Chisters of Stars in the Southern Hemisphere. 291 



of the stars which compose it, give it a very soft and pleasant 

 appearance. This is rather difficult to resolve, although the 

 condensation is not very great. 



No. 588. R. Asc. 19^^ 58" 30^ S. Pol. Dist. 54^ 7- 



A very curious nebula, very faint and well-defined, with an 

 exceedingly bright point in the centre, resembling a small 

 star surrounded by an atmosphere about 30" diameter ; the 

 bright point is exactly in the centre, a bright star IS' or 15' 

 south. 



No. 611. R. Asc. 1# 51" 8«. S. Pol. Dist. 5T 39'. 



A very singular body resembling a star with a burr. The 

 light is equal to that of a star of the 7th and 8th magnitude, 

 and the diameter is not sensibly larger, with various magnify- 

 ing powers. This has the appearance of a bright nucleus, sur- 

 rounded by a strong brush of light ; and the nebulosity sur- 

 rounding the bright point has not that softness which nebula? 

 in general possess. I consider this different from nebulae in 

 general. 



No. 628. R. Asc. 13"^ 15"' 3^. S. Pol. Dist. 61° 2^. 

 185 Centauri (Bode.) 



Is a very beautiful round nebula, with an exceedingly bright 

 well-defined planetary disk or nucleus, about T or 8'' diame- 

 ter, surrounded by a luminous atmosphere or chevelure, about 

 & diameter. The nebulous matter is rather a little brighter 

 towards the edge of the planetary disk, but very slightly so. 

 I can see several extremely minute points or stars in the che- 

 ^ velure, but I do not consider them as indications- of its being 

 resolvable, although I have no doubt it is composed of stars. 



He next proceeds to give the following description of the 

 famous Magellanic clouds under the name of Nebula Minor 

 and Major. 



The Nebula Minor, to the naked eye, has very much the 

 appearance of a small cirrus-cloud; and through the tele- 

 scope, it has very much the appearance of one of the brighter 

 portions of the Milky Way, although it is not so rich in stars 

 of all the variety of small magnitudes, with which the bright- 

 jer parts of the Milky Way in general abound, and therefore it 



