Harold Corwin

IC 689 = NGC 3661. The IC number is from another of the Leander McCormick micrometrically measured nebulae that found its way into IC1 by mistake. The two positions -- NGC and IC -- are virtually identical, yet neither the LM observers (Muller and Stone) nor Dreyer noticed this.

This is even more puzzling since Muller and Stone did notice the NGC number on the following of the two nebulae, NGC 3667. Oh, well -- these things happen.

Just to add to the confusion, Stone misidentified his comparison star, though Muller did not. Had the LM folks reduced their observations to RA and Dec, they probably would have noticed this. The stars, by the way, are two of three in a line southwest of the galaxy. Though of approximately equal brightness, only two of them made it into the BD extension. Stone thought his star was the first of the two BD stars, but it was actually the one the BD observers missed.

― 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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