The Complete Guide to the Herschel Objects Author: Mark Bratton Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 978-0-5217-6892-4 Price: £45 (Hb), 584pp
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It’s time to dust off your telescopes and binoculars, leave your laptops behind and go outside under the stars, for Mark Bratton has set a fantastic challenge – to find over 2,400 objects from the Herschel catalogue. It’s a challenge that will appeal to beginners and experts alike.

Why? For beginners, it will help identify classic rich fields of view and thus will increase the interest at a critical learning time. For experts, it will sharpen observation techniques at the telescope and draw together experience in tracking down objects for an often renewed look after many years.

As a Herschelian historian, I was particularly interested in Bratton’s stance on chronicling the original observations and identifying the correct ‘survey’ and equipment used. I am pleased to say, Bratton is spot-on with every reference. The Herschel story of a musician turned astronomer has been written up many times, however, Bratton has taken the practical route: context of observing sites, telescope maker and observer. This is unique and gets straight down to business. Caroline Herschel also receives good billing and all the crucial milestones are contained in the narrative. Illustrations are well researched and superbly distributed within the text.

So what of the catalogue? Constellations are alphabetically listed, NGC numbered, Herschel numbered and classed according to size and depth of object with each entry carefully described, giving the astronomer every chance of planning a great evening’s observing. I have recently returned to observe NGC 6826, the ‘Blinking Planetary Nebula’ in Cygnus for the first time in nearly 20 years – Herschel’s observation was in September 1793. My observation is reasonably good. Bratton’s observation is assured. I am impressed with the line drawings sketched at the eyepiece of a 15-inch Newtonian reflector. Even for those with lower apertures, there is much to glean from this book. It is meticulously researched and there is an outstanding attention to detail throughout.

Ian Welland