Double Stars. 377 



little star, just visible with the naked eye. This will bo 

 our — 



165. Lyrce 91 Bode. The telescope shows it as a wide but 

 very beautiful pair, measured by Dawes at 45"'47. 350 o, 45, 

 and Knott with almost an identical result. Argelander has 

 given the magnitudes 7, 8'7, but has entered them collectively 

 as 6 in his " Uranometria Nova.-"* I perceived, with 5| 

 inches, two minute attendants, of which one is very small, 

 perhaps Sm/s 15 mag. The tints are in charming contrast; 

 with 9| inches of silvered glass I thought them straw-colour 

 and purple. 



A similar object is to be found thus. If, instead of taking 

 /3 Cygni, as usual, for the foot of the cross formed by the 

 leading stars in that constellation, we make all the four arms 

 equal, we shall be guided to a star to which the map of 

 S.D.U.K. gives but 6 mag., but Argelander, 4.5. This is 

 ?;. About 2° of arc (more, of course, of P. A.) p this, or more 

 than 1° n of %, a beautiful pair, our No. 59 (Int. Obs., 

 ii. 304), we come upon — 



166. P. xix. 278 Cygni, 39".28°-8. 6 and 8 (Argelander, 

 however, has not included it among naked-eye stars). Straw- 

 colour and smalt-blue. ^, with his usual predilection for 

 ruddy hues, called it garnet and red. This and the last 

 object are of the class of which /3 Cygni may be considered the 

 type ; either of them, however, appears to me, though far less 

 brilliant, to surpass that celebrated pair in beauty of contrast, 

 in consequence of the absence of any green tinge in the 

 smaller star. 



While referring to /3 Cygni, we may add another double 

 star to our list from its neighbourhood. If we look for the 

 only (telescopically) considerable star lying nf from it, we 

 shall find the following delicate and beautiful object — 



167. P. xix. 169 Cygni. 5C'-8. 5°-2. 9 and 11. White and 

 pale blue. 



More directly n of /3 is a coarser pair, in a pretty " sprinkle" 

 of stars. We may also mention that about |° s, a little /from 

 a Cygni, is a fine open pair, 8 and 8^, white, followed by three 

 stars of about the same magnitude, in a field finely dotted 

 Avith minute points in the light of a 9|-inch silvered mirror. 



Observers who delight in star-colours will find it worth 

 while to turn to X Lyrce, 5.6 mag. (Argelander) closely s f 7. 

 I have recorded it of a very fine yellow. A similar star (Y 2 , 

 that is, of the second degree of yellow in Smyth's notation) 



* It is greatly to be regretted that the catalogue accompanying this accurate 

 ■work which has received the high approval of so eminent an authority as Dawe?, 

 should he rendered extremely inconvenient in use by the want alike of an Index 

 to the names of the constellations (under which it is arranged), and a corre- 

 sponding heading to the pages. 



