Here is a real scenario: Live in one of the
cloudiest/rainiest areas in America. Couple that with two back-to-back
years of record rainfall. Decide it is time to add another advanced
observing program to the Astronomical League's list. Add 36 dedicated,
seasoned amateur astronomers. Add two comets-of-a-lifetime during peak
observing windows when you are trying to dig out "a few
more in Virgo." What do you have? A 2-1/2 year project to
develop the Herschel II Observing Program that was an extremely
rewarding project for everyone involved.
Once receiving the go ahead from the AL, we began a review of the
2478 Herschel objects. We omitted the 400 objects in the Herschel 400
program and sorted the remaining objects by type, magnitude and
distribution across the sky. We selected over 650 objects for our
Observing Team to initially hunt down and consider. At a monthly
meeting of the Rose City Astronomers (RCA), we described the project
and asked for volunteers equipped with 8" scopes or larger. To
our surprise, 30 members came forward. Word spread across the country
that the RCA was tackling this project, and we added 6 more observers
from Pennsylvania to California.
Realizing the challenge of reviewing such a large number of dim
fuzzies, we researched the various computer charting programs
available. After much consideration, we selected
MegaStar©
3.1 from ELB Software as the most comprehensive to meet our needs.
We contacted developer Emil Bonanno in Houston, told him of our
project, and asked him if he would contribute a copy of MegaStar for
use with this program. Emil graciously volunteered a copy. We can
definitely say that, without MegaStar, this project would have been
much more complex and time-consuming. For each object, a 2° field
MegaStar chart was printed. These charts were invaluable in helping
observers locate the objects.
Emil, thank you for
donating MegaStar 3.1 for the Herschel II project.
Each month, team members submitted observations which we compared to
and verified with MegaStar. Members were asked to evaluate whether they
felt each object was "a keeper" for the Herschel II list. We
actually divided the objects into "yes," "
maybe," and "no" piles. Out of the more than
650 objects, 388 made the "yes" list. Needless to say,
12 "strong maybe's" were added.
It is such a pleasure to recognize all those who participated in and
helped with this 2-1/2 year project: first to Richard Poletti for
designing the 2478-object database review; to Rebecca Gee, a very
talented artist, for designing the certificate and pin; to Douglas
Huston, Michael Beal, Jim Reilly, Sue Wheatley, and Brian Skiff for
their editing and composition expertise; to Dale Fenske, our tireless
ALCOR liaison; and to the data gathering team for logging 945
observations!