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

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 I⁸.78 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.