Abell catalogue
| Survey type |
astronomical catalog 
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|---|---|
| Target |
galaxy cluster
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| Published | 1958
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The Abell catalog of rich clusters of galaxies is an all-sky catalog of 4,073 rich galaxy clusters of nominal redshift z ≤ 0.2. This catalog supplements a revision of George O. Abell’s original “Northern Survey” of 1958, which had only 2,712 clusters, with a further 1,361 clusters – the “Southern Survey” of 1989, published after Abell's death by co-authors Harold G. Corwin and Ronald P. Olowin from those parts of the south celestial hemisphere that had been omitted from the earlier survey.
The Abell catalog, and especially its clusters, are of interest to amateur astronomers as challenge objects to be viewed in dark locations on large aperture amateur telescopes.
The original catalog of 2,712 rich clusters of galaxies was published in 1958 by George O. Abell (1927–83), who was then studying at the California Institute of Technology. The catalog, which formed part of Abell’s PhD thesis, was prepared by means of a visual inspection of the red 103a-E plates of the Palomar Sky Survey (POSS), for which Abell was one of the principal observers. A. G. Wilson, another of the principal observers, assisted Abell in the initial stages of the survey by routinely inspecting the plates as they were produced. After the completion of the survey, Abell went over the plates again and carried out a more detailed inspection. In both cases inspection was made with a 3.5× magnifying lens.
To qualify for inclusion in the catalog, a cluster had to satisfy four criteria:
In the catalog as originally published the clusters were listed in increasing order of right ascension. Equatorial coordinates (right ascension and declination) were given for the equinox of 1855 (the epoch of the Bonner Durchmusterung) and galactic coordinates for 1900.
Also listed for each cluster were the following:
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