Harold Corwin

IC 1294 is probably the asterism of 3 or 4 stars listed in the table of positions. Swift is unusually voluble about this object. In addition to the usual description of the object itself ("eeeF, S, iR, eee diff") he adds, "F * close nf both in line with 3 vF sts in form of arc of circle. The F * is in the middle. Not NGC 6695."

The arc of three stars that Swift mentions is about 2 arcmin northeast. This is a clear match to his note. However, that would make his "F * ... in the middle" a considerably fainter double star a bit closer to his "nebula". In order for his "F *" to be brighter than the three "vF sts" in his arc, as his note suggests, we have to suppose that one or both of the pair is variable, and that he saw it near its maximum.

This makes it less likely that the identification of I1294 that I suggest is actually the right one. But I don't see anything else nearby that matches Swift's note as well.

Wolfgang has chosen a faint galaxy about 30 arcsec northwest of a considerably brighter star. I think it is too faint for Swift to have dug out, and is too far from his position. It would probably be overwhelmed by the star at the eyepiece.

We have to keep in mind, too, Swift's propensity for mangling his positions. See IC 1300 and IC 1301 for two examples.

So, I've put a colon on this IC number in the table. Sigh.

― IC Notes by Harold Corwin

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