Join me on my quest to view the Herschel 400 list

[emeraldhills]

Hello fellow-star-gazers.  I'm new here. But I'd love for you to join me in my quest of viewing the Herschel 400 List via electronically enhanced visual astronomy. I'm guessing if you're already here in this thread, you already know what that is... and you're probably also familiar with the Herschel list - but just in case, I'll give the three-line introduction. You've probably heard of Sir William Herschel and his sister, Caroline. Together, they discovered over 2500 galaxies, nebulae, and clusters between 1783 and 1802. At this time, the only catalogue in existence was the Messier list, so (for the most part), they tried not to re-list these objects. So the Herschel list becomes a bit of a more challenging list for those who have already cut their teeth on the Messier list. The Herschels were using, for the most part, a 20-inch scope. But some have said that their 20-inch homemade scope was probably (roughly) the equivalent of a six-inch scope today. In 1976, a guy named James Mullaney suggested (in a letter to Sky & Telescope) that "The total count of the Herschel objects is inconveniently large." He recommended the creation of a "Herschel Club" of those who have viewed the most interesting of these objects. He culled the list down to 615. Over the next couple of years, others reworked the list even further. It was the Ancient City Astronomy Club (ACAC) in St. Augustine, FL, who made a final recommendation of what then became a finite list of 400 of the most interesting objects that the Herschels discovered. Since then, many have undertaken to view this list. The Astronomical League even has an observing program (and special recognition) for those who follow their protocols in observing the list -- https://www.astroleague.org/al/obsclubs/herschel/h400lstc.html . 

My goal isn't to turn in my observations for a certificate. But I am indeed trying to live stream my efforts to walk through all 400 objects. You can follow along with me real-time whenever I live stream, or you can catch up via recorded video by watching the videos on YouTube. There are 13 segments so far. The entire playlist is here: 

 But if you'd rather just watch the most recent video (the 13th chapter, so to speak), just skip to this video:

There are a couple of disclaimers:

First, I'm still relatively new. (I started doing EEVA/EAA just 18 months or so ago. What's more, I'm still fairly new as an active observer. Though I tried astronomy for a spell back around 2006 (with an 8-inch SCT), I found it to be very lonely (if not spooky), and the faint smudges were incredibly difficult for me to see and follow. EEVA/EAA has changed all that. The Live Streams are much more fun (since I'm usually now observing real-time with a group!). And now that I have an observatory, I'm super-spoiled with start-up and tear-down times of roughly 10 minutes or so. (It takes longer to set up the live stream than it does to open up the observtory!) So I'm still learning big-time as I go. I keep saying, "I'm an explorer, not a guide," and I really, really mean it. But if you'd like to come along and explore with me, you're invited!

To join me real-time, you could subscribe to the YouTube channel at https://www.YouTube.com/c/EmeraldHillsSkies or sign up to receive email notifications by sending an email to emeraldhillsskies+subscribe@googlegroups.com . Learn more at https://emeraldhillsskies.com/  -- or, just click "Follow Topic" to this thread. I'll try to remember to add a post to this thread around 24 to 48 hours before I live stream each time. 

You can follow my progress on a spreadsheet at https://emeraldhillsskies.com/resources/ . As you can see, as of this post, I have around 184 objects yet to go. The spreadsheet there lists the entire Herschel 400 list and has a column to show which ones I've observed (among other things). 

So please - come along on this journey with me. You're invited! Thanks again for allowing me to post here. I hope to see you on a future live stream!

Doug

 

PS. Here's a list of the equipment I'm using to tackle the Herschel 400:

• Optical Tube Assembly: 11-inch Celestron Rowe-Ackermann Schmidt Astrograph telescope
• Mount: iOptron CEM70G
• Primary Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
• Camera interface: Octopi-Astro RASA 11 Camera Adaptor
• Observatory: Pier-Tech Tele-station 2
• Pier: Pier-Tech Adjustable-Height Pier
• Dew Shield: Celestron 11 RASA Aluminum Dew Shield
• Filter: Celestron Light-Pollution Imaging Filter
• Focus Motor: Celestron Focus Motor
• Equipment Plate on top the scope by Losmandy
• Power supply mounted on that equipment plate: Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox Micro
• USB hub mounted on that equipment plate: Pegasus Astro USB Control Hub
• All-Sky Camera mounted on that equipment plate: ZWO ASI178MM
• Focusing Software: NINA with Hocus Focus plug-in by George Hilios (jokogeo)
• Streaming software: OSB with Stream Deck
• Planetarium software: Starry Night Pro Plus by Simulation Curriculum
• Imaging (EAA) software: Sharpcap 4.0.92460 by Robin Glover
• Portable operating solution: iCron USB Raven 3124 USB 3-2-1 Extender operating indoors, approximately 200 feet from the observatory, with data being transported via fiber-optic cable
• 12V Power distributed by a power distribution by RIGrunner 4005i by West Mountain Radio
• 12V Power supply homemade using a MEAN WELL LRS-350-12 348W 12V 29 Amp Single Output Switchable Power Supply
• 110V Power distributed by a Tripp Lite 14 Outlet Network-Grade Rackmount PDU, 15A Surge Protected Power Strip, 15ft Cord with 5-15P
• Rack at base of scope: Gator Cases Pro Series Rotationally Molded 4U Rack Case with Shallow 13″ Depth; (G-PRO-4U-13)

---

Thanks again!

Doug

 

Edited September 10, 2022 by emeraldhills

[M40]

Excellent videos Doug, thanks for posting 👍 Always good to see what people are using, not jealous of the pier tech pier at all   

[emeraldhills]

Thanks so much for checking them out, M40. As I said, I'm a fellow-struggler. But it means a lot that someone would cheer on a fellow struggler! : ) We'll keep trying. : )

 

Doug

[Mike JW]

Hi Doug,

A good idea to set yourself a defined target - it will drag you out of bed when you wish to stay tucked up.

Mike

[emeraldhills]

7 hours ago, Mike JW said:

Hi Doug,

A good idea to set yourself a defined target - it will drag you out of bed when you wish to stay tucked up.

Mike

hahahaha You're so right, Mike. What's more, I began noticing - if I don't work my way through one of these lists, I tend just to bounce back and forth between the same old targets all the time. By contrast, working through a list like the Herschel 400, I'm always able to observe something new that I haven't seen before! 

 

Thanks for the encouragement.

[Marvin Jenkins]

I am looking forward to following this thread although I am not in a position to do EAVA? Is there a norm for this yet? 
I do understand that the initials are different between the States and the UK and Europe.

I have a tentative 100% of the M list (M68 was hit or miss) and I have read a great deal about the preliminary Herschel 400 and have just twenty due to other observations.

Your work in this field will no doubt push me to get out there and try for the end goal. Nice one.

Marv

[emeraldhills]

8 hours ago, Marvin Jenkins said:

I am looking forward to following this thread although I am not in a position to do EAVA? Is there a norm for this yet? 
I do understand that the initials are different between the States and the UK and Europe.

I have a tentative 100% of the M list (M68 was hit or miss) and I have read a great deal about the preliminary Herschel 400 and have just twenty due to other observations.

Your work in this field will no doubt push me to get out there and try for the end goal. Nice one.

Marv

Marv, your message is very encouraging. 

No one is really setting a standard. You get to set up your own rig however you like. You can use whatever acronyms make sense to you. This forum prefers the acronym EEVA (electronically enhanced visual astronomy), but others have used simply, "EAA" -- electronically-assisted astronomy. The point is ...

• "Fast" scope if possible (though any scope will do, of course)
• Live-stacking (so... observe via a camera and software rather than through an eyepiece)
• Enjoy observing the object in real-time (rather than post-processing it to produce something afterward)

That's all there is to it.

Keep us posted and good luck!

Edited September 14, 2022 by emeraldhills

[emeraldhills]

Please join us tomorrow night, Wednesday, Sept. 14, from 10pm until midnight ET, as we continue our quest to tackle the entire Herschel 400 list. We have just 184 targets to go. (Check out our progress at https://emeraldhillsskies.com/resources/ .) Stop by for 2 minutes or the whole 2 hours. Look for us at https://www.YouTube.com/c/EmeraldHillsSkies/videos . Hope to see you there! (Below: Herschel 28-5, NGC 2024, the Flame Nebula, B33, 1290 seconds (i.e., 21 minutes total), 129 subframes captured on a RASA with a ZWO ASI2600 MC Pro using Sharpcap 4 with live-stacking; zero post-processing.)

[Marvin Jenkins]

I will be watching.👍

[emeraldhills]

Marvin! That would be so cool! I'll watch for you. Please say something in the comments. But ... if you're in France, this will be sooooooooooo late for you. I'm so sorry.

Doug

[emeraldhills]

Next installment of objects -- Tonight was Part 14 of the Herschel 400 list. 170 to go!

 

[Mike JW]

Hi Doug,

Joining you for a live stream is of course not on for me as it would have meant getting up for 3am!!!

I have scanned through your latest 'stream' - you make rapid progress with such a sophisticated set up. 

A few thoughts - whenever I have gone for objects that are low down (visually or via EAA) less than 20 degrees above the horizon I have for most of the time regretted it.  Waiting until they are higher (30 degrees plus above horizon) brings a noticeable improvement. I think you would be amazed at how much more you would see when the objects are high/higher in the sky.

In my initial days of EAA I even use to get out there in a full moon and achieve some good results but now I realise how poor they are compared to the no moon visits.

NGC 488 - the image below is from a piece of astro software - Your setup should easily achieve that in around 5 minutes under good conditions - steady and transparent skies, minimal/no moon and when it is high in the sky.

 Have fun, Mike

Edited September 15, 2022 by Mike JW

[emeraldhills]

Mike, thanks for checking out the videos. We COMPLETELY understand about the timing. I wish I could change things regarding time zones! haha

Appreciate your thoughts about objects lower on the horizon and in moonlight. I guess that's one of the great things about this hobby: You get to decide what's best for you. I respect greatly your desire to see an object at its best. At the same time, for me, part of the joy of observing is (as I've mentioned in the live streams) that I don't WANT to back off for moonlight, partly because of the challenge itself. You see, for me anyway, I just need the "reps." I'm new enough at this that I still want to develop the "muscle memory" and, from my mind, if I don't stay out there in every possible situation, then I just feel like I'm missing out on the opportunity to grow as an observer. So at the end of the day, it's not about maximizing the beauty of the object. It's about making the MOST of the object under the circumstances of that evening. Maybe there will come a time when my standards are so high that I won't want to observe an object when it's only at 12 degrees -- or when the moon is at 90%. But for now, I'm loving these targets under all conditions.

But I'm sure there's a bit about me that's crazy like that. : )

Thanks again for stopping by!

Doug

[Marvin Jenkins]

Sorry Doug the 4am getup for me just didn’t happen. 
I watched your vid this morning and thought it very good. I will continue to follow, keep up the good work.

Marv

[emeraldhills]

Marvin, I just figured the timing would make it challenging. But it's super-encouraging that you checked out the video this morning. Thanks so much for the encouragement. Let's keep tackling this stuff together!

 

Doug

[Mike JW]

Hi Doug,

Over the decades I have always enjoyed the fact that this hobby offers so many ways to enjoy it - I remember those times when I was so determined to see what was possible - scope covered in frost, my overcoat glistening, the moon looking as if I could reach up and almost touch it or hunkered down behind a large bush with a small scope as strong winds rushed over the top.

Age takes it's toll, so these days I am very choosy as to when to head out under the stars.

I shall continue to watch your progress through the Herschel Objects.

Cheers,

Mike

[emeraldhills]

57 minutes ago, Mike JW said:

Hi Doug,

Over the decades I have always enjoyed the fact that this hobby offers so many ways to enjoy it - I remember those times when I was so determined to see what was possible - scope covered in frost, my overcoat glistening, the moon looking as if I could reach up and almost touch it or hunkered down behind a large bush with a small scope as strong winds rushed over the top.

Age takes it's toll, so these days I am very choosy as to when to head out under the stars.

I shall continue to watch your progress through the Herschel Objects.

Cheers,

Mike

 I can picture you doing all that Mike. Thanks so much for your faithfulness throughout the years! I hope and pray we can all be so faithful.

[Davesellars]

This is quite a project! I've had time to see through one of your videos so far (in the UK so unlikely to get to join in on one realtime - but you never know!), and impressed by your videos - it's a nice setup you've got!  I'm just getting into EAA myself so it's a bit of a journey although I've been a visual observer for many years - it's nice to be able to see more and deeper.

Well done and kudos for doing all this in realtime in Youtube!  Keep going - it's inspirational work!

 

[emeraldhills]

Dave, thanks so much for encouraging a fellow-struggler! Astronomy USED to be a rather lonely place. Now it feels like a team sport! Let’s keep learning together!!!

 

Doug