204- Notices respecting New Books. 



southern hemisphere. The former, in these maps, have Messier's 

 number underneath, those of Lacaille have no reference. The pla- 

 netary nebulae discovered by M. Struve are also inserted, from his 

 Catalogue novus Stellarum ciuplic.ium et multiplicium. 



The Milky-way is taken from Wollaston's Catalogue, "as far as 

 that catalogue gives its boundary, that is, to about 30 south declina- 

 tion j beyond that/' it is observed, " we know no good authority for 

 its limits." 



When a star has a Greek letter in the Astronomical Society's Ca- 

 talogue, this letter is placed against it in the map ; when the star has 

 no Greek letter, the number which stands in the second column of 

 that catalogue is used ; and in some few cases, when neither of these 

 references exists, the Italic letter which corresponds to the star in the 

 catalogue is employed. Some stars are without either of these refe- 

 rences. The double stars have two dots following the reference, as 

 a : Andromedse j they are taken from Sir James South's Catalogue of 

 Double Stars in the first volume of the Transactions of the Astrono- 

 mical Society, from the catalogue given by the same astronomer in the 

 Philosophical Transactions for 1826, and from M. Struve's catalogue 

 before referred to. 



The prefatory explanation, in addition to the statements we have 

 abridged in the foregoing paragraphs, consists only of an interesting 

 extract from the preface to Flamsteed's Historia Ccelestis, respecting 

 the figures assigned to the constellations, and which contains nearly 

 all that is known of their history. The figures assigned to them by 

 that astronomer, after a careful examination of Ptolemy's Catalogue, 

 which is the most ancient work in which they are found, (although it 

 is manifest from Ptolemy's statement that similar figures had been 

 used from a period long anterior to his,) have been closely adhered to 

 in the present maps, having been copied from Flamsteed, for this pur- 

 pose, by Mr. W. Clarke. The maps have been engraved, with great 

 clearness and precision, as well as delicacy of touch, by Messrs. 

 J. and C. Walker ; and from the union of these qualities, they have 

 an appearance of beauty and softness unusual in maps and engraved 

 linear representations of scientific subjects, while they are at the same 

 time perfectly adapted by the distinctness of every line and symbol 

 for reference and consultation. Their size is ten inches and a half 

 by about ten and three quarters, being very nearly the same as that 

 01 the Society's Geographical Maps. Nos. I to 4 are occupied by 

 those portions of the northern and southern celestial hemispheres 

 which extend to about 40 of north and south declination ; No. 5 in- 

 cludes the stars circumjacent to the North Pole -, and No. 6, those 

 which are circumjacent to the South Pole. 



Having so fully expressed our approbation of this celestial atlas, an 

 extension of which by a series of maps including stars up to the 

 twelfth magnitude, we are glad to hear, has been determined upon 

 by the Society, we may be permitted to mention an omission or two 

 which we have observed in it. In the "Explanation" the only au- 

 thorities cited for the Nebula are Messier and Lacaille as noticed 

 above, the latter for those of the southern hemisphere j and these 



appear 



