SOUTH, JAMES. - THE SECOND STAR CATALOGUE.

Observations of the apparent distances and positions of 458 double and triple Stars, made in the Years 1823, 1824, and 1825; together with a re-examination of 36 Stars of the samer description, the distances and positions of which were communicated in a former Memoir.

London, W. Nicol, 1826. 4to. "Philosophical Transactions" 1826 - Part I. With titlepage to Part I. (2),391,,XVIII pp. Titlepage with a stamp on verso. A faint brownspots to p. 1. One leaf a bit creased.

First printing of South's second large star catalogue of the distances and positions of double and triple stars.

"Double stars, essentially discovered by Wiiliam Herschel, were of great interest throughout the nineteenth century—new ones being found and position measurements made more precise with each improvement in telescope construction. South, working with John Herschel during the years 1821–1823. reobserved the double stars charted originally by William Herschel, mainly for the purpose of detecting position changes. Their observations helped verify the newly recognized orbital motion of these neighboring stars. Their resulting catalog of 380 double stars, presented to the Royal Society in 1824, earned them the gold medal of the Astronomical Society and the grand prize of the Institut de France. For his second catalog of double stars, two years later, South was awarded the Copley Medal of the Royal Society."(DSB).

Order-nr.: 46064