THE STELLAR UNIVERSE. 



385 



Figs. 9—10. 



The open space within the ring is not entirely dark, but seems filled with a 

 faint hazy nebulosity. The nebula represented in fig. 8, is situated near the 

 star y, in the constellation of the Swan, and is seen on the meridian about the 

 10th September, at nine in the evening. In the parallel of New York it 

 passes the meridian about ten degrees south of the zenith. 



A sketch is given in fig. 9 of one of the most remarkable nebulae in the 

 heavens. This object is situate about five degrees south by west of v, the last 

 star in the tail of the Great Bear. It consists of a bright round nebulous cen- 

 tral spot, surrounded at a great distance by a nebulous ring, which seems to 

 be split into two throughout nearly half of its circumference, the two portions 

 being separated by an angle of about 45°. This object is thus noticed by Sir 

 John Herschel, in his Memoir on Nebulae (Phil. Trans., 1833) : — 



" This very singular object is thus described by Messier : * Nebuleuse sans 

 etoiles. On ne peut la voir que difficilement avec une lunette ordinaire de 3^ 



VOL,. II.— 25 



