Schmidt discovered 16 NGC objects with the 6.2" f/11.6 Plössl refractor, erected in 1861 at Athen observatory. NGC 32 in Pegasus, found on Feb. 1, 1862 (see AN #1355), is only a pair of stars. It is included as #1 in Auwers' list of new nebulae in William Herschel's Verzeichnisse von Nebelflecken und Sternhaufen, Königsberg 1862 (note that he gives an aperture of 7.3 Paris inches = 7.8", which is too large; the date is wrong too). 10 objects are listed in Schmidt's paper Über einige im Cape-Cataloge fehlende Nebel, AN 88, 137 (1876). They were found on Jan. 19 and 22, 1865; see: Beobachtungen der Nebelgestirne und des Faye'schen Kometen, AN [#1553] 65, 261 (1865). NGC 1369, 1386 and 1389 are galaxies in Eridanus; NGC 1381, 1382, 1396 and 1428 are galaxies in Fornax. NGC 1378 and 1428 in Fornax are lost. NGC 1318, also listed as new, must be credited to Dunlop, because it is identical to NGC 1317 (Dunlop #547, found in 1826). On Feb. 8, 1861 Schmidt discovered the emission nebula complex NGC 6726, 6727, 6729 in Crater (see AN #1553), also seen by Marth at Malta in 1864.

The remaining three objects are: NGC 4471, a star in Virgo (June 17, 1862; see AN #1553), NGC 5877, a triple star in Libra (around 1867, source unknown) and NGC 6519, a star group in Sagittarius (Oct. 1860; AN #1353). Between 1845-67 Schmidt determined the positions of 110 nebulae found by the Herschels and Messier; see Mittlere Örter von 110 Nebeln für 1865, AN 70, 343 (1868).

Obituary: Obs. 7, 118 (1884); MNRAS 45, 211 (1885); AN 108, 129 (1884)

 

Athen Observatory