  Dr. Thomas David Anderson (1853-1932) was a Scottish amateur astronomer famed
for his discovery of two bright novae: Nova Aurigae 1891 and Nova Persei 1901.
He also discovered more than 50 variable stars as well as making independent
discoveries of Nova Aquilae 1918 and comet 17P/Holmes in 1892. At the age of
seventy, in 1923, he reported his discovery of a further nova, this time in
Cygnus. This was set to be the culmination of a lifetime devoted to scanning
the night sky, but unfortunately no one was able to confirm it. This paper
discusses Anderson's life leading up to the discovery and considers whether it
was real or illusory.
