Andrew Cooper
Feb 22, 2022    Waikoloa, HI (map)
20cm f/6 Newtonian, Cave Astrola @ 76x
Seeing: 5 Transparency: 7 Moon: 0%

Rich yellow, an 11th magnitude companion visible 1' south, τ Aur is visible 27' west

Gaia EDR3 data shows this companion, cataloged as WDS J05515+3909B, to clearly be a background star not associated with ν Aur

Captain William Henry Smyth
Oct 1, 1833    No. 6 The Crescent, Bedford, England (map)
150mm f/17.6 refractor by Tully 1827

A coarse double star, on Auriga's left arm. A 5, rich yellow; B 12, dusky red; herein agreeing more than usual with Sir William Herschel's colour. This object is 90 ♅. V., thus tabulated:

    Pos. 208° 12' Dist. 53".71 Ep. 1782.68
   [WDS  206°           55".9      2012]

The position of B, and even the colour, identify it with Sir William's star; but the discordance in the distance is very great, for mere error of estimation. Sir William says, that the small star is not visible till after some minutes attention; but I found no difficulty in seeing the one here registered. It is readily distinguished by glancing about 10° along a line passed from Capella to Procyon, over ε in the knee of Castor.

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

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