Harold Corwin

IC 1 is a double star or -- more strictly -- the southwestern component of a double star. Bigourdan measured the northeastern star on just one night in November 1886, commenting, "The measured object is a star 13.3 near which, at PA = 240 deg, d = 0.4 arcmin, is found another star of the same brightness. This second star is not quite [completely] stellar, and could be accompanied by some traces of nebulosity."

The second star is in fact stellar, which accounts for Bigourdan's failure to see any nebulosity again in 1888 and 1890. Bigourdan's position for the northeastern star is good, as is his estimated offset for his suspected nebula.

For many years, we took the pair to be IC 1, but Bigourdan is clear that he suspected just the southwestern star to be nebulous.

― IC Notes by Harold Corwin

Drawings, descriptions, and CCD photos are copyright Andrew Cooper unless otherwise noted, no usage without permission.

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