Captain William Henry Smyth
Oct 23, 1831    No. 6 The Crescent, Bedford, England (map)
150mm f/17.6 refractor by Tully 1827

A coarse triple star, on the right knee of Pollux. A 4, pale topaz; B 8, violet; and C 13, grey. This was registered as a double star 9 ♅. VI., and re-examined as a pair by H. and S.; hut the third star lying too handy to be omitted, when once seen, I entered it. Including a deduction drawn from Piazzi's mean places of the components, the previous measures are thus tabulated:

    ♅.      Pos. 351° 14'  Dist. 91".86  Ep. 1779.77
    P.           354° 30'        88".30      1800.00
    H. and S.    355° 27'        91".03      1821.23
   [WDS AC       347°           101".50      2017   ]

This star is called Mekbuda, from al-makbúdah contracted, or rather mut-a-kabbidah, a culminating star; it comprehends the two bright stars of Castor and Pollux, and forms the Vllth Lunar Mansion, called by the Arabs al-dhirá, the arm or paw of the lion. It is easily seen on running a line between the cluster in Orion's sword and Pollux, for it passes over ζ at 9° from the latter star; and it is near the mid-distance between ζ Tauri, the tip of the southern horn, and the Præsepe in Cancer.

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

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