Andrew Cooper
Oct 20, 2023    Waikoloa, HI (map)
20cm f/6 Newtonian, Cave Astrola @ 76x
Seeing: 6 Transparency: 7 Moon: 0%

Pale orange, no companion noted, non-visual binary, 109 Psc is visible 36' east-southeast

Captain William Henry Smyth
Jan 11, 1837    No. 6 The Crescent, Bedford, England (map)
150mm f/17.6 refractor by Tully 1827

A double star, just before the horn of Aries, where it is the apex of an isosceles triangle, of which β and γ Arietis form the base. A 5½, pale yellow; and B 14, dusky. This is a very delicate but wide object in a barren field, with a minute star in the nf towards the vertical. It is No. 2071 of John Herschel's Fifth Series. The comes is so minute that light is inadmissible; the position is therefore gained by the spherical crystal micrometer, and the distance carefully estimated. The following proper motion through space has been assigned to A:

    P.... RA -0".32  Dec. -0".57
    B....    -0".27       -0".66
    A....    -0".30       -0".67
   [Gaia DR2 -0".301592   -0".674505]

[Gaia DR2 data reveals that this companion star is a background object with a small parallax and little proper motion

Note that the 1830's estimates of proper motion for 107 Psc were quite good when compared to the Gaia data, did their accuracy improve for objects with high proper motion? Probably.]

― A Cycle of Celestial Objects Vol II, The Bedford Catalogue, William Henry Smyth, 1844

Drawings, descriptions, and CCD photos are copyright Andrew Cooper unless otherwise noted, no usage without permission.

A complete list of credits and sources can be found on the about page