"WITH A FOURTEEN FEET REFLECTOR. 179 



'B.ug. 7. — Nebula C5'-gni. The method of fixing the places of the stars adopted on the 3d 

 was found much too slow and tedious. I therefore fixed a lamp just beneath my feet, on the 

 ladder of steps, and found I could, by this means, easily copy the stars from the field on a 

 sheet of paper. I think this method is as exact as that of the 3d ; I can thus correct and re- 

 correct as long as my eye perceives any difierence between the original and the copy. It is, 

 moreover, much more rapid;- I have recorded and corrected fifty-eight stars in the course of 

 three or four hours, and aflBxed their magnitudes with equal care. 



The nebula is, at the trapezium of stars, divided as in Herschel's figure, but just below this 

 the larger branch forks again, or, at least, is fainter along the middle than at the edges. Mr. 

 Smith and myself noticed this independently of each other, and without previous notice of 

 each other's views. The brightest part of the nebula is at the bifurcation near the trapezium ; 

 the next brightest, though considerably fainter, is situated in the interlaced portion, and lies 

 along the two stars (133) and (162.) 



Jiug. 9. — Figured one hundred and thirty-four stars in the same way as on August 7th; 

 about ninety of these are new. The time occupied was about six hours. These complete 

 all within the network portion of the nebula. All the stars down to the minimum visihile 

 are put down, which are near the brighter portions of the nebula; in some excessively faint 

 branches and convolutions, winding away to a greater distance, only those more easily seen 

 are recorded. The scale of magnitudes is an artificial one, from 1 to 12, the star (187) being 

 of magnitude 1, and the " Tninima visibilia^^ (149) and (156) being of the 12th. Care has 

 been taken to set down every star in the dark hollows left by the interwoven nebula, and 

 the "wonderful phenomenon" described bj^ Herschel becomes, in this way, very apparent; 

 for a tolerably correct representation of many of the windings of the nebula in the heavens 

 may be obtained by simply following, on the star-chart, the courses marked out by the stars 

 themselves. On the complete map of the stars the future nebula already strikes the eye. 



In the lower part of the nebula, for convenience sake termed "the bifurcate," (while the 

 upper may be called "the network portion,") the same faint division was seen as last night. 

 With 220, faint stars were seen in each division of the great branch. Mr. Smith suspected 

 another branch, turning off to the right hand, towards the bright star (8.) I am of the same 

 opinion. There is a chain of stars, consisting of three loops, or more, which hang, festoon- 

 like, from the preceding side of the nebula, and which seem to be mixed with nebulosity in 

 the same way as in the network portion. If this is so, the branch noticed by Mr. Smith 

 forms the beginning of one of those loops. But there is great liability to error where nebu- 

 losity is suspected among a congeries, or chain of stars; and especially is this the case in the 

 present nebula, on account of the wonderful peculiarity already mentioned. 



Jiug. 10. — The stars along the bifurcate portion of the nebula were recorded this evening, 

 twenty-five of which, out of between fifty and sixty, were new. On this eA^ening, and on 

 former evenings, the lowest power of about 80 was employed in taking all the stars dov/n to 

 the ninth or tenth magnitude of my scale; and a higher power of 220 was employed to ob- 



