Captain William Henry Smyth
Apr 8, 1832    No. 6 The Crescent, Bedford, England (map)
150mm f/17.6 refractor by Tully 1827

A close double star, over the Crab's southern leg; where a line from the upper star in Orion's belt passed under β Canis Minoris, and extended 12° beyond, will find it. Five skips like that from Bellatrix to Betelgeuze will also pick it up. A 7½, lucid white; B 12, pale grey,—and there are several distant stars in the sf quadrant, with one in the np nearly pointed upon by a line through A and B. This object was discovered by Σ., and thus measured:

    Pos. 335°.93 Dist. 2".357 Ep. 1829.55
   [WDS  305°          2".70      2016   ]

― 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