Caldwell catalogue
The Caldwell catalogue is an astronomical catalogue of 109 star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies for observation by amateur astronomers. The list was compiled by Patrick Moore as a complement to the Messier catalogue.[1]
 Montage of Caldwell Catalogue objects. | |
| Survey type | astronomical catalog  |
|---|---|
| Target | star cluster, nebula, galaxy |
| Named after | Patrick Moore |
| Published | December 1995 |
 Related media on Wikimedia Commons | |
While the Messier catalogue is used by amateur astronomers as a list of deep-sky objects for observation, Moore noted that Messier's list was not compiled for that purpose and excluded many of the sky's brightest deep-sky objects,[1] such as the Hyades, the Double Cluster (NGC 869 and NGC 884), and the Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253). The Messier catalogue was actually compiled as a list of known objects that might be confused with comets. Moore also observed that since Messier compiled his list from observations in Paris, it did not include bright deep-sky objects visible in the Southern Hemisphere, such as Omega Centauri, Centaurus A, the Jewel Box, and 47 Tucanae.[1][2] Moore compiled a list of 109 objects to match the commonly accepted number of Messier objects (he excluded M110[3]), and the list was published in Sky & Telescope in December 1995.[3]
Moore used his other surname – Caldwell – to name the list, since the initial of "Moore" is already used for the Messier catalogue.[1][4] Entries in the catalogue are designated with a "C" and the catalogue number (1 to 109).
Unlike objects in the Messier catalogue, which are listed roughly in the order of discovery by Messier and his colleagues,[5] the Caldwell catalogue is ordered by declination, with C1 being the most northerly and C109 being the most southerly,[1] although two objects (NGC 4244 and the Hyades) are listed out of sequence.[1] Other errors in the original list have since been corrected: it incorrectly identified the S Norma Cluster (NGC 6087) as NGC 6067 and incorrectly labelled the Lambda Centauri Cluster (IC 2944) as the Gamma Centauri Cluster.[1]
Caldwell star chart
Number of objects by type in the Caldwell catalogue
| Dark nebulae | 1 |
| Galaxies | 35 |
| Globular clusters | 18 |
| Nebulae | 9 |
| Star clusters | 25 |
| Star clusters and nebulae | 6 |
| Planetary nebulae | 13 |
| Supernova remnants | 2 |
| Total | 109 |
Caldwell objects
Open cluster Globular cluster Dark nebula Diffuse nebula Planetary nebula Supernova remnant Galaxy
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- C89 was mistakenly written as NGC 6067 in the original, but its description is that of NGC 6087.
See also
References
- O'Meara, Stephen James (2002). The Caldwell Objects. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-82796-6.
- "Caldwell Club Introduction". Retrieved 2006-09-08.
- Moore, Patrick (December 1995). "Beyond Messier: The Caldwell Catalogue". Sky & Telescope: 38. Archived from the original (subscription required) on 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2006-08-29.
- Mobberley, Martin (2009). The Caldwell Objects and How to Observe Them. Springer. ISBN 978-1-4419-0325-9.
- Jones, Kenneth Glyn (1991). "Introduction". Messier's Nebulae & Star Clusters. Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–8. ISBN 0-521-37079-5.
- "Hubble's Hidden Galaxy". www.spacetelescope.org. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
- Deep-Sky Companions: The Caldwell Objects, 2nd Edition, Stephen James O'Meara, 2016, p.181
- "The Rosette Nebula In Hubble Palette". Sky & Telescope. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
- "The Night Sky", Astronomy Now, Oct 2008.
- Chadwick, S; Cooper, I. Imaging the Southern Sky. New York: Springer. p. 242. ISBN 1461447496.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Caldwell objects. |
- The Caldwell Catalogue at SEDS
- The Caldwell Club
- Caldwell Star Charts, Images and more
- Searchable Caldwell Catalogue list
- Clickable Caldwell Object table
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