Andrew Cooper
Feb 1, 2020    Waikoloa, HI (map)
20cm f/6 Newtonian, Cave Astrola @ 136x
Seeing: 7 Transparency: 6 Moon: 0%

A fine binary a pale yellow with an obvious 7th magnitude companion visible 15" southwest (listed by WDS as C), high magnification reveals another companion at 11th magnitude visible 10" north (listed by WDS as B)

The C companion shares matching parallax and proper motion in the GAIA data indication a probable physical pair of 14 Aur, while the B companion appears to be a background star.

Captain William Henry Smyth
Oct 23, 1832    No. 6 The Crescent, Bedford, England (map)
150mm f/17.6 refractor by Tully 1827

A fine triple star, over Auriga's right knee; about 15° down on the line which runs from Capella to Rigel. A 5, pale yellow; B 7½, orange; C 16, purple; A and C pointing to a distant fourth star in the np quadrant. The two principal individuals of this object form 19 ♅. IV., and B was thus noticed by Piazzi: "1" temporis 20" ad austrum praecedit telescopica." The former measures of A and B are as follows:

    ♅.        Pos. 232°22'  Dist. 16".09±  Ep. 1780.73
    H. and S.      224°23'        14".61       1822.10
   [WDS             11°           12".0        2014   ]

From these determinations, a change in the angle of position was inferred, but my measures, after an interval of ten years, do not confirm it. Σ. also examined this object, and discovered the delicate companion C, which had escaped the gaze of all other observers, and requires the most careful attention even to be perceived by occasional glimpses, but when seen, has a peculiar deep purple tint, which strikes singularly on the eye from so excessively minute an object. Σ.'s measures are:

    Pos. AB  225°.48  Dist. 14".653  Ep. 1830.55
         AC  342°.37        12".577

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

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