Harold Corwin

IC 4347 = NGC 5367. As usual, there is no question about which object John Herschel found and measured. It is the brightest nebula in a group of reflection nebulae, this particular one around a double star, also discovered by John Herschel (John Herschel 4636).

Swift rediscovered this on 30 December 1897. That it is indeed the same nebula that John Herschel saw is confirmed by Swift's note (published in the Popular Astronomy and MNRAS incarnations of his paper, but not in the big collected "11th Catalogue" in AN):

This is a nebulous star, the only one I have ever found. The central star is about 8m, and surrounded with an exceedingly faint atmosphere. An 8m star follows 15s, which was free from nebulosity.

This description is virtually identical to one of John Herschel's:

Very faint; 2-arcmin diameter; a * 9 m following, is about 4 arcmin distant, is unaffected with nebulosity.

In another description, he refers to it as "A close double star in a very large, bright luminous atmosphere, 2-arcmin diameter."

All this consistency means that Swift simply rediscovered NGC 5367. There are some minor differences between Swift's various published positions and descriptions, and the NGC description, but not enough to affect the final verdict in this case.

I have given positions for the various brighter stars involved in the nebulosity, and have adopted that for John Herschel's double star (Swift's "central star") for that of the NGC/IC object itself.

― IC Notes by Harold Corwin

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