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Winnecke 4
 
 
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Winnecke 4 (also known as Messier 40 or WNC 4) is a double star
Double Star

Double Star is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, first serialized in Astounding Science Fiction and published in hardcover the same year....
 in the constellation Ursa Major
Ursa Major

Ursa Major is a constellation visible throughout the year in most of the northern hemisphere. Its name means the Great Bear in Latin. It is dominated by the widely recognized asterism known as the Big Dipper or Plough, which is a useful pointer toward north, and which has mythological significance in numerous world cultures....
. It was discovered by Charles Messier
Charles Messier

Charles Messier was a France astronomy most notable for publishing an astronomical catalog consisting of deep sky objects such as nebulae and star clusters that came to be known as the 103 "Messier objects"....
 in 1764 while he was searching for a nebula that had been reported in the area by Johann Hevelius. Not seeing any nebulae, Messier catalogued this double star instead. It was subsequently rediscovered by Friedrich August Theodor Winnecke in 1863.

In 1991 the separation between the components was measured at 51".7, an increase since Messier's time.






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Winnecke 4 (also known as Messier 40 or WNC 4) is a double star
Double Star

Double Star is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, first serialized in Astounding Science Fiction and published in hardcover the same year....
 in the constellation Ursa Major
Ursa Major

Ursa Major is a constellation visible throughout the year in most of the northern hemisphere. Its name means the Great Bear in Latin. It is dominated by the widely recognized asterism known as the Big Dipper or Plough, which is a useful pointer toward north, and which has mythological significance in numerous world cultures....
. It was discovered by Charles Messier
Charles Messier

Charles Messier was a France astronomy most notable for publishing an astronomical catalog consisting of deep sky objects such as nebulae and star clusters that came to be known as the 103 "Messier objects"....
 in 1764 while he was searching for a nebula that had been reported in the area by Johann Hevelius. Not seeing any nebulae, Messier catalogued this double star instead. It was subsequently rediscovered by Friedrich August Theodor Winnecke in 1863.

In 1991 the separation between the components was measured at 51".7, an increase since Messier's time. The general consensus is that this is merely an optical double star rather than a physically connected system.

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