Captain William Henry Smyth
Dec 10, 1831    No. 6 The Crescent, Bedford, England (map)
150mm f/17.6 refractor by Tully 1827

A double star, between the horns of Taurus; where a line from Sirius passed close to the west of Betelgeuze, and led nearly as far again, will find it, lying between α and β Tauri. A 6, pearly white; B 13, pale blue. This is No. 114 ♅. V., and though a widish object in a bare field, it is fine and delicate. ♅., who calls A 203 Tauri, has not mentioned the quadrant in which B is placed, but assuming his angle 72°24' to be sp, his measures will be thus:

    Pos. 197°36'  Dist. 30".03 Ep. 1782.94
   [WDS  198°           36".60     2000   ]

― 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