Clusters of Stars in the Southern Hemisphere, 295 



However, the 30 Doradus is at present involved in pretty 

 strong and pretty bright nebula, and is also situated very near 

 the brightest part of the Nebula Major ; and it would be singu- 

 lar if its relative situation was the same when Lacaille observed 

 it as it at present is ; that he should have assigned to it a place 

 in the Dorado and not in the Nebula Major, to which, from its 

 nature, it was not only nearly allied, but in which it was actual- 

 ly involved. This circumstance, it must be confessed, is fa- 

 vourable to the conjecture ; and the 47 Toucani is similarly 

 situated, with respect to distance, from the Nebula Minor, al- 

 though it is not involved in nebulosity or connected witli tlie 

 nebula. 



When reflecting on these circumstances, I was led to exa- 

 mine the present state of these nebulae, and find that scarcely 

 any nebulse exist in a high state of condensation, and very few 

 in a state of moderate condensation towards the centre. A con- 

 siderable number appear a little brighter towards ^the centre, 

 and several have minute bright points immediately at the cen- 

 tre. Others have small or very minute stars variously situated 

 in them, but many of those bright points in or near the cen- 

 tre may be stars, for the Nebula Major in particular is very 

 rich in small stars. But the greater number of the nebulae 

 appear only like condensations of the general nebulous matter, 

 into faint nebulae of various forms and magnitudes, generally 

 not well-defined ; and many of the larger nebulous appear- 

 ances are resolvable into stars of mixed small magnitudes ; and 

 a great portion of the large cloud is resolvable into innumera 

 ble stars of all the variety of small magnitudes with strong ne- 

 bula remaining, very similar to the brighter parts of the Milky 

 Way. And whether the remaining nebulous appearance may 

 not be occasioned by millions of stars disguised by their dis- 

 tance, is what I cannot say. 



But a critical examination of these nebulae would not only 

 be a valuable treasure for the present generation to possess, 

 but an invaluable inheritance for them to transmit to posterity. 

 For it must be by the comparison of observations, made at dis- 

 tant periods of time, that we can draw any satisfactory conclu- 

 sions concerning the breaking up or the greater condensation 

 of the nebulous matter. It seems beyond a doubt that stars 



