Messier Index/M40
Winnecke 4 (also known as Messier 40 or WNC 4) is a w:double star in the constellation w:Ursa Major. It was discovered by w:Charles Messier in w: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 w: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.
