Wade, Sir Robert Blakeway, (27 Jan. 1874–13 May 1954), President (1932–44) and Hon. Consulting Surgeon since 1932, Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children; Chm. of Infantile Paralysis Cttee, New South Wales; Chm., New South Wales Institute of Almoners; Foundation Fellow, Member of Council, Member of Board of Censors and President (1935–37), Royal Australasian College of Surgeons; Vice-President The Prince Henry Hospital, Hon. Surgeon since 1933

The observations, of which the results are here given, were made by Mr. Dunlop in the open air, with a 9-feet reflecting telescope, having the clear aperture of the large mirror 9 inches, and fitted up as a meridian telescope; the position of which, and the index error, being ascertained by the passage of known stars. The drawings which accompany the paper were made at the time of observation of the appearances of a great number of nebulæ and clusters, and particularly of the nebulæ major and minor. The paper contains a catalogue and description of 629 nebulæ, arranged in the order of their south polar distance, and in zones for each degree in the order of their right ascension. A few observations are subjoined, describing more particularly the appearance of the nebula minor, which, seen through the telescope, resembles one of the brighter portions of the milky way; of the nebula major, which is brighter, more irregular, and composed of a great number of different parts; and of the dark space on the east side of the cross, or the black cloud, as it is called, which is occasioned by the almost total absence of stars. It is remarked by the author, that neither of the two nebulæ, major and minor, are at present in the place assigned to them by La Caille. He finds also that scarcely any nebulæ exist in a high state of condensation, and very few even in a state of moderate condensation towards the centre. Some have bright points in or near the centre, many of which may be stars; but the greater number of the nebulæ appear only as condensations of the general nebulous matter into faint nebulæ of various forms and magnitudes, generally not well defined; while many of the larger nebulous appearances are resolvable into stars of small magnitudes. But whether nebulæ are universally thus resolvable, is a question of which our instruments are yet incompetent to afford a direct solution, and in the discussion of which we have only analogy as our guide.

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VIII. A catalogue of nebulæ and clusters of stars in the southern hemisphere, observed at Paramatta in New South Wales, by James Dunlop, Esq. In a letter addressed to Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, Bart. K. C. B. late Governor of New South Wales. Presented to the Royal Society by John Frederick William Herschel, Esq. Vice President

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London ◽

10.1098/rstl.1828.0010 ◽

1828 ◽

Vol 118 ◽

pp. 113-151 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Keyword(s):

Southern Hemisphere ◽

New South ◽

New South Wales ◽

Vice President ◽

General Survey ◽

South Wales ◽

The Right ◽

William Herschel ◽

Right Ascension ◽

Made In

The following nebulæ and clusters of stars in the southern hemisphere were observed by me at my house in Paramatta, situated about 6″ of a degree south and about I 8 .78 of time east of the Brisbane Observatory. The observations were made in the open air, with an excellent 9-feet reflecting telescope, the clear aperture of the large mirror being nine inches. This telescope was occasionally fitted up as a meridian telescope, with a strong iron axis firmly attached to the lower side of the tube nearly opposite the cell of the large mirror, and the ends of the axis rested in brass Y’s, which were screwed to blocks of wood let into the ground about 18 inches, and projecting about 4 inches above the ground; one end of the axis carried a brass semicircle divided into half degrees and read off by a vernier to minutes. The position and index error of the instrument were ascertained by the passage of known stars. The eye end of the telescope was raised or lowered by a cord over a pulley attached to a strong wooden post let into the ground about two feet: with this apparatus I have observed a sweep of eight or ten degrees in breadth with very little deviation of the instrument from the plane of the meridian, and the tremor was very little even with a considerable magnifying power. I made drawings or representations of a great number of the nebulæ and clusters at the time of observation, several of which are annexed to this paper; and also very correct drawings of the Nebulæ major and minor, together with a representation of the milky nebulosity surrounding the star η Robur Caroli. The places of the small stars in the Nebulæ major and minor, and also those accompanying the η Robur Caroli, I ascertained by the mural circle in the year 1825, at which time I was preparing to commence a general survey of the southern hemisphere. These stars being laid down upon the chart, enabled me to delineate the nebulosity very accurately. The nebulæ are arranged in the order of their south polar distances to the nearest minute for 1827, and in zones for each degree in the order of their right ascension. The column on the right hand shows the number of times the object has been observed.

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