William Herschel Discoverer of the Deep Sky (PDF)

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.