Lacaille
Abbé Nicholas Louis de la Caille, 1713--1762)

Lacaille compiled a catalog of 42 nebulous objects, of which 8 are non-existent though (although Vehrenberg gives a NGC number for one of them). Lacaille classified his objects in 3 categories:
  1. Lac I Nebulae
  2. Lac II Nebulous Star Clusters
  3. Lac III Nebulous Stars
However, though this classification may have been suggestive with Lacaille's very small instruments, it does not correspond to actual properties of the objects (perhaps besides that all existing category II objects are actually open clusters, with or without nebulosity).

This catalog was compiled during his 2-year journey to the Cape of Good Hope in 1751-52

The Lacaille catalog has been originally published under the title "Sur les etoiles nebuleuses du ciel Austral" (On the Nebulous Stars of the Southern Sky) in the Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences in Paris, 1755, and reprinted together with Messier's catalog in the "Connaissance des Temps", both with the second version in 1780 (for 1783) and the final version in the "Connaissance des Temps" for 1784 (published 1781).

Lacaille's "Catalogue of Nebulae of the Southern Sky"
Lacaille (1) Discoverer (2) NGC (3) Name (4) Type (5) RA (2000) (6) Dec. Const. mag. (7) Size (') (8)
Lac I.1 Lacaille 104 47 Tuc GC 00h 24.1m -72° 05' Tuc 3.95 30.9
Lac I.2 Lacaille 2070 30 Dor DN 05:38.7 -69:06 Dor 40x25
Lac I.3 Lacaille 2477 OC 07h 52.3m -38° 33' Pup 5.8 27
Lac I.4 Lacaille 4833 GC 12h 59.6m -70° 53' Mus 6.91 13.5
Lac I.5 Lacaille 5139 Omega Cen GC 13h 26.8m -47° 29' Cen 3.68 36.3
Lac I.6 Lacaille 5236 M83 Sp. G. 13h 37.0m -29° 52' Hya 7.6 11x10
Lac I.7 Lacaille 5281 OC 13h 46.6m -62° 54' Cen 5.9 5
Lac I.8 Lacaille 6124 OC 16h 25.6m -40° 40' Sco 5.8 29
Lac I.9 Lacaille 6121 M4 GC 16h 23.6m -26° 32' Sco 5.9 26.3
Lac I.10 Lac. 6242 OC 16h 55.6m -39° 30' Sco 6.4 9
Lac I.11 Lac. 6637 M69 GC 18h 34.4m -32° 21' Sgr 7.7 7.1
Lac I.12 Ihle 6656 M22 GC 18h 36.4m -29° 54' Sgr 6.5 24.0
Lac I.13 6777 19h 26.8m -71° 30' Pav (2 stars 8..9 mag
nearby GC 4484)
Lac I.14 Lac. 6809 M55 GC 19:40.0 -30:58 Sgr 7.0 19.0
Lac II.1 04h 03.7m -44° 27'
Lac II.2 07h 26.3m -34° 08'
Lac II.3 Lacaille 2516 OC 07h 58.3m -60° 52' Car 3.8 30
Lac II.4 Lacaille 2546 OC 08h 12.4m -37° 38' Pup 6.3 41
Lac II.5 Lacaille I2391 o Vel OC 08h 40.2m -53° 04' Vel 2.5 50
Lac II.6 08h 46.6m -42:34'
Lac II.7 Lacaille 3228 OC 10h 21.8m -51° 43' Vel 6.0 18
Lac II.8 Lacaille 3293 DN 10h 35.8m -58° 14' Car 4.7 6
Lac II.9 Lacaille I2602 q Cru OC 10h 43.2m -64° 24' Car 1.9 50
Lac II.10 Lacaille 3532 OC 11h 06.4m -64° 24' Car 3.0 55
Lac II.11 11h 23.0m -58° 19' Car 3.0 55
Lac II.12 Lacaille 4755 K Cru OC 12h 53.6m -60° 20' Cru 4.2 10
Lac II.13 Hodierna 6231 OC 16h 54.0m -41° 48' Sco 2.6 15
Lac II.14 Ptolemy? 6475 M7 OC 17h 53.9m -34° 49' Sco 3.5 80
Lac III.1 05h 03.3m -49° 29'
Lac III.2 Lacaille 2547 OC 08h 10.7m -49° 16' Vel 4.7 20
Lac III.3 Lacaille OC? 08h 42.2m -48° 04' Cluster ? Non-existent?
Lac III.4 Lacaille I2488 OC 09h 27.6m -56° 59' Vel 7.4 15
Lac III.5 Lacaille 3372 Eta Car DN 10h 43.8m -56° 59' Car 120x120
Lac III.6 Lacaille 3372 Eta Car DN 10h 43.8m -56° 59' Car 120x120 (=the preceding?)
Lac III.7 Lacaille 3766 OC 10h 36.1m -61° 37' Cen 5.3 12
Lac III.8 Lacaille 5662 OC 14h 35.2m -56° 33' Cen 5.5 12
Lac III.9 15h 22.6m -59° 12'
Lac III.10 Lacaille 6025 OC 16h 03.7m -60° 30' TrA 5.1 12
Lac III.11 Lacaille 6397 GC 17h 40.7m -53° 40' Ara 5.73 25.7
Lac III.12 Hodierna 6405 M6 OC 17h 40.1m -32° 13' Sco 4.5 15.0
Lac III.13 6523 M8 DN 18h 03.8m -24° 23' Sgr 5.0 60x35
Lac III.14 21h 31.4m -58° 35'



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