NGC/IC Project Restoration Effort
(This is a very very beta version)
NGC302
Basic Information
Location and Magnitude
Right Ascension: 0:56:25.2
Declination: -10:39:44
Constellation: CET
Visual Magnitude:
Historic Information
Discoverer: Muller
Year of discovery: 1886
Discovery aperture: 26.3
Observational
Summary description: eF, vS
Sub-type: *
Corwin's Notes
=====
NGC 302 is a probably the star 1.8 arcmin east-northeast of NGC 301. The pair
was found by Frank Muller, and has a typically poor RA in the first list of
nebulae from Leander McCormick. The declinations, though, seem to be close.
Though there is no sketch, the objects can be tentatively identified by
Muller's comment "* 8 p 30 seconds" in the description of NGC 301. There are,
in fact, two stars of about 8th magnitude roughly 30 seconds preceding the
galaxy. The northern star is slightly closer than 30 seconds, the southern is
slightly further. It's possible that neither is the correct star, but this is
the only configuration in the area that fits Muller's note.
In any event, there is no object at his given offset from the galaxy (his note
reads "Neb? f ([No.] 18 [in the first list = N301]), P 75 deg, dist 1.0
[arcmin]." The actual distance is 1.8 arcmin, though the position angle is
about right.
Unfortunately, 20th century versions of my position lists pointed to the wrong
object as N302 (the faint star or compact galaxy 0.3 southeast of N301). The
first 21st century version finally got the right star -- assuming, of course,
that it is the object Muller saw.