The book describes the observational work of William and Caroline Herschel. It focuses on deep-sky objects, observed 1774-1817. Most were discovered by William in the monumental sweep campaign (1783-1802), assisted by his talented sister. 2500 objects were published in three catalogues. The study of the sky from southern England also concerned double stars and the Solar System, yielding the Uranus discovery in 1781. But William Herschel was much more than a mere observer. He built large reflectors, developed new methods and thought about the nature and evolution of cosmic objects and the structure of the Milky Way. He was an extremely influential astronomer and had a worthy successor, his son John.
Dr Wolfgang Steinicke started his astronomical career with visual deep-sky observations, made with telescopes up to 20 inches aperture. To understand the theoretical background, he studied physics and mathematics in Germany, later specializing in Astrophysics, General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. His astronomical interest later focused on Dreyer's New General Catalogue (NGC), which is largely based on observations by William and John Herschel. Research on non-stellar objects, their data and historical sources has led to extensive catalogues, including a revision of the NGC and its supplements. In 2008, he obtained a doctorate from the University of Hamburg with a dissertation on 19th-century deep-sky observations, which was published by Cambridge University Press in 2010 as "Observing and Cataloguing Nebulae and Star Clusters: From Herschel to Dreyer's New General Catalogue". Steinicke is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, Director of the History of Astronomy Section of the German Vereinigung der Sternfreunde (Association of Amateur Astronomers), committee member of the British Webb Deep-Sky Society, member of the Herschel Society, Bath, and works for international associations. He frequently organizes astronomy meetings and gives lectures all over the world. Steinicke is the author of ten books (in German and English) and has published more than 300 scientific papers.
(...)Steinicke goes beyond mere recitation of Herschel’s records to discuss in detail the occasional errors and puzzles they contain. He expertly analyzes each anomaly’s probable source and deduces corrections. He draws attention to Herschel’s continuous re-evaluation and modification of his instruments, his methods, and his working hypotheses, those somewhat fanciful yet fruitful conceptions of the heavens’ structure that always formed the very foundation of his observing programme.(...)
Mai 2022
(...)Steinicke goes beyond mere recitation of Herschel’s records to discuss in detail the
occasional errors and puzzles they contain. He expertly analyzes each anomaly’s probable source and deduces corrections. He draws attention to Herschel’s continuous re-evaluation and modification of his instruments, his methods, and his working hypotheses, those somewhat fanciful yet fruitful conceptions of the heavens’ structure that always formed the very foundation of his observing programme.(...)