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List of astronomical catalogues
List of astronomical catalogues
List of astronomical catalogues
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An astronomical catalogue is a list or tabulation of astronomical objects, typically grouped together because they share a common type, morphology, origin, means of detection, or method of discovery. Astronomical catalogs are usually the result of an astronomical survey of some kind.

Contents

0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Top of page — See also — References

0–9

[edit]

A

[edit]
  • AB — Azzopardi / Breysacher (Wolf-Rayet stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud, SMC)
  • Abel (globular star clusters)
  • Abell — Abell catalogue
  • Abetti — Giorgio Abetti (double stars)
  • Abt — (for example: open star cluster Abt 1 = Biurakan 4 = Markarian 6 = Stock 7) (at 2:29.6 / +60°39' near the southwestern section of the Heart Nebula in Cassiopeia)
  • AC — Astrographic Catalogue
  • A.C. — Alvan Clark (double stars)
  • Ac / Ack — Agnès Acker (planetary nebulae)
  • A.G.C. — Alvan Graham Clark (double stars)
  • AGC — Arecibo General Catalog
  • ADS — Aitken Double Star Catalogue
  • AFGL — Air Force Geophysical Laboratory
  • Ag — Aguero (catalogue of peculiar galaxies, captured during the National Geographic Society — Palomar Observatory Sky Survey) (POSS)
  • AG, AGK, AGKR — Astronomische Gesellschaft Katalog
  • AH03 — (star clusters) (source: Bruno Alessi's list)
  • Al — Allen (planetary nebulae)
  • Alden — H.L. Alden (double stars)
  • Alessi — Bruno Sampaio Alessi's catalogue of telescopic asterisms and open star clusters
  • Alessi / Teutsch — Bruno S. Alessi's and Philipp Teutsch's catalogue of telescopic asterisms and open star clusters
  • Ali — H. Ali (double stars)
  • Alicante (for example: open star cluster Alicante 1 at 3:59:18 / +57°14'14", in Camelopardalis). Alicante 1 looks like a chain of dim stars with two relatively bright accompanying stars known as TYC 3725-498-1 and TYC 3725-866-1 (source: Wikisky)
  • Aller — R.M. Aller (double stars) (Ramón María Aller Ulloa?)
  • ALS — UBV beta database for Case-Hamburg Northern and Southern Luminous Stars[5]
  • Alter (open star clusters) (for example: Alter 1 at 0:31:56.9 / +63°09'47" in Cassiopeia) (Alter 1 = King 14 = Alter Cluster)
  • Alves / Yun (open star clusters)
  • AM — Arp-Madore catalogue of open and globular star clusters (Halton Arp / Barry F. Madore) (for example: Arp-Madore 1 in Horologium, Arp-Madore 2 in Puppis)
  • An — Anderson (double stars)
  • Andrews / Lindsay (AL) (open star clusters) (for example: Andrews-Lindsay 1 at 13:15:16 / -65°55'12" in Musca) (AL 1 is also known as vdB-Hagen 144)
  • Annis (?)
  • APM — Automatic Plate Measuring machine
  • Apriamashvili (open star clusters) (the open star cluster Basel 1 at about one degree WNW of Messier 11 is also known as the Apriamashvili cluster)
  • Ara — (for example: Ara 2035 at 7:08.8/-24°03' in Canis Major) [6] (S.Aravamudan?)
  • Arak / Ark — Marat Arsen Arakelian, 1929–1983 (Arakelian Emission Line Objects)[7]
  • Arce / Goodman (open star clusters)
  • Archinal — probably Brent A. Archinal (for example: open star cluster Archinal 1 at 18:54:49 / +5°32'54" in Serpens Cauda)
  • Arg — Friedrich Wilhelm Argelander (double stars)
  • ARO — Algonquin Radio Observatory
  • Arp — Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies
  • ASCC — N.V. Kharchenko, All-Sky Compiled Catalogue, Kinematika Fiz. Nebesn. Tel., 17, part no 5, 409 (2001)
  • Auner — (for example: open star cluster Auner 1 at 7:04:16 / -19°45'00" in Canis Major) (Auner 1 is the cluster which was "lost" in the disturbing ghost reflection of nearby Alpha Canis Majoris, aka Sirius, this during the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey, POSS)
  • Av — Antalova (open star clusters) (for example: Antalova 1 at 17:28:55 / -31°34'11' in Scorpius)
  • Av-Hunter — Aveni / Hunter (open star clusters) (for example: Aveni-Hunter 1 at 23:37:48 / +48°31'12", north of the former constellation Honores Friderici in Andromeda)
  • AXP — Anomalous X-Ray Pulsar
  • AZ / AzV — Azzopardi-Vigneau

B

[edit]
  • β — S. W. Burnham (double stars)
  • βpm — Burnham's measures of proper motion stars, 1913 catalogue.
  • B — Willem H. van den Bos (double stars)
  • B — E. E. Barnard's List of Dark Nebulae
  • B2 — Bologna Sky Survey at 408 MHz (9929 radio sources) performed with the Northern Cross Radio Telescope
  • B3 — The New Bologna Sky Survey at 408 MHz (13354 radio sources) performed with the Northern Cross Radio Telescope
  • Ba — Barnard (double stars)
  • Ba — Baade (planetary nebulae)
  • BAC — Bordeaux Astrographic Catalog
  • Bail / Bal — R. Baillaud (double stars)
  • Baize / Baz — Paul Baize (Paul Achille-Ariel Baize, 1901–1995) (double stars)
  • Balbinot (open and globular star clusters) (for example: globular star cluster Balbinot 1 in Pegasus)
  • Bar — Barkhatova (open star clusters) (for example: Barkhatova 1, NNW of NGC 7000; the North America Nebula in Cygnus)
  • BAR — E.E. Barton (double stars)
  • Bas — Basel (open star clusters) (for example: Basel 1 at about one degree WNW of open star cluster Messier 11 in Scutum) (Basel 1 is also known as the Apriamashvili cluster)
  • Bat — Hans Battermann, 1860–1922 (double stars)
  • BAT99 — The Fourth Catalogue of Population I Wolf Rayet stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud
  • BAY — Uranometria (Bayer designation)
  • BCVS — Bibliographic Catalogue of Variable Stars
  • BD — Bonner Durchmusterung
  • BDS — Burnham Double Star Catalogue
  • BDS03 (I.R.) — (open star clusters)
  • BDSB — (for example: open star cluster BDSB 96 at 7:05:18 / -12°19'44")
  • BDSB03 (I.R.) — (open star clusters)
  • Be — Bergvall (catalogue of some 400 interacting and distorted galaxies found on glass copies of the ESO Blue Survey) [8]
  • Be — Berkeley (open star clusters) (104 items)
  • Be — Bernes (dark nebulae)
  • Bedin — Luigi Bedin (for example: dwarf spheroidal galaxy Bedin I in Pavo)
  • Ben — Jack Bennett's catalogue of 152 deep-sky objects in the southern celestial hemisphere, all from the NGC or IC lists, except Ben 47 which is Melotte 105 in Carina, and Ben 72a which is Trumpler 23 in Norma
  • Bergeron — Joe Bergeron (for example: Bergeron 1 in Cepheus) [9]
  • BFS — Blitz-Fitch-Stark (for example: BFS 15 in Cepheus) [10]
  • BH — Van den Bergh / Hagen (open star clusters), see also VdB-Ha
  • Bhas/Bha — T.P. Bhaskavan (double stars)
  • Bi — Biurakan (open star clusters)
  • Bica — (open star clusters)
  • Bica / Schmitt (open star clusters)
  • Big — Guillaume Bigourdan (double stars)
  • Bird — F. Bird (double stars)
  • Bl — Victor Manuel Blanco (for example: open star cluster Blanco 1 in Sculptor)
  • Bloch/Blo — M. Bloch (double stars)
  • Bo — Bochum (open star clusters)
  • Bo — Bond (double stars)
  • BoBn — Boeshaar-Bond (planetary nebulae) (for example: BoBn 1, an extragalactic planetary nebula at 0:37 / -13°42' in Cetus)
  • Bode — (telescopic asterisms)
  • Boe — Boeger (double stars)
  • Bogleiv (open star clusters)
  • Bonatto (open star clusters)
  • Boo — Samuel Latimer Boothroyd, 1874–1965 (double stars)
  • Boy — Bowyer (double stars)
  • BPI — (open star clusters)
  • BPM / L — Bruce Proper Motion Survey (Luyten)
  • BPMA — Bordeaux Catalogue (double stars)
  • Bradley
  • Brandt — (for example: open star cluster Brandt 1 at 8:09:32 / -47°20'12") ( = Pozzo 1) (very near Gamma Velorum, also known as 'Regor')
  • Brand / Wouterloot (BW) (open star clusters)
  • Brey — Breysacher, Large Magellanic Cloud Wolf Rayet stars
  • BRI — Bj, R, I survey
  • Briceno (open star clusters) (for example: Briceno 1 at the star 25 Orionis)
  • Brosch — (open star clusters)
  • Brso/Bso — Brisbane Observatory, Australia (double stars)
  • Brt — S.G. Barton (double stars)
  • Btz — E. Bernewitz (double stars)
  • Bry — Walter William Bryant (double stars)
  • BV — Bohm-Vitense (planetary nebulae)
  • BVD — R. Benavides (double stars)

C

[edit]

D

[edit]
  • D — James Dunlop (A catalogue of nebulae and clusters of stars in the southern hemisphere, observed at Parramatta in New South Wales)
  • DA — Dominion Observatory List A[16]
  • Danjon — Andre Danjon (double stars)
  • Danks — (open star clusters) (for example: Danks 1 & 2, located near the northeastern Centaurus section of the Coalsack Nebula)
  • Dawes — W.R. Dawes (double stars)
  • δ — B.H. Dawson (double stars)
  • DBSB03, I.R. — (open star clusters)
  • DB2000 (Dutra-Bica 2000, I.R.) (open star clusters)
  • DB2001 (Dutra-Bica 2001, I.R.) (open star clusters)
  • DC — (open star clusters)
  • DCld — A catalogue of southern dark clouds[17]
  • DDO — David Dunlap Observatory (Dwarf Galaxies)
  • DeHt — Dengel-Hartl (planetary nebulae) (for example: DeHt 1 at 5:55 / -22°54' in Lepus)
  • Dem — Ercole Dembowski (double stars)
  • DENIS — Deep Near Infrared Survey of the Southern Sky
    • DENIS-P — Deep Near Infrared Survey, Provisory designation
  • Desvoivres — (telescopic asterisms)
  • DHW — Dengel-Hartl-Weinberger (planetary nebulae)
  • Dias — Wilton S. Dias, UNIFEI (open star clusters)
  • Dick — J. Dick (double stars)
  • Djorg — Stanislav George Djorgovski (globular star clusters) (for example: Djorgovski 1 in Scorpius)
  • Dju — P. Djurkovic (double stars)
  • DM — Durchmusterung
  • DN — Duus-Newell (Catalogue of Southern Groups and Clusters of Galaxies) (Alan Duus / Barry Newell)
  • DnB — Open Source (nebulae)
  • DO — Dearborn Observatory
  • Do — Dolidze (open star clusters) (57 items)
  • Dob — A.W. Doberck (double stars)
  • Dom — Jean Dommanget (double stars)
  • Don — H.F. Donner (double stars)
  • Donatiello — Giuseppe Donatiello (for example: dwarf spheroidal galaxy Donatiello I in Andromeda)
  • Doo — Eric Doolittle (double stars)
  • DoDz — Dolidze-Dzimselejsvili (open star clusters) (11 items)
  • Dorpat — Dorpat Observatory, Estonia
  • DR — Downes and Rinehart microwave sources
  • Du — Duner (double stars)
  • Δ — James Dunlop (double stars)
  • Dutra-Bica (open star clusters)
  • DWB — Dickel, Wendker, Bieritz (A catalogue of optically visible HII regions in the Cygnus X region)
  • Dwingeloo — Dwingeloo Obscured Galaxy Survey (DOGS) (for example: Dwingeloo 1 and Dwingeloo 2 in Cassiopeia)

E

[edit]
  • E — (for example: globular star cluster E 3 at 9:20:59 / -77°16'57", in Chamaeleon) (source: Bruno Alessi's and Wilton Dias's lists)
  • EC — Edinburgh-Cape Blue Object Survey
  • Edg — D.W. Edgecomb (double stars)
  • [EG97] — Eckart + Genzel, 1997 (Stars close to Sagittarius A*, like [EG97]S2.)
  • Egb — Egbert (double stars)
  • EGB — Ellis-Grayson-Bond (planetary nebulae)
  • Eggen — Olin J. Eggen (double stars)
  • EGGR — Eggen-Greenstein proper motion star
  • Elosser — (telescopic asterisms)
  • EMP — Ephemerides of Minor Planets
  • Eng — Engelmann (double stars)
  • EPIC — Ecliptic Plane Input Catalog
  • Escorial — (open star clusters)
  • ESO — European Southern Observatory Catalog, ESO/Uppsala catalog
  • Esp — T. E. H. Espin (double stars)
  • Es/Birm — Espin/Birmingham (catalogue of red stars)

F

[edit]
  • F — Fath — Edward Arthur Fath, 1880–1959 (for example: galaxy Fath 703, aka NGC 5892, in Libra)
  • Fa — Fairall (Anthony Patrick Fairall, 1943–2008)
  • FCC — Fornax Cluster Catalogue
  • Fei — Feinstein (open star clusters) (for example: Feinstein 1 at 11:05:56 / -59°49'00" in Carina)
  • Feibelman (for example: open star cluster Feibelman 1 near 'The Revenante of the Swan' 34-P Cygni)
  • Feigelson (for example: open star cluster Feigelson 1 at 11:59:51 / -78°12'27", in Chamaeleon, at the binary star Epsilon Chamaeleonis)
  • Ferrero (telescopic asterisms)
  • Φ — W.S. Finsen (double stars)
  • Fg — Fleming (planetary nebulae), for example: Fleming 1
  • FK4 — Fourth Fundamental Catalogue
  • FK5 — Fifth Fundamental Catalogue
  • Fle — J.O. Fleckenstein (double stars)
  • FLM — Historia coelestis Britannica (Flamsteed designation)
  • For — L. Forgeron (double stars)
  • Fox — Philip Fox (double stars)
  • French — Sue French (from Sky and Telescope)
  • Fr — Frolov (open star clusters) (for example: Frolov 1 at 23:57:25 / +61°37'48" in Cassiopeia)
  • Franz — J. Franz (double stars)
  • Frh — R. Furuhjelm (double stars)
  • Frk — W.S. Franks (double stars and colours of stars) (probably William Sadler Franks, published a catalogue of the colours of 3890 stars)
  • FSC — Faint Source Catalogue
  • FSR — Froebrich-Scholz-Raftery, I.R. (open and globular star clusters) (for example: globular star cluster FSR 1758 in Scorpius)
  • Fur — H.Furner (double stars)

G

[edit]
  • G — Lowell Proper Motion Survey (Giclas)
    • GD — Lowell Proper Motion Survey (Giclas dwarf)
    • GR* — Lowell Proper Motion Survey (Giclas red star)
    • HG — Lowell Proper Motion Survey (Giclas Hyades)
  • Gale — W.F. Gale (double stars)
  • Gallo — J. Gallo (double stars)
  • GAn — G. Anderson (double stars)
  • Gaia catalogues (general purpose)
    • Gaia DR1
    • Gaia DR2
    • Gaia EDR3
    • Gaia DR3
  • GC — General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters
  • GC (Boss) — Boss general catalogue of 33342 stars
  • GCRV — General Catalogue of Stellar Radial Velocities[18]
  • GCTP — General Catalogue of Trigonometric Parallaxes
  • GCVS — General Catalog of Variable Stars
  • Giclas — Henry L. Giclas (double stars)
  • Gl / GJ — Gliese–Jahreiß catalogue or Gliese–Jahreiß catalogue
  • GJJC — Gillett-Jacoby-Joyce-Cohen (planetary nebulae)
  • Gli — J.M. Gilliss (double stars)
  • GLIMPSE — (together with Mercer in the list of 10978 star clusters)
  • Glp — S. de Glasenapp (double stars)
  • GM — Gyulbudaghian-Maghakian (planetary nebulae)
  • Gol — H. Goldschmidt (double stars)
  • GOS — Galactic O Star Catalogue[19]
    • GOSSS — Galactic O-Star Spectroscopic Survey[19]
  • Goyal — A.N. Goyal (double stars)
  • Graham (for example: open star cluster Graham 1 at 10:56:32 / -63:01:04 in Carina)
  • Gr — Grant (double stars)
  • Grasdalen (open star clusters)
  • GR — Gibson Reaves (for example: Gibson Reaves 8 (GR 8) (galaxy) in Virgo) (Gibson Reaves, 1923–2005)
  • GRB — Gamma Ray Burst
  • Grindlay (globular star clusters) (for example: Grindlay 1 in Scorpius, at 17:32.0 / -33°50') [20]
  • GRO — Gamma Ray Observatory (NASA — Compton)
  • Groombridge (Stephen Groombridge, 1755–1832)
  • GSC — Guide Star Catalog
  • GSPC — Guide Star Photometric Catalog
    • GSPC2 — Guide Star Photometric Catalog, 2nd
  • Gsh — J. Glaisher (double stars)
  • GΣ — G. Struve (double stars)
  • Gtb — K. Gottlieb (double stars)
  • Gui — J. Guillaume (double stars)
  • Gum — Gum catalog of emission nebulae

H

[edit]
  • h — John Herschel (double stars)
  • H — Haro (planetary nebulae)
  • H — Harvard (open star clusters)
  • H — William Herschel (double stars)
  • HA — ? (for example: galaxy HA 85 in Telescopium, see chart 26 in Wil Tirion's Sky-Atlas 2000.0) (however, chart 435 in Uranometria 2000.0, Volume 2, 1987 edition, shows this object as ESO 183-G30)
  • Haf — Haffner (open star clusters)
  • Hall — Asaph Hall (double stars)
  • HAT-P — HATNet Project, Hungarian Automated Telescope Network (search for extrasolar planets)
  • HATS - HATNet Project, southern hemisphere.
  • HaTr — Hartl-Tritton (planetary nebulae)
  • Haufen — (for example: Haufen A in Cetus, at 1h 08.9m / -15° 25' (2000.0), which is, according to Sky Catalogue 2000.0, Volume 2, the same as Abell 151)
  • Hav/Moffat — Havlen-Moffat (open star clusters)
  • Hb — Hubble (planetary nebulae)
  • HC — Howell-Crisp (planetary nebulae)
  • HCG — Hickson Compact Group
  • HCWils — H.C. Wilson (double stars)
  • HD — Henry Draper Catalogue
  • HDE — Henry Draper Extension
  • HDEC — Henry Draper Extension Charts
  • HdO — Harvard Observatory USA, and stations elsewhere (double stars)
  • HDW — Hartl-Dengel-Weinberger (planetary nebulae)
  • Hdz — Harvard Zone Catalogues (double stars)
  • HE — Hamburg/ESO Survey
  • He — Henize (planetary nebulae)
  • Hen — Henize Catalogues of Hα-Emission Stars and Nebulae in the Magellanic Clouds
  • Hf — Hoffleit (planetary nebulae)
  • HFG — Heckathorn-Fesen-Gull
  • HH — Herbig-Haro object
  • HIC — Hipparcos Input Catalogue
  • HIP — Hipparcos Catalogue
  • HIPASS — HI Parkes All-Sky Survey
  • Hld — E.S. Holden (double stars)
  • Hlm — E. Holmes (double stars)
  • Hln — Frank Holden (double stars)
  • HN — William Herschel's 1821 catalogue (double stars)
  • Ho — Hogg (open star clusters)
  • Ho — G.W.Hough (double stars)
  • Holmberg — Erik Holmberg (dwarf irregular galaxies)
  • Hooke — Robert Hooke (double stars)
  • Howe — H.A. Howe (double stars)
  • HP — Haute Provence (globular star clusters) (for example: HP 1 in Ophiuchus, at 17:31.1 / -29°59') [20]
  • HR — Bright Star Catalogue (Harvard Revised Catalogue)
  • Hrg — L. Hargrave (double stars)
  • Hrr — Harrington (telescopic asterisms)
  • HΣ — Hermann Struve (double stars)
  • HS — Hamburg Survey (quasars and blue stars)
  • HSC — Hubble Source Catalog[21] (lists of sources from the Hubble Space Telescope)
  • Hst — C.S. Hastings (double stars)
  • Hu — Humason (planetary nebulae)
  • Hu — W.J. Hussey (double stars)
  • Hurt — Robert Hurt (for example: globular star cluster Hurt 2, aka 2MASS-GC02 in Sagittarius)
  • Huygens — Christiaan Huygens (double stars)
  • HV — Harvard Variable
  • HVGC — Hyper Velocity Globular Cluster (for example: HVGC-1 in the supergiant elliptical galaxy Messier 87 in Virgo)
  • HVS — HyperVelocity Stars
  • Hynek — J. Allen Hynek (double stars)
  • Hz — Wulff D. Heintz (double stars)
  • Hzg — E. Hertzsprung (double stars)

I

[edit]

J

[edit]
  • J — Robert Jonckheere's catalogue of double star observations (see [1] for an article about it)
  • Ja — Jacoby (planetary nebulae) (for example: Jacoby 1 at 15:23 / +52°14' in Boötes)
  • JaFu — Jacoby-Fullton (planetary nebulae)
  • JAn — John A. Anderson (double stars)
  • Jc — William Stephen Jacob (double stars)
  • Jef — H.M. Jeffers (double stars)
  • Jn — Jones (planetary nebulae) (for example: Jones 1 at 23:36 / +30°28' in Pegasus)
  • JnEr — Jones-Emberson (planetary nebulae) (for example: Jones-Emberson 1 in Lynx, also known as the Headphone nebula)
  • Jo — Jones (double stars)
  • Johansson — (open star clusters) (for example: Johansson 1 at 15:46:20 / -52:22:54 in Norma)
  • Joy — Alfred Harrison Joy (double stars)
  • JP11 – a 1978 catalog compiling photometric measurements in Harold Johnson's 11-color photometric system [2]
  • Jsp — Morris Ketchum Jessup (double stars)
  • Juchert — (open star clusters)
  • Juchert-Saloranta (telescopic asterisms)
  • JW — Jones' & Walker's list of stars near the Orion Nebula.

K

[edit]
  • K — Lubos Kohoutek (planetary nebulae)
  • K — Köhler's Deepsky Catalogue
  • Ka — Valentina Karachentseva (dwarf galaxies)
  • Karhula — (for example: open star cluster Karhula 1 near planetary nebula Messier 76 in Perseus)
  • K2 — K2 (Kepler extended mission) catalog
  • KELT — Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope (search for extrasolar planets)
  • Kemble — Father Lucian Kemble (asterisms which could be observed through binoculars, for example: Kemble 1, aka Kemble's Cascade in Camelopardalis)
  • Kepler — Kepler catalog
  • Kes — Kesteven (supernova remnants). For example: Kesteven 79
  • K / Kg — Ivan R. King (open star clusters)
  • KGZ — Catalogue de Zimmerman
  • Kharchenko (for example: open star cluster Kharchenko 1 at 6:08:48 / +24:19:54 near or at Messier 35 in Gemini)
  • KIC — Kepler Input Catalog
  • Kim — Dongwon Kim (for example: globular star cluster Kim 2 in Indus)
  • KjPn — Kazaryan-Parsamyan (planetary nebulae)
  • Klemola (for example: Klemola 44 galaxy cluster in Sculptor) (? — Arnold Richard Klemola, 1931–2019)
  • KnFs — Kinman-Feast-Lasker (planetary nebulae)
  • Knott / Kn — G. Knott (double stars)
  • KOI — Kepler Object of Interest
  • Kontizas (for example: Kontizas 953 in Dorado) (in the Large Magellanic Cloud)
  • Koposov (open and globular star clusters) (for example: globular star clusters Koposov 1 and Koposov 2 in Virgo and Gemini)
  • Kr — A.Kruger (double stars) (probably Karl Nikolaus Adalbert Krueger, 1832–1896)
  • Kron — (globular star clusters) (for example: Kron 3 in Tucana)
  • Kronberger — (for example: open star cluster Kronberger 1 at 5:28:20 / +34°46'52", aka Alicante 12, in Auriga)
  • Kru — E.C. Kruger (double stars)
  • Ku — F. Kustner (double stars)
  • KUG — Kiso Survey for Ultraviolet-excess Galaxies[22]
  • Kui — Gerard P. Kuiper, 1905–73 (double stars)
  • KUV — Kiso observatory, UV-excess object

L

[edit]

M

[edit]
  • M — Catalog of Nebulae and Star Clusters (Messier object)
  • M — Minkowski (planetary nebulae)
  • Ma — J.H. Madler (double stars)
  • Mac — Maclear (double stars)
  • MACS — Massive Cluster Survey or Magellanic Catalogue of Stars
  • MACHO — MACHO Project lensing events (Massive Compact Halo Object)
    • MACHO-LMC — MACHO Project Large Magellanic Cloud Microlensing
    • MACHO-SML — MACHO Project Small Magellanic Cloud Microlensing
  • Maffei — Paolo Maffei (for example: galaxies Maffei 1 and Maffei 2 in Cassiopeia)
  • Mailyan — (for example: Mailyan 44, aka Holmberg I / DDO 63 / UGC 5139, at 9h 40.5m / +71° 11' in Ursa Major)
  • Malin — David Malin (for example: the largest galaxy known; Malin 1 in Coma Berenices)
  • Mamajek (open star clusters) (for example: Mamajek 1 at 8:42:06 / -79°01'38" in Chamaeleon, also known as η Chamaeleontis cluster or η Chamaeleontis association)
  • Markov (telescopic asterisms) (for example: Markov 1 in Hercules)
  • MAXI — Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image
  • Mayall — Nicholas Mayall (for example: globular star cluster Mayall II orbiting Messier 31, the Andromeda galaxy)
  • Mayer (open star clusters)
  • McC — McCormick Observatory Catalog
  • MCG — Morphological Catalogue of Galaxies
  • MCW — Morgan, Code, and Whitford[26]
  • Me — Merrill (planetary nebulae)
  • Mel — Melotte Catalogue of open star clusters (Philibert Jacques Melotte)
  • Mercer (for example: globular star cluster Mercer 3 in Scutum)
  • MGC (globular star clusters) (for example: MGC1 in Pisces)
  • Mh — O.M. Mitchel (double stars)
  • Mil — J.A. Miller (double stars)
  • Miller (open star clusters) (for example: Miller 1 at 9:25:42 / -53°14'00", near the variable star GL Velorum, in Vela)
  • Milb — W. Milburn (double stars)
  • MlbO — Melbourne Observatory, Australia (double stars)
  • Mlf — Frank Muller (double stars)
  • Mlr — Paul Muller (double stars)
  • Moffat (open star clusters) (for example: Moffat 1 at 16:01:30 / -54°07'00" in Norma)
  • Moitinho (open star clusters) (for example: Moitinho 1 at 8:19:17 / -45°12'30", southwest of the Gum Nebula, in Vela)
  • MPC — Minor Planet Circulars contain astrometric observations, orbits and ephemerides of both minor planets and comets
  • Mrk — Benjamin "Benik" Egishevitch Markarian (open star clusters and galaxies; the Markarian galaxies)
  • MSH — Mills, Slee, Hill — Catalog of Radio Sources
  • Muzzio (open star clusters) (for example: Muzzio 1 at 8:57:12 / -47°46'00" in Vela)
  • MW — Mandel-Wilson Catalogue of Unexplored Nebulae, not in SIMBAD yet
  • MWC – (1933) Class O, B and A stars with bright hydrogen lines[27]
  • MWP — Motch-Werner-Pakull (planetary nebulae)
  • MyCn — Mayall-Cannon (planetary nebulae)
  • Mz — Menzel (planetary nebulae)

N

[edit]

O

[edit]
  • O — O'Neal (open star clusters)
  • OCL — Open Clusters
  • OEC — Open Exoplanet Catalogue [4]
  • OGLE — Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment
  • Ol — Charles Pollard Olivier (double stars)
  • Opik — Ernst J. Opik (double stars)
  • OSC — Open Supernova Catalog [5]
  • OΣ — Otto Struve, Pulkovo Catalogue, 1843 (double stars)
  • OΣΣ — Otto Struve, Pulkovo Catalogue Supplement, 1843 (double stars)
  • OSS — Ohio Sky Survey
  • OTC — Open TDE Catalog [6]
  • OTS — Oasa-Tamura-Sugitani
  • Ou — Nicolas Outters (for example: Ou 4, the 'Squid Nebula' in Cepheus) (see APOD — Astronomy Picture Of the Day — July 18, 2014).

P

[edit]

Q

[edit]
  • Q (?) — (for example: galaxy Q 6188 at 0:48.6 / -12:44 in Cetus) (mentioned on charts 261 / 262 in Uranometria 2000.0 Volume 2, 1987 edition) (according to Wolfgang Steinicke and Richard Jakiel of the book Galaxies and How to Observe Them, this galaxy (Q 6188) is also catalogued as Mrk 960 and PGC 2845)
  • QES — QATAR Exoplanet Survey
  • QSO — Revised and Updated Catalog of Quasi-stellar Objects
  • QZM — (for example: QZM 2 at galactic coordinates 78.12 / +3.63) (J2000 — 20:14:26 / +41°13'28") (QZM 2 = Froebrich 116, = SUH 151)

R

[edit]
  • R — Radcliffe Observatory (RMC — Radcliffe Observatory Magellanic Clouds Catalogue)
  • R — Rose (Rose Catalogue of Southern Clusters of Galaxies)
  • R — H.C. Russell (double stars)
  • Raab (open star clusters)
  • RAFGL — Revised Air Force Geophysical Laboratory (four color infrared sky survey)
  • Raymond — (telescopic asterisms)
  • RBC — Revised Bologna Catalogue (for example: globular cluster RBC EXT8 in Messier 31; the Andromeda Galaxy)
  • RBS — Rosat Bright Survey (bright X-ray sources)
  • RC — Reference Catalogue
    • RC2 — Reference Catalogue, 2nd edition
    • RC3 — Reference Catalogue, 3rd edition
  • RCW — Rodgers-Campbell-Whiteoak, a catalogue of Hα-emission regions in the southern Milky Way
  • RECONS — Research Consortium on Nearby Stars
  • Reiland — (for example: open star cluster Reiland 1 at 23:04:45 / +60°04'40")
  • Reinmuth — (galaxies) (for example: Reinmuth 80 in Virgo) (NGC 4517A)
  • Renou (telescopic asterisms)
  • Reyle-Robin — (open star clusters, I.R.)
  • Richaud — Jean Richaud, 1633–93 (double stars)
  • Riddle — (open star clusters / telescopic asterisms)
  • Rmk — C.L.C. Rumker (double stars)
  • RMM — (for example: open star cluster RMM 1 at 12:12:20 / -63°15'31")
  • RNGC — Revised New General Catalogue
  • Ro — Curt Roslund (open star clusters)
  • Roberts — (protoplanetary nebulae)
  • Roe — Edward Drake Roe, 1859–1929 (double stars)
  • Roman-Lopes — (open star clusters, I.R.)
  • Ross — Ross Catalogue of New Proper Motion Stars (Frank Elmore Ross)
  • ROT — Catalogue of Rotational Velocities of the Stars[33]
  • RSA — Revised Shapley-Ames Catalogue
  • RSGC — Red Super Giant Cluster (for example: RSGC 3 at 18:45:20 / -3°24'43")
  • RST — Catalogue of southern double stars (Richard Alfred Rossiter, 1886–1977)
  • Ru — Jaroslav Ruprecht (open star clusters)
  • RX — ROSAT observations

S

[edit]
  • S — James South (double stars)
  • Sa — Sanduleak (planetary nebulae)
  • SA — Sandqvist (dark nebulae) (for example: Sandqvist 169 near Alpha Centauri[34])
  • SACS — Second Astrolabe Catalogue of Santiago[35]
  • Saloranta — Jaakko Saloranta (telescopic asterisms)
  • SAO — Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Star Catalog
  • Saurer — (for example: the open star cluster Saurer 1 at 7:18:18 / +1°53'12" in Canis Minor)
  • SaWe — Sanduleak-Weinberger (planetary nebulae)
  • SAX — Satellite per Astronomia a raggi X (BeppoSAX satellite)
  • SC — Slough catalogue ("Observations of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars, made at Slough, with a Twenty-Feet Reflector, between the years 1825 and 1833" by John Herschel; 2306 entries)
  • Schb — John Martin Schaeberle (double stars)
  • Schj — Hans Schjellerup (double stars)
  • Schoenberg — (for example: Schoenberg 205-6 at 6:37.1 / +10°21')
  • Schuster — (for example: open star cluster Schuster 1 at 10:04:39 / -55°51'29" in Vela)
  • SCM — Schwarz, Corradi, Melnick catalogue.[36][37]
  • Scott — J.L. Scott (double stars)
  • SCR — SuperCOSMOS-RECONS
  • SDSS — Sloan Digital Sky Survey
    • SDSSp — Sloan Digital Sky Survey, provisory
    • SHOC --- Strong Emission Line H II Galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. I. Catalog of DR1 Objects with Oxygen Abundances from Te Measurements.[38]
    • 1SDSS — Sloan Digital Sky Survey, 1st release
    • 2SDSS — reserved by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey for future release. The name is reserved to the IAU, but does not exist yet.
    • 3SDSS — reserved by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey for future release. The name is reserved to the IAU, but does not exist yet.
  • Se — Father Angelo Secchi (double stars)
  • Se — Sersic (selected list of peculiar galaxies and groups of galaxies)
  • See — T.J.J. See (Thomas Jefferson Jackson See, 1866–1962) (double stars) (related to the 'Lambda' catalogue which is mentioned in T.W.Webb's Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes, Volume 2: The Stars, pages 285–319: Index of Double Stars, Epoch 2000).
  • SEGUE — Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (for example: galaxies Segue 1 in Leo, Segue 2 in Aries, and Segue 3 in Pegasus)
  • Sei — J. Scheiner (double stars)
  • SGR — Soft Gamma Repeater
  • Sh — Sharpless catalog (Sh 1 (1953) & Sh 2 (1959))
  • Sh — Sher (open star clusters) (for example: Sher 1 at 11:01:04 / -60°14'00" in Carina)
  • S, h — James South / John Herschel (joint 1824 catalogue of double stars)
  • Shk — Romela Karapet Shakhbazian (compact groups of galaxies) (for example: Shakhbazian 1 (the 'Russian Cluster') at 10:54.8 / +40°28' in Ursa Major)
  • Shorlin — (for example: open star cluster Shorlin 1 at 11:05:46 / -61°13'48" in Carina)
  • Simeis — (for example: supernova remnant Simeis 147 / Sh2-240 in Taurus, also known as the 'Spaghetti Nebula')
  • SIMP — Sondage Infrarouge de Mouvement Propre (French: Infrared Proper Motion Survey), an all-sky survey in the near-infrared initiated in 2005 with the CPARIR camera.[39]
  • Sinnott — (multiple star systems)
  • SIPS — Southern Infrared Proper Motion Survey
  • Sk — Skinner (double stars)
  • SL — Sandqvist-Lindroos (dark nebulae)
  • Slr — R.P. Sellors (double stars)
  • Smart — W.M. Smart (double stars)
  • Smyth — W.H. Smyth (1788–1865) (double stars)
  • Sn — Shane (planetary nebulae)
  • Sp — Giovanni Schiaparelli (double stars)
  • Sp — Shapley (planetary nebulae)
  • Spano — (telescopic asterisms)
  • SPF2 — Second Cat of Fundamental Stars
  • SPF3 — Third Santiago-Pulkovo Fundamental Star Catalogue
  • SPOCS — Spectroscopic Properties of Cool Stars
  • SRS — Southern Reference Star Catalog
  • SS — Sadler and Sharp (survey of E-type and S0-type galaxies)
  • SS — Sanduleak-Stephenson (for example: SS 433 in Aquila)
  • SSSPM — SuperCOSMOS Sky Survey
  • SSTc2d — Spitzer Space Telescope c2d Legacy Source
  • SSTDUSTG — DUSTiNGS (Dust in Nearby Galaxies with Spitzer)
  • St — Carl L. Stearns (double stars)
  • Ste — Stephenson (open star clusters)
  • Stein — Johan Stein (double stars)
  • Steine — (open star clusters)
  • STF (Σ) — Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, aka 'Struve the Father' (double stars)
    • ΣI — W. Struve, First Supplement (double stars)
    • ΣII — W. Struve, Second Supplement (double stars)
  • StM – Charles Bruce Stephenson (late M stars)[40]
  • St / Stock — Jürgen Stock (open star clusters) (Stock 1 and 2 in,[41] Stock 3 to 23 in,[42] Stock 24 in [43])
  • Stone — Ormond Stone (double stars)
  • Streicher — (telescopic asterisms)
  • Stromlo — (for example: Stromlo 2 in Monoceros and Canis Major, at IC 2177; the 'Eagle Nebula')
  • StWr — Stock-Wroblewski (planetary nebulae)
  • Sw — Swift (double stars)
  • SWEEPS — Sagittarius Window Eclipsing Extrasolar Planet Search
  • Swift (for example: Swift J1745-26 in Sagittarius) (stellar-mass black hole)
  • SwSt — Swings-Struve (planetary nebulae)
  • SyO — Sydney Observatory, Australia (double stars)

T

[edit]

U

[edit]

V

[edit]
  • vB — Van Biesbroeck's star catalog, variant, "VB"
  • VBRC (?)
  • VCC — Virgo Cluster Catalog
  • Vd — Vandervort (planetary nebulae)
  • VdB — Van den Bergh (catalogue of reflection nebulae)
  • VdB-H — Van den Bergh-Herbst (open star clusters)
  • VdB-Ha — Van den Bergh-Hagen (open star clusters)
  • VFTS — VLT Flames Tarantula Survey
  • Vou — J.G.E.G. Voute (double stars)
  • VPHAS+ The VST Photometric Hα Survey of the Southern Galactic Plane and Bulge
  • VV — Vorontsov-Vel'yaminov Interacting Galaxies (Boris Aleksandrovich Vorontsov-Vel'yaminov)¨
  • VVV Survey — Vista Variables in the Via Lactea (Latin for Milky Way)
  • VVV-CL — (open star clusters, I.R.)
  • Vy — Vyssotsky (planetary nebulae) (Alexander Vyssotsky)

W

[edit]
  • W — Radiosource (Westerhout)
  • W20 — Washington 20 Catalog
  • Wa / Ward — I.W. Ward (double stars)
  • Wa — Waterloo (open star clusters)
  • WASP — Wide Angle Search for Planets
  • WASP0-TR — Wide Angle Search for Planets, Transit
  • WDS — Washington Double Star Catalog
  • We — Weinberger (planetary nebulae) (Ronald Weinberger)
  • We — Westerlund (open star clusters) (Bengt Westerlund, 1921–2008)
  • Webb — T.W. Webb (double stars)
  • WeDe — Weinberger-Dengle (planetary nebulae)
  • Weisse — M. Weisse (double stars)
  • WeSa — Weinberger-Sabbadin (planetary nebulae)
  • Wg — R.W. Wrigley (double stars)
  • Whiting — Alan B. Whiting (globular star clusters) (for example: Whiting 1 at 2h 02m / -3° 15' in Cetus)
  • WhMe — Whitelock-Menzies
  • Willman — Beth Willman (for example: ultra low-luminosity dwarf galaxy or star cluster Willman 1 in Ursa Major)
  • Wils — R.H. Wilson, Jr. (double stars)
  • Win — Winlock (double stars)
  • Wirtz — Carl Wirtz (double stars)
  • WISE — Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer
  • WISEA — AllWISE Source Catalog
  • WISEP — Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer Preliminary Release Source Catalog
  • WNC / Winn — Winnecke Catalogue of Double Stars
  • WNO — Washington Observations (double stars) (U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington D.C.)
  • Wo — Woolley Nearby Star Catalogue
  • Wolf — Catalogue of High Proper Motion Stars (Wolf)
  • Worley — Charles E. Worley (double stars)
  • WR — Catalog of Galactic Wolf-Rayet stars (Charles Wolf / Georges Rayet)

X

[edit]
  • XBS — XMM-Newton, Bright Source
  • XBSS — XMM-Newton Bright Serendipitous Survey
  • XEST — XMM-Newton Extended Survey of the Taurus Molecular
  • XO — XO-Project (XO Telescope) (search for extrasolar planets)
  • XTE — X-ray Timing Explorer
  • XZ — XZ Catalogue of Zodiacal Stars (Richard Schmidt / Tom Van Flandern, 1977, U.S. Naval Observatory)

Y

[edit]

Z

[edit]
  • Z — Fritz Zwicky, Catalogue of galaxies and of clusters of galaxies
  • ZC — Robertson's Zodiacal Catalogue (James Robertson's catalogue of 3539 zodiacal stars brighter than 9th magnitude)
  • Zij — Islamic astronomical books that tabulates parameters used for astronomical calculations of the positions of the Sun, Moon, stars, and planets

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

List of astronomical catalogues

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Astronomical catalogues are organized collections of data on celestial objects, including their designations, positions, magnitudes, types, and other physical , serving as essential tools for the identification, classification, and study of , galaxies, nebulae, and other phenomena in astronomy. These catalogues typically group objects based on shared characteristics, such as type, morphology, or observational method, and have evolved from historical manual compilations to vast digital databases that underpin modern research. Lists of astronomical catalogues provide a comprehensive enumeration of these resources, highlighting their diversity and utility across subfields like , photometry, and extragalactic studies. Historical examples include the Messier Catalogue, compiled by in the 18th century to distinguish deep-sky objects from comets, containing over 100 entries such as the (M1); the (NGC), published in 1888 by J. L. E. Dreyer as a compilation of non-stellar objects from earlier surveys like those of ; and the Henry Draper Catalogue (HD), released between 1918 and 1924, which classified spectral types for 225,300 stars. In the contemporary era, prominent catalogues such as the from the 1989 ESA mission, offering precise positions, proper motions, and parallaxes for about 118,000 stars; the (SDSS), an ongoing optical survey since 2000 that has mapped millions of galaxies with redshifts and spectra; and the (2022), which provides astrometric data for over 1.8 billion sources with sub-milliarcsecond accuracy for bright stars, exemplify the scale and precision enabled by space-based and ground-based observatories. Specialized lists also cover extragalactic objects, like the Third Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies (RC3), which details positions, redshifts, and morphologies for 23,000 bright galaxies to support cosmological analyses. These catalogues are indispensable for scientific progress, acting as starting points for , instrument , planning, and data , while resources like the /IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) and the service aggregate thousands of them for efficient querying and analysis.

Introduction

Definition and Purpose

Astronomical catalogues are systematic compilations of data on celestial objects, such as stars, galaxies, nebulae, and other phenomena, typically organized by shared characteristics like type, observational method, or of measurement. They consist of tabulated lists that record positional and physical properties derived from astronomical surveys or observations, enabling the structured documentation of vast numbers of objects across the sky. The primary purpose of these catalogues is to facilitate scientific research by providing a standardized framework for discovering new objects, improving measurement precision, and enabling cross-references between datasets. For instance, they support studies of stellar proper motions by tracking positional changes over time and aid in identifying transient events like supernovae through multi-epoch comparisons. By aggregating data from homogeneous surveys, catalogues enhance the accuracy of astronomical analyses, from galactic structure mapping to cosmological parameter estimation, serving as foundational resources for both observers and theorists. Key attributes commonly included in astronomical catalogues encompass equatorial coordinates such as and , brightness measures via apparent magnitudes, spectral classifications, and, where available, distance estimates derived from or . These parameters are selected to capture essential observational and intrinsic properties, allowing users to query and analyze data efficiently. Additional metadata, like proper motions or variability indices, may be incorporated depending on the catalogue's focus. Over time, astronomical catalogues have evolved from manual, printed tables—such as those in early star lists—to fully digital formats stored in databases for global access and computational processing. This shift, accelerating since the 1990s, has emphasized standardization to ensure interoperability, with conventions established by bodies like the (IAU) for coordinate systems (e.g., the J2000.0 epoch) and the Centre de Données astronomiques de (CDS) for data formats, including plain ASCII tables with detailed ReadMe metadata files. These standards promote uniform units (e.g., SI-based) and labeling (e.g., "RAh" for in hours), facilitating data exchange and integration across international projects.

Historical Context

The development of astronomical catalogues began in ancient Greece with Hipparchus of Nicaea, who compiled the first known star catalogue around 127 BCE, recording approximately 850 to 1,080 stars with positions determined using naked-eye observations and simple instruments like the dioptra, motivated by the appearance of a nova. This work introduced the concept of stellar magnitudes and detected the precession of the equinoxes, marking a foundational milestone in systematic celestial mapping. Hipparchus's catalogue was preserved and expanded by Ptolemy in the 2nd century CE through the Almagest, which listed 1,028 stars in ecliptic coordinates, influencing astronomical traditions across the Islamic world and medieval Europe. During the , advanced precision dramatically in the late , creating a catalogue of about 777 to 1,000 observed with large quadrants and sextants at his , achieving accuracies of around 1 arcminute—far surpassing ancient efforts. This dataset, published posthumously in 1627, provided the empirical basis for Johannes Kepler's laws of planetary motion, demonstrating the catalogues' role in enabling theoretical breakthroughs. The Enlightenment era saw further progress with telescopic observations introduced by Galileo in , which expanded the observable sky, leading to John Flamsteed's Historia Coelestis Britannica in 1725, the first zonal catalogue covering the entire sky with 2,935 positioned using a mural arc for navigational accuracy. The industrial era shifted towards photography in the late 19th century, exemplified by John Louis Emil Dreyer's (NGC) of 1888, which consolidated observations of 7,840 nebulae and star clusters from earlier visual surveys, standardizing listings. Pre-digital catalogues faced significant challenges, including positional inaccuracies of 10–30 arcminutes from visual estimates and reliance on manual instruments, limiting reliability and contributing to errors like unaccounted . Despite these limitations, the growth from hundreds of entries in ancient lists to thousands by the 19th century laid the groundwork for modern astronomy, facilitating discoveries in and cosmology.

Historical Catalogues (Pre-1900)

Ancient and Medieval Catalogues

The earliest astronomical catalogues emerged in antiquity, relying on naked-eye observations to record the positions and brightness of visible stars, primarily those bright enough to be seen without optical aids. These pre-telescopic efforts laid the groundwork for later astronomy by providing systematic positional data in geocentric coordinates, often influenced by cultural and mythological frameworks such as zodiacal constellations derived from Babylonian traditions. Limited to magnitudes brighter than about 4, these catalogues typically contained around 1,000 entries and suffered from positional errors up to 1 degree due to instrumental limitations and atmospheric effects. One of the most influential ancient catalogues is Claudius 's Almagest, compiled in the CE in . This work, detailed in Books VII and VIII, lists 1,022 with their ecliptic longitudes, latitudes, and magnitudes, organized into 48 constellations including the zodiac. claimed the positions were observed for the epoch of 137 CE, though debates persist on whether they incorporated earlier data from ; the coordinates reflect geocentric measurements accurate to within 10-30 arcminutes for many stars, serving as the standard reference for over a millennium and forming the basis for translations and medieval European adaptations. In the medieval Islamic world, Ulugh Beg's , produced in the at the Samarkand Observatory, represented a significant refinement of Ptolemaic data. Completed around 1437 CE under the Timurid ruler (grandson of ), it enumerates 1,019 stars with revised longitudes and latitudes, benefiting from precise meridian observations using large instruments like the , which improved accuracy to about 15-20 arcminutes in . The catalogue retained Ptolemy's constellation framework but corrected systematic errors in longitudes, drawing on earlier Islamic astronomers like al-Sufi, and was later translated into Latin, influencing scholars. Approaching the end of the medieval period, Tycho Brahe's catalogue of 1598 marked the pinnacle of naked-eye precision before the . Observed from his observatory on the island of Hven, it records 1,004 stars with positions reduced to the epoch of 1555, achieving accuracies of 1-2 arcminutes through meticulous observations with armillary spheres and quadrants—no optical telescopes were used. Brahe's work maintained the traditional 48 Ptolemaic constellations, emphasizing bright stars while providing data crucial for Kepler's later laws of planetary motion.

18th and 19th Century Catalogues

The advent of the in the early marked a pivotal shift in astronomical cataloguing, enabling the identification and positioning of fainter stars and non-stellar objects beyond naked-eye limits. Johann Bayer's Uranometria, published in 1603, represented an early milestone in this era, featuring 51 star charts that plotted approximately 1,700 stars across constellations using a novel Greek-letter designation system (e.g., Alpha for the brightest in each). These designations, derived from positions in Tycho Brahe's catalogue, facilitated quick reference and became a enduring standard for naming prominent stars. By the , systematic full-sky surveys emerged, driven by improved instrumentation at observatories like Greenwich. , England's first , compiled the Historia Coelestis Britannica in 1725, cataloguing 2,935 stars with precise and coordinates, marking the first comprehensive positional survey of the entire visible from the . This work incorporated visual magnitude estimates, building on earlier qualitative brightness assessments to aid in . Flamsteed's numbering system within constellations complemented Bayer's letters, enhancing the utility of star identification. The period also saw a focus on deep-sky objects, spurred by comet hunters seeking to distinguish transient phenomena from fixed celestial features. Charles Messier's catalogue, first published in 1774 and expanded through 1781, listed 110 nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies—such as the (M42) and (M1)—primarily to avoid mistaking them for s during his searches. Messier's observations, conducted with a 100 mm refractor, emphasized descriptive notes on appearance and position, influencing subsequent deep-sky studies without formal magnitude assignments. William Herschel's systematic "sweeps" of the sky from the 1780s to the early 1800s dramatically expanded knowledge of nebulae, yielding catalogues of about 2,500 such objects, including many newly discovered galaxies that he interpreted as "island universes" beyond the . Using his custom 20-foot reflector telescope, Herschel conducted over 200 sweeps, recording positions, sizes, and brightness via visual estimates, with his 1786 and 1789 publications listing the first and second thousand nebulae, respectively. These efforts highlighted the 's structure and introduced quantitative descriptions, such as resolving some nebulae into star clusters. The brought refinements in magnitude scales and large-scale zonal surveys, standardizing measurements for broader applications. Building on Flamsteed's estimates, astronomers like assigned magnitudes from 1 (brightest) to 6 (faintest visible), but Norman Pogson formalized the system in , defining a five-magnitude difference as a factor of 100 in on a , which aligned ancient divisions with precise photometry. This enabled consistent comparisons across catalogues. A landmark achievement was Friedrich Argelander's Bonner Durchmusterung (BD), published between 1859 and 1862, which visually surveyed and catalogued 324,198 stars down to about ninth magnitude north of -2° using observations at Bonn Observatory. Covering zones from +90° to -2° in and , the BD provided positions accurate to 1 arcminute and magnitudes to 0.5 steps, serving as a foundational reference for studies and later photographic efforts. Consolidating earlier deep-sky lists, John Louis Emil Dreyer's New General Catalogue (NGC) of 1888 compiled 7,840 nebulae and star clusters, integrating observations from Messier, Herschel, and others with updated positions equinoxed to 1860.0 and descriptive notes on structure, this catalogue emphasized uniformity and cross-references, becoming the standard for non-stellar object nomenclature (e.g., NGC 1 to NGC 7840). Dreyer later extended it with the Index Catalogue (IC) in the 1890s and 1900s, adding thousands more objects discovered post-1888.

20th Century Catalogues

Ground-Based Photographic Surveys

Ground-based photographic surveys in the marked a significant advancement in astronomical cataloguing, leveraging the stability and uniformity of photographic plates exposed through telescopes to map stellar positions across wide sky regions. These instruments, typically double astrographs with objective lenses of 200–300 mm and focal lengths around 3 meters, enabled the capture of consistent images over large fields, minimizing distortions and atmospheric effects through careful plate calibration. Surveys focused on northern and southern hemispheres, extending coverage to stars fainter than magnitude 9–10, with positional accuracies improving to 1–2 arcseconds by mid-century due to refined measurement techniques on glass plates. This era built upon 19th-century visual efforts like the Bonner Durchmusterung, transitioning to photography for greater objectivity and volume. The Henry Draper Catalogue (HD), published between 1918 and 1924, represents a pioneering effort in large-scale using , compiling spectral types for 225,300 stars brighter than magnitude 9 across the entire sky. Conducted at Observatory under Edward C. Pickering and Annie J. Cannon, it utilized low-dispersion spectra captured on photographic plates with a 11-inch Bache , introducing the Harvard that prioritized temperature sequences (OBAFGKM). This catalogue's comprehensive coverage and standardized typing laid the foundation for modern , enabling studies of galactic and . The Boss General Catalogue, released in 1936–1937 by Benjamin Boss at the Dudley Observatory, provided astrometric data for 33,342 fundamental stars, including positions, proper motions, and magnitudes derived from a synthesis of photographic and observations. Compiled to establish a reliable reference frame for epoch 1950.0, it incorporated plates from multiple observatories to compute annual proper motions with uncertainties around 0.01 arcseconds per year, supporting dynamical studies of the solar neighborhood. Its emphasis on high-precision motions distinguished it from purely positional surveys, influencing subsequent astrometric frameworks. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Catalogue (SAO), published in 1966, catalogued positions and proper motions for 258,997 stars down to visual magnitude 10, drawing from over 100,000 photographic plates measured at observatories worldwide. Assembled under the SAO's direction, it achieved mean positional errors of about 1 arcsecond through least-squares reductions of overlapping plate data, covering the sky uniformly for applications in satellite tracking and fundamental astronomy. This catalogue's scale and accuracy reflected the maturation of photographic astrometry, serving as a bridge to space-based efforts. Extensions to the Bonner Durchmusterung, such as the Durchmusterung completed between 1892 and 1932, extended visual surveys photographically to southern declinations from -22° to -90°, enumerating 613,953 stars brighter than magnitude 10. Led by John M. Thome at the National Observatory of , it used astrographic plates to supplement visual counts, filling gaps in southern sky coverage and providing zonal coordinates for cross-referencing with northern catalogues. These efforts ensured hemispheric completeness, with positional precisions of 10–20 arcseconds, vital for early 20th-century galactic mapping.

Early Spectroscopic and Space-Based Efforts

The development of spectroscopic catalogues in the early marked a significant advancement in , building on photographic surveys by incorporating spectral analysis to infer physical properties. The Henry Draper Catalogue extensions, published up to 1949, integrated the Harvard spectral system devised by , which arranged into the OBAFGKM sequence based on the prominence and strength of absorption lines indicative of and composition. This system enabled the classification of approximately 225,000 in the initial catalogue, expanding to a total of about 359,000 in subsequent extensions, revealing elemental abundances such as and dominance in hotter O-type and cooler molecular features in M-types. Spectroscopy also facilitated dynamical studies by combining spectral types with astrometric data to estimate distances and motions. A key example is the Index Catalogue of Visual Double Stars by H.M. Jeffers, W.H. van den Bos, and F.M. Greeby (1963), with supplements through 1971, which compiled data for 64,250 binary and multiple star systems, including trigonometric parallaxes for more than 2,000 stars to derive orbital dynamics and relative motions. These efforts integrated proper motions observed over decades, allowing astronomers to model binary evolutions and stellar masses without atmospheric interference in ground-based . The launch of space-based observatories in the 1970s revolutionized (UV) astronomy by bypassing Earth's atmospheric absorption, enabling high-resolution spectra of hot and gaseous nebulae. The (OAO) missions, particularly OAO-2 (1968–1973) and OAO-3/Copilot (1972–1981), produced catalogues of UV photometry and spectra for thousands of sources, including bright and early-type objects, highlighting emission lines from and stellar winds. The International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE), operational from 1978 to 1996, further expanded these efforts with its archival database containing over 100,000 low- and high-dispersion spectra of more than 10,000 astronomical objects, including stars, nebulae, and galaxies. IUE data provided detailed compositional insights, such as metal abundances in B-type stars and excitation states in planetary nebulae, supporting models of stellar atmospheres and interstellar chemistry unobservable from the ground.

Modern Catalogues (2000–Present)

Large-Scale Astrometric and Photometric Surveys

Large-scale astrometric and photometric surveys in the have revolutionized the measurement of stellar positions, proper motions, and brightnesses across the sky, enabling precise mapping of the Milky Way's structure and dynamics. These efforts, primarily from space-based missions, provide data for millions to billions of stars with unprecedented accuracy, overcoming atmospheric distortions that limit ground-based observations. Building on earlier missions like , the Tycho-2 Catalogue, released in 2000, expanded coverage to 2,539,913 of the brightest stars across the entire sky, incorporating data from the mission's parallel Tycho instrument alongside ground-based . It provides positions accurate to about 60 mas, proper motions to roughly 2.5 mas per year, and two-color photometry in the BTB_T and VTV_T bands, facilitating studies of and Galactic rotation. Proper motions in such catalogues are often characterized by error ellipses, representing the covariance in the two tangential components ( and directions), which quantify the uncertainty in a star's velocity vector on the sky. The ESA's Gaia mission, operational since 2013, represents the pinnacle of these surveys, with its data releases progressively unveiling , photometry, and for vast stellar populations. Data Release 1 () in included positions and G-band photometry for over 1.1 billion sources, with parallaxes and proper motions for a Tycho- Astrometric Solution (TGAS) subset of about 2 million . DR2 in expanded to 1.7 billion sources, providing parallaxes and proper motions for 1.3 billion (with median uncertainties of 0.04 mas for bright ) and line-of-sight radial velocities for 7.2 million brighter than G=13. Photometry in uses the broad G band (330–1050 nm) for astrometric support, supplemented by integrated fluxes in the (GBP, 330–680 nm) and red (GRP, 630–1050 nm) bands for color information and . Gaia DR3, released in 2022, contains astrometric and photometric data for 1.8 billion sources, including parallaxes with median errors of 0.02 mas for bright objects, proper motions for 1.5 billion, and radial velocities for 33 million . It further incorporates astrophysical parameters for over 470 million (e.g., effective temperatures, extinctions), classifications for 12.4 million variable , and details on nearly 1 million non-single systems such as binaries. These releases, with their error ellipses for proper motions typically under 0.1 mas/yr for nearby , have enabled transformative insights into Galactic archaeology, distribution, and . The dd in parsecs is given by d=1πd = \frac{1}{\pi}, with π\pi the angle in arcseconds.

Digital Sky Surveys and Multi-Epoch Data

Digital sky surveys represent a paradigm shift in astronomy, enabling the systematic collection of pixel-level imaging data across wide fields with high sensitivity and uniformity. These ground-based efforts, initiated in the early , utilize large-format digital detectors to capture multi-wavelength observations, often repeated over multiple epochs to detect variability in celestial objects such as stars, galaxies, quasars, and transients. Unlike earlier photographic surveys, digital approaches allow for precise , photometry, and , facilitating the identification of millions of quasars and the discovery of asteroids through streak detection in images. By 2025, these surveys have amassed petabytes of data, supporting studies of cosmic evolution, , and time-domain phenomena. The (SDSS), operational since 2000 and ongoing through phases like SDSS-V, has imaged over 500 million objects, including spectra for over 5.8 million galaxies and stars as of 2025, using the five broad-band ugriz filters to probe optical wavelengths from to near-infrared. This survey's pixel-level imaging enables detailed morphological analysis and has been instrumental in identifications, with catalogs containing hundreds of thousands of such objects up to high redshifts. Additionally, SDSS data have contributed to discoveries by revealing moving streaks across exposures, integrating orbital solutions into broader solar catalogs. The Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), completed in 2003, provided the first near-infrared census of the sky in the JHK bands, cataloging 470 million point sources—predominantly —and 1.6 million extended sources, primarily galaxies, from its extended source catalog. Its uniform coverage to sensitivities of about 15 mag in K-band has been crucial for penetrating dust-obscured regions, revealing cool , , and galactic structures invisible in optical surveys. Multi-epoch observations in select areas allowed initial variability studies, complementing optical data for complete analyses. Pan-STARRS, encompassing the Pan-STARRS1 (PS1) survey from 2010 to 2013 and subsequent PS2 efforts through 2018, detected 3 billion objects across three-quarters of the sky using grizY filters, with a strong emphasis on time-domain science for transients like supernovae and variable stars. The survey's repeated imaging—up to 60 exposures per field—facilitates the detection of short-term changes, yielding light curves for millions of sources and enabling rapid alerts for follow-up observations. Pixel-level data processing has supported selections and tracking, with thousands of near-Earth objects identified through differential imaging techniques. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), expected to commence in late 2025, is poised to revolutionize multi-epoch astronomy with a projected catalog of 20 billion objects over a 10-year baseline, imaging the southern sky nightly in six optical bands to depths exceeding 24.5 mag. Its wide-field camera will produce time-series data with a cadence of minutes to years, capturing variability across scales from solar system bodies to distant supernovae, while pixel-level imaging ensures high-fidelity alerts for ~10 million transients per night. Early integrations with prior surveys like SDSS will enhance and identifications, building a dynamic map of the evolving .

Specialized Catalogues

Deep-Sky and Galaxy Catalogues

Deep-sky catalogues compile observations of non-stellar astronomical objects such as nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies, providing foundational data for studying extended structures beyond the . These catalogues emerged from visual and photographic surveys, evolving to include detailed classifications like morphological types along the , which categorizes galaxies from elliptical (E) to spiral (S) forms, including lenticular (S0) intermediates, based on visual appearance and structure. catalogues, meanwhile, focus on aggregates of hundreds to thousands of galaxies bound by gravity, often parameterized by richness classes that quantify member density, such as Abell's scale from 0 (poorest) to 5 (richest), where class 1 denotes at least 50 galaxies within a specified magnitude range. The Messier Catalogue, compiled by French astronomer between 1758 and 1782, lists 110 bright deep-sky objects visible to the or small telescopes, including nebulae, open and globular clusters, and galaxies, originally to distinguish them from comets. Revised in the to its current form, it remains a standard reference for amateur and professional observers due to the prominence of its objects, such as the (M42) and (M31). The (NGC), published in 1888 by Danish-British astronomer J. Louis E. Dreyer, enumerates 7,840 nebulae, clusters, and galaxies observed primarily with large 19th-century telescopes, drawing from earlier surveys like William Herschel's. Supplemented by the Index Catalogues (IC) in 1895 (1,520 objects) and 1908 (3,866 objects), the combined NGC/IC totals 13,226 entries, serving as a comprehensive inventory of faint deep-sky objects up to that era and enabling systematic studies of galactic distributions. Modern versions, like NGC 2000.0, provide updated coordinates for equatorial use. The , introduced in 1958 by American astronomer George O. Abell, identifies 2,712 rich clusters in the northern sky from Sky Survey plates, selecting those with at least 50 member galaxies within a magnitude interval of m_3 to m_3 + 2, where m_3 is the magnitude of the third-brightest member, and limiting to redshift z < 0.2. Each cluster receives a richness class (0–5) based on galaxy count, with class 1 requiring 50–69 members, facilitating analyses of large-scale structure and cosmology; a 1989 southern extension added 1,364 more. The Revised Shapley-Ames Catalogue (RC3), published in 1991 by Gérard de Vaucouleurs and collaborators, expands the 1932 Shapley-Ames list to 23,024 bright galaxies with diameters over 1 arcminute and magnitudes brighter than B ≈ 15.5, incorporating homogeneous photometry, radial velocities, and morphological classifications along the . It emphasizes nearby (v < 15,000 km/s) objects for studies of galaxy evolution, with detailed parameters like axial ratios and position angles to quantify spiral arm structures and bar features. The COSMOS Catalogue, initiated in the 2000s with Hubble Space Telescope imaging of a 1.6 square degree field and culminating in the COSMOS2025 release on June 6, 2025, compiles approximately 750,000 galaxies using combined Hubble, James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and ground-based data, providing photometric redshifts accurate to σ_z ≈ 0.01(1+z) for most objects up to z ≈ 6. This enables precise morphological typing via the Hubble sequence, revealing evolution from clumpy high-redshift progenitors to structured spirals, and supports cluster detection through density mapping.

Exoplanet and Solar System Catalogues

Astronomical catalogues dedicated to exoplanets and Solar System objects play a crucial role in understanding planetary systems within and beyond our own, compiling data on orbital parameters, physical properties, and discovery methods. These resources aggregate observations from ground-based and space-based telescopes, enabling researchers to study dynamics, formation, and . Key catalogues focus on small bodies like asteroids and comets, as well as extrasolar planets detected primarily through transit photometry and (RV) techniques. The (MPC), operated by the and the since 1947, serves as the official repository for and observational data on minor planets, including over 1.2 million asteroids and several thousand comets as of 2025. It provides essential parameters such as semi-major axis, eccentricity, inclination, and perihelion distance, derived from astrometric observations worldwide, facilitating and potential impact risk assessments. The MPC's database is continuously updated with new discoveries, emphasizing provisional designations and long-term orbital stability analyses. NASA's Exoplanet Archive, established in 2011 by the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at Caltech, consolidates confirmed exoplanets and candidates from various missions, cataloguing more than 6,000 verified exoplanets as of November 2025. It includes detailed parameters like orbital period, semi-major axis, eccentricity, and planetary radius/mass, sourced from peer-reviewed publications and mission data. This archive supports comparative exoplanetology by integrating host star properties and enabling queries on system architectures, such as hot Jupiters or super-Earths. The Kepler Catalogue, resulting from NASA's Kepler mission (2009–2018), lists over 2,600 confirmed exoplanets discovered via the transit method, where a planet's silhouette passes in front of its host star, causing periodic dips in brightness. Focused on a single field in Cygnus, it revolutionized the field by revealing the prevalence of small, rocky worlds, with data including transit depth (proportional to the area ratio of planet to star) and duration. The catalogue's legacy includes the first Earth-sized planets in habitable zones, validated through follow-up spectroscopy. Building on Kepler, the (TESS) mission catalogue, operational since 2018, has identified over 7,200 candidates by 2025, prioritizing bright, nearby within 200 light-years for easier atmospheric . TESS employs full-sky surveys in 26 sectors, detecting transits with higher for short-period , and its data yield parameters like impact parameter and limb-darkening coefficients. This catalogue emphasizes multi-planet systems and facilitates synergies with ground-based follow-ups. A fundamental metric in transit surveys is the geometric transit probability, approximated as P≈R⋆aP \approx \frac{R_\star}{a}, where R⋆R_\star is the stellar radius and aa is the planet's semi-major axis; this probability arises from the condition that the orbital inclination ii must satisfy cos⁡i<R⋆a\cos i < \frac{R_\star}{a} for the planet's disk to occult the star, assuming a circular orbit and neglecting planetary radius. For radial velocity detections, the semi-amplitude KK quantifies the stellar wobble induced by the planet, given by K=(2πGP)1/3Mpsin⁡iM⋆2/311−e2K = \left( \frac{2\pi G}{P} \right)^{1/3} \frac{M_p \sin i}{M_\star^{2/3}} \frac{1}{\sqrt{1 - e^2}}
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