Tags: Star.
Winnecke 4 (also known as Messier 40 or WNC 4) is a double star in the constellation Ursa Major. It was discovered by Charles Messier 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 and included in the Winnecke Catalogue of Double Stars as number 4.
