NGC 6046

History and Accurate Positions for the NGC/IC Objects (Corwin 2004)

NGC 6046 = NGC 6028. WH's RA is 3 minutes 20 seconds of time too large. Re-reducing his observation reduces the error to 3 minutes of time. Since the NGC position is copied correctly from the GC, the 20-second error is probably a reduction error of some sort. The larger 3-minute error could be a clock- reading or transcription error.

Fortunately, Dreyer gives WH's complete description in a note in the Scientific Papers: "A neb suspected by 157 and the suspicion strengthened by 240, but the latter power does not remove all doubt. It follows 3 pB stars making an arch [concave towards np or nnp direction by a diagram]{Dreyer's comment}, south of which arch there is a still brighter star." Dreyer probably gave the whole description since Bigourdan twice searched unsuccessfully for WH's nebula.

The arch is there, but is concave toward the northeast. The "still brighter star" to the south is SAO 101676. The configuration is so striking that there is no doubt about the identification.

Historical observations

William Herschel (c.1784)

Synonyms: H III-033

Discovered in 1784 by William Herschel with an 18.7-inch f/13 speculum telescope. He called it "eF, pL, partly veried with 240 power ... a neb. suspected by 157 and the suspicion strengthened by 240, but the latter power does not remove all doubt. It follows 3 pB stars making an arch (concave towards np. or nnp. direction by diagram) south of which arch there is a still brighter star." Not found twice by Bigourdan. The object is non-existant.

Published comments

Sulentic & Tifft (1973)

The RNGC (Sulentic and Tifft 1973) notes that this is a nonexistent object. Their coded description reads NF S.