WILLIAM HERSCHEL AND THE 'GARNET' STARS: μ CEPHEI AND MORE

Abstract

Although William Herschel's 'Garnet Star' (μ Cephei) is a prominent object, the story of the discovery of this famous red star is not well documented. Prior to and after Herschel, the identification of this star was the subject of confusion in various catalogues and atlases. The case is complex and involves other stars in southern Cepheus, including double stars, found by Herschel in the course of his star surveys. It is also fascinating to learn that μ Cephei is not the only star called "garnet" by him. This study reveals that there are 21 in all, resulting in a "Herschel Catalogue of Garnet Stars"—the first historical catalogue of red stars. Among them are prominent objects, which in the literature are credited to later observers. This misconception is corrected here, for Herschel was the true discoverer of all of them. The most interesting cases are Hind's 'Crimson Star', Secchi's 'La Superba', John Herschel's 'Ruby Star' and Schmidt's V Aquilae. Finally, we discussed whether Herschel speculated about the physical nature of his garnet stars, many of which are now known to be variable.