Harold Corwin

NGC 171 = NGC 175. Dreyer (1912, William Herschel's collected papers) tells us that Caroline Herschel made a 1 degree error while reducing the position of III 223. There is certainly nothing in the place given in NGC, though the identity with III 223 carries two question marks. Auwers has the correct declination in his published reduction of William Herschel's observations.

The spare number comes from GC. Unfortunately, John Herschel has no note there telling us why he put the number in. However, in CGH, he notes the 1 degree difference in the polar distances between III 223 and h2334 (N175) while again putting a question mark on the number from his father's catalogue. Enough doubt apparently remained in his mind about the identity that he put two entries into GC, both of which Dreyer copied into the NGC. Dreyer checked back into William Herschel's manuscripts while working on the Collected Papers, and found Caroline Herschel's error.

― NGC Notes by Harold Corwin

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