Abstract
THE unremitting character of the watch kept On the sky by the amateur astronomers in this country is well shown by the number of independent discoveries of the new star. Apparently, the first observation was made by Miss Grace Cook at Stowmarket when on the watch for meteors at 9.I1. 30m. G.M.T. on June 8. Other independent discoveries were made by Mr. W. F. Denning, at Bristol, and Mr. David Packer, at Birmingham, at 10.0 G.M.T.; Mr. C. L. Brook, at Meltham, at 10.15 G.M.T.; Mr. W. H. Steavenson, at West Norwood, at 10.30 G.M.T.; Mr. H. Thomson, at Newcastle, at 10.44 G. M. T., and Mr. Felix de Roy, at Thornton Heath, at 10.45 G. M. T. It was also noticed at 9.40 G. M. T. by Mr. Witchell, of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, but not identified as a Nova. On the following day it was also detected independently in Scotland by Dr. Anderson, the discoverer of Nova Persei and Nova Aurigæ. Mr. Denning says that the increase in the light of the star must have occurred during daytime in England on June 8, for he was observing meteors nearly the whole of the preceding night and saw nothing unusual in the sky. Presumably, therefore, the object must have been faint at the time and in any case, of such small magnitude as to enable it to escape detection. As yet little information has been received with regard to observations in other countries; the star was seen at the Hector Observatory in New Zealand, but apparently 12h. after its discovery in England.
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DYSON, F. The New Star in Aquila . Nature 101, 285 (1918). https://doi.org/10.1038/101285a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/101285a0