MadSci Network: Astronomy |
Most references(i.e. Cambridge and Moore encyclobedias; Kaufman "Astronomy" etc) that I consulted had nothing relevant. According to anamateur astronomy website on LMC:http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Orbit/2142/history.html#magellan 'The Clouds' first became visible to Magellan's crew when his fleet approached the latitude of Brazil. Magellan originally referred to the clouds by the names Nubecular Major and Nebecular Minor. Now Dunlop, one of the first to observe the LMC with a telescope still referred to them as Nebula Major and Minor. Herschel, however, wrote: "It is evident that the Nebeculae are to be regarded as Systems Sui Generis and which have no analogues in our Hemisphere... The two Magellanic clouds, Nubecula major and Nebecular minor, are very remarkable objects. " Whether he was the first one to use the term or whether the term stuck after that, I cannot definitely conclude from the sources I have. Enrico Uva
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