PORTION OF THE COSMOS. NEBULA. 253 



better founded. The indefmiteuess of their edges as seen 

 in telescopes of small aperture had caused the positions 

 formerly assigned to them to be inexact, and it has even 

 been remarked by Sir John Herscliel that nubecula minor 

 is entered almost one hour in Right Ascension out of its true 

 place in celestial globes and star maps generally. According 

 to the same authority, nubecula minor is situated between 

 the meridians of O h 28 m and l h 15 m , and between 162 and 

 165 north polar distance; and nubecula major in 4 h 40 m 

 6 h O m R. A., and 156 162 N. P. D. Of stars, 

 nebulae, and clusters, he has given in Eight Ascension and 

 Declination no fewer than 919 in the larger, and 244 in the 

 smaller nubecula. In order to distinguish the three 

 classes of objects from each other I have counted up in 

 the list : 



In nubecula major, 582 stars, 291 nebulae, 46 star- 

 clusters : 



In nubecula minor, 200 stars, 37 nebulae, 7 star- 

 clusters. 



The smaller number of nebulae in the nubecula minor is 

 striking : their proportion to the nebulae in nubecula major 

 being as 1 I 8, while the corresponding ratio of single stars 

 in the two nubeculae is about as 1:3. These tabulated 

 stars, almost eight hundred in number, are mostly of the 

 7th and 8th magnitudes, some being between the 9th and 

 10th. In the midst of the nubecula major there is a 

 nebula noticed as early as by Lacaille, (30 Doradiis, Bode, 

 No. 2941 of Sir John Herschel,) which is without a parallel 

 in any part of the heavens. It hardly occupies ^-^-th of 

 the area of the entire nubecula, and yet within this space 



