AQUARIUS.

A dull-looking constellation, but well repaying telescopic research.

Double Stars.

(2909). xx11h 22m, S o° 41': 4, 4'5: 356°: 3"6, 1831; 346°9: 3"-2, 1852; D 336°3: 3"3, 1866; Kn 333°6: 33, 1871: flushed white, creamy. A very fine object; two suns revolving, Sm thinks, in a period of 750 y., but as yet very uncertain. A very small aperture shews it.

In the centre of a triangle of nearly equal stars, all easily seen with the naked eye.

12 (Σ 2745). xxh 57m, S 6° 20′: 5'5, 8·5: 191°: 2′′-8: creamy white, light blue. Slow motion? Brightest of vicinity. (2 12 App. II). xxinh 9m, S 9° 48': 5'5, 9: 310°5: 49" 5 orange or topaz yellow, sky blue. Σ suspects c. p. m.

107. XXIII 39, S 19° 24: 6, 7°5: 141°8: 5"5: white, purplish. P Sm thinks colours variable. Possibly binary.

29. xX1h 55m, S 17° 35': 6, 8, 1830: 242°: 4"5: white, bluish. [Very little differing in size, 8 perhaps the smaller, 1849, 1851-3-5; 0'3 mag. smaller, 9 in. spec. 1871.]

41. XXII 7m, S 21° 43': 6, 85: 119°4: 4"8: topaz yellow, cerulean blue. A 7 m. star makes it a pretty group.

94 (2 2998). XXII1h 12m, S 14° 10′; 6, 8·5: 345°4: 14" pale rose, light emerald, 1838; orange, flushed blue, 1850. 2 ascribes c. p. m. to this beautiful pair.

53. XXI 19m, S 17° 24′: 6·5, 6·5: 301°5: 9′′9: pale white.

P XXII 200 ( 2935). xx11b 36m, S 8° 59′: 7, 85: 31308 27: white, 1833, 1838 [8-5 grey or bluish? 1850]; so Se 1855. 21° pλ, a little s.

[AQUARIUS]

P XXII 219 ( 2944). Triple. XXIIh 41m, S 4° 54′: 7′5, 8, 9: 247°°4, 158° : 4′′2, 55," 1835; De 146°7: 50′′7, 1862 yellow, two flushed white.

[ 2913. xxI1h 24m, S 8° 47′: 7, 8: 331°9: 8′′: white, reddish. [9, 10 of Sm's scale, 9 in. spec. 1871.]

[72. xx11h 43m, S 14° 17', is a beautiful orange 5 m. star, with distant companion.]

[24-ƒ M 2, a little n, in the head; 7, 10.]

[About half-way between ẞ Aquar. and & Peg. lies a pretty little white 8.5 m. pair.]

[About xx1h 38m, S 0° 30' a rich region where a low power includes three double stars at once.]

Nebulæ.

4678 (M 2). XX1h 27m, S 1° 24'. Beautiful large round neb. shewing, with 37 in. aperture, a granulated appearance, the precursor of resolution. H compares it to a heap of fine sand, and considers it to be composed of thousands of 15 m. stars. Sm observes that this magnificent ball of stars condenses to the centre, and presents so fine a spherical form that imagination cannot but picture the inconceivable brilliance of their visible heavens, to its animated myriads.'

4628 (H IV 1). xxh 57m, S 11° 52'. Planetary; somewhat elliptic; very bright for an object of this nature; pale blue; not well defined in 5 f. achr., but bearing magnifying like a planet, much otherwise than a common nebula. One of the finest specimens of these extraordinary bodies, to which their discoverer H assigned a distinct class. The E. of Rosse finds a ray on each side. Lassell detects within it a bright well-defined elliptic ring; Buffham, 9 in. spec., an opening.

[AQUARIUS]

Se, who gives its diameters 25" and 17", saw it sparkle, and believed it to be a heap of stars: the spectroscope of Huggins reveals, however, the astounding fact that it is a mass of incandescent gas. About 13° pv, 5 m.

AQUILA.

Al Tair (xIxh 44m, N 8°32′), the lucida of this rich constellation, has been thought variable, and has a very sensible proper motion.

Double Stars.

7. XIXh 40m, N 10° 18′: 3: very fine yellow. Not inserted for Sm's 12 m. attendant, but for the sake of its beautiful field with a curious doubly-curved row of stars a little s. 3's Burnham points out a pair 10 or 11 m: est. 40°: 3": a 3rd star 20" p. It is now brighter than ẞ, which implies a change in one of the stars; though in many instances Bayer, who affixed the Greek letters in 1603, seems not to have been entirely influenced by magnitude. ẞ, according to O2, is carrying with it through space a very minute companion, 11-12 m. 12" distant; annual progress nearly o"5, yet no orbital motion detected. (most delicately triple) is in a beautiful neighbourhood.

(2583). XIXh 43m, N 11° 28′: 6, 7: 121°3: 1"7, 1836; Kn 15, 1865; pale white, greenish, 1831, 1836; 2.yellowish, 1829; Se yellow, blue, 1855; De both white, 1856. Se in slow motion. [Not single with 80, very close with 144; a good test. 5 in. shewed a 14 m. star n p.]

15. XVIII 58m, S 4° 13′: 6, 7′5: 206°6: 35′′: white or yellowish white, red lilac. 1° nearly n from λ Antin.

23 (Σ 2492).

[AQUILA]

xIxh 12m, N 0° 51′: 6, 10: 12°·6: 3′′1: light orange, grey. Hand Si notice the increasing visibility of 10 with higher powers, which struck me independently. I had not perceived it with 80; it was distinctly seen with 144, possibly from some peculiar quality in its light. An elegant object, but requiring fine weather; easily found from è and v. 57 ( 2594). xIxh 48m, S 8° 34′: 6'5, 7: 171°5: 35": blue, 1834; very white, 1835; [distinctly contrasted, 1851; pale yellow, pale lilac, 'colours entirely different,' 1855; a totally independent observation, as I had not identified the object; pale yellow, bluish or greenish, certainly unlike, 9 in. spec. 1871; Whitley bright white, reddish white, 1868; Kn white, very pale blue, 1871. This pair should be watched, as two of the first observers have attested the similarity of the colours.]

5 (2379). Triple. xvih 40m, S 1o 6': 7, 8, 14: 121°5, 145° 13"3, 30": white, lilac, blue. 14 is so minute, Sm says, as to have escaped former observers except H. P however saw it with far inferior means; and I have on several occasions, from 1850 to 1852, seen it more or less distinctly by averted vision, though 14 m. was usually far beyond my reach it rather improves with magnifying: very minute, 9 in. spec. 1871. 5 is n Serp. of some maps.

ε

II ( 2424). XVIIIh 53m, N 13° 27' 7, 10: 240°9: 19" pale white, smalt blue. Sm thought 7 might have been rated 6. Σ 5'7; De 5. It lies equilaterally with ɛ and 5. [A pretty 10 m. pair ƒ a little n: another, about 38′ s, 14′ ƒ is Σ 2426, 6·8, 8.2: 259°: 16′′7: reddish yellow, grey. Bird finds angle reversed.]

P XX 2 (2634). xxh 3m, N 16° 32': 7, 10: 13°2: 5" 9:

[AQUILA]

pale topaz, lucid blue. H red, deeper red; but he was partial to red tints. I thought 7 white, 1850. Close to Sagitta.

P XIX 144 (2532). xIxh 24m, N 2° 38': 7, 11, 1838: 4°9: 37": deep yellow, pale green. [11 readily visible 1850, 1855, even considerably out of focus, and several hours past meridian, as if 10 m.; the colour also, previously known, was evident; Kn 11-12, 1871. 1°ƒ d, furthest of two f that star. A pretty pair, very unequal, n p.]

P XIX 307 (22590). xIxh 46m, N 10° 2' 7, 13: 307°8: 15": lucid white [so 1864; pale orange, 1865], blue. Lighttest for moderate apertures. Minute pair p, a little s. Just ƒ 0, 5 m. 11° n of a.

P XVIII 302 (2 2446). XVIIIh 59m, N 6° 21' 75, 9: 153°9: 10"3: lucid white, cerulean blue. Brightest in the vicinity.

P XIX 241 ( 2562). xIxh 36m, N 8° 4′: 75, 9*5, 1833: 2537 27" pale topaz, lilac. [9'5 larger? 1850. P rated it 10. Several minute points near, 9 in. spec. Equilateral with a and y. Ρ lies a pretty pair, 9'5, 11: and again, not far s p, a very fine field.]

1°

P XIX 257 (2570). xIxh 39m, N 10° 28': 8, 10: 276°.5: 4" white, smalt blue. Closely npy. A pretty group a little n. P XX 43, 44. xxh 8m, N 6° 11': 85, 85, 1833: 11°7: 44" lucid white. [s star the smaller, 1850; reverse of Sm; white, blue, 1871; Kn both white: s the less, 1871.]

:

P XVIII 263 (2 2428). XVIIIh 54m, N 14° 44′: 8.5, 10'5: 289°1 6"5: pale yellow, 1836 [white, 1850], sapphire blue. 'Handsome test-object,' Sm. [105 occasionally distinct, though long past meridian, 1850; 12 m. 1871. Io's very little ƒ ɛ, 3m. a beautiful yellow star. A fine field.]