 4660 | 4665 | 4666 | 4689 | 4697 | 4698 | 4699 | 4725 | 4753 | 4754 & 4762 | 4781 | 4800 | 4845 | 4856 | 4866 | 4900 | 4958 | 4995 |

5005 & 5033 | 5054 | 5195-M51B | 5248 | 5273 | 5322 | 5363 & 5364 | 5466 | 5473 | 5474 | 5557 | 5566 | 5576 | 5631 | 5634 | 5676 | 5689 | 5694 | 5746 | 5846 | 5866-M102 | 5897 | 5907 | 5982 |

6118 | 6144 | 6171-M107 | 6207 | 6217 | 6229 | 6235 | 6284 | 6287 | 6293 | 6304 | 6316 | 6342 | 6355 | 6356 | 6369 | 6401 | 6426 | 6440 | 6445 | 6451 | 6514-M20 | 6517 | 6520 | 6522 & 6528 | 6540 | 6543-Cat's Eye Nebula | 6544 | 6553 | 6568 | 6569 | 6583 | 6624 | 6629 | 6633 | 6638 | 6642 | 6645 | 6664 | 6712 | 6755 | 6756 | 6781 | 6802 | 6818-Little Gem | 6823 | 6826-Blinking Planetary | 6830 | 6834 | 6866 | 6885 | 6905 | 6910 | 6934 | 6939 | 6940 | 6946 |

7000-North America Nebula | 7006 | 7008 | 7009-Saturn Nebula | 7044 | 7062 | 7086 | 7128 | 7142 | 7160 | 7209 | 7217 | 7243 | 7296 | 7331 | 7380 | 7448 | 7479 | 7510 | 7606 | 7662-Blue Snowball | 7686 | 7723 | 7727 | 7789-White Rose | 7790 | 7814 |

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Revised: July 2, 2003 [WDF]