We are very pleased to present what is the first major star atlas devoted to the observation of the “Herschel objects” – some 5,000 star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies collectively discovered by Sir William Herschel, his sister Caroline, and son Sir John. With the widespread growing popularity of viewing these wonders of the heavens by amateur astronomers today, the need for such a work clearly exists. The one classic atlas that identified some of those objects found by William Herschel, using his designations (329 of them), was Norton's Star Atlas in all of its first 17 editions. Sadly, all later revised and redrawn versions – initially re-titled Norton's 2000.0 and currently back to the original Norton's Star Atlas – dropped these labels, to the dismay of observers. While this new atlas is primarily designed with observation of star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies in mind, it also serves as a general purpose guide for exploring all types of deep-sky objects, showing as it does many prominent double and multiple stars, variable stars, asterisms, and the majestic Milky Way itself. Additionally, it may be viewed as a companion volume to our previous work, The Cambridge Double Star Atlas, first published in 2009. Between these two publications, the long-standing lack of recognition accorded the discoveries of the Herschels, and those of the classic double star observers, by celestial cartographers has finally been rectified.
Who were the Herschels?
Sir William Herschel
William Herschel was without question the greatest visual observer who ever lived.