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Catalogue · BD · 1863

Bonner Durchmusterung (BD)

The great pre-photographic survey of the northern sky, carried out under Friedrich Argelander at Bonn and published from 1863. It recorded positions and magnitudes for about 325,000 stars to roughly ninth magnitude — the most comprehensive star catalogue of its era — and its 'BD' designations remain in use for naked-eye and telescopic stars today.

Highlights

  • ~325,000 stars — the greatest survey before photography

Across the catalogue layer

Knowledge connections

Sources

The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.

  • IAUInternational Astronomical Union

    Official naming, definitions, constellation boundaries, and astronomical nomenclature.