INTRODUCTION 
XXXV 
THE NOTES TO THE CATALOGUE. 
An attempt has been made to present special information in relation to stars 
of the Catalogue upon the pages where these stars are found, either in the column 
of “Remarks,” or at the foot of the page. In order to do this it was necessary to 
take somewhat drastic measures by reducing the notes to their lowest terms. For 
the convenience of readers it seemed desirable that the column of “Remarks” 
should be primarily devoted to giving the constellation and the Flamsteed, or 
Gould, number of bright stars referred to in the second column by a catalogue- 
number. Thus for star No. i many readers might prefer the designation 33 
Piscium, and this has been accordingly inserted in the column of remarks. Since 
we have in common use the letters H, B, and G for the numbers of Hevelius, Bode, 
and Gould, respectively, consistency would seem to require F for Flamsteed; but 
long-continued custom may now be considered to have sanctioned the omission of 
that letter. It has rarely been thought necessary to introduce the Bode-number 
in the pages of this Catalogue; and only a very sparing use has been made of the 
numbers of Hevelius, which, however, may be found to be convenient in connec¬ 
tion with some stars near the north pole. Furthermore, in this column, both Greek 
letters with exponents and Roman letters have been retained to some extent as 
facilitating identification; though the further use of either should, perhaps, be 
discouraged. The employment of the Roman small letters is, however, especially 
to be deprecated as leading to endless confusion both in printed catalogues and in 
observatory-records. 
In general the notation of Baily in the Catalogue of the British Association has 
been preferred, in spite of some errors there introduced. This has been done with 
the idea that the name of a star that has been commonly in use might be more 
useful for identification than that which it historically ought to be. The “B.A.C.” 
has served extensively as a manual of reference in that respect. Usage has been so 
diverse, however, as to absolve any one who may depart from a consistent course in 
the adoption of star-names. The computing astronomer ought to be released from 
the exacting and time-consuming demands that would be entailed by a thorough 
examination of rights of priority in reference to the names of stars. 
The entire department of physical notes has been practically abandoned in the 
preparation of this Catalogue. Careful notes in regard to color and spectrum 
would have had a distinct use; but these would have swollen an already crowded 
page; and they belong more appropriately to special works, such as have been 
already published, or are in course of preparation elsewhere. One apparent excep¬ 
tion to this rule has been admitted: the limits of variation for variable stars have 
been stated on the authority of Chandler’s Third Catalogue. But these may be 
considered simply to supply a deficiency in the columns assigned to magnitude. 
An estimate of the annual parallax has been quoted in several instances where 
reliable determinations exist. 
Most of the notes refer to double or binary stars. So far as these appear on 
the catalogue-pages, they are very concise. They are sometimes found in the 
column of remarks — more commonly at the foot of the page. Normally they give 
the designation of the star (as 2 2, or /8391); the magnitude of the companion, 
