11 58 06.8 +47 20 05; UMa
V = 14.8; Size 0.7'x0.4'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 160°
17.5" (4/7/89): extremely faint, very small but
elongation visible NNW-SSE, weak concentration. A mag 12 star is 2.1' N and a mag 11.5 star 4.2' NE of
center. Located 6' NW of
George Johnstone Stoney or his brother Bindon Blood Stoney discovered NGC 4001 on 13 Apr 1852. While observing NGC 4010 with the 72-inch, it was noted "A small, round neb about 7' np."
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11 57 59.3 +23 12 07; Leo
V = 14.0; Size 0.8'x0.4'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 75°
17.5" (2/20/88): fairly faint, small, elongated ~E-W,
small bright core. A mag 13.5 star
is 0.8' SE of center. Forms a pair
with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4002 = H. III-344 = h1034, along with NGC 4003, on 10 Apr 1785 (sweep 394). He logged them as "Two, both extremely faint and very small. 240x verified them, 5 or 6' from each other." John Herschel measured a fairly accurate position.
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NGC 4003 = UGC 6948 = MCG +04-28-105 = CGCG 127-115 = PGC 37646
11 57 59.0 +23 07 29; Leo
V = 13.3; Size 1.5'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 10°
17.5" (2/20/88): faint, small, oval, weak concentration. Forms a pair with NGC 4002 4.6' N.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4003 = H. III-345 = h1035, along with NGC 4002, on 10 Apr 1785 (sweep 394). Herschel provided a single position for both objects, but John Herschel measured fairly accurate positions.
CGCG, UGC and MCG equate NGC 4003 with
******************************
11 58 05.2 +27 52 43; Leo
V = 13.7; Size 1.8'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 8°
17.5" (4/9/99): fairly faint, fairly small, very
elongated 3:1 SSW-NNE, 1.2'x0.4', no concentration. A mag 13.5 star is close following [57" SE of
center]. Last and brightest of a
trio with
On the DSS, NGC 4004 appears to be an interacting, distorted galaxy (or the result) with a long tidal tail to the south.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4004 = H. III-354 = h1036 on
11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396). He
recorded "vF, vS. It was in
the field I was gaging [counting stars] otherwise it would probably have been
overlooked." Caroline's
reduction is 6.5' NNE of
Because of his father's poor position, John Hershel listed this object as a "nova" (h1036), though questioned if it was identical to III-354 in the GC. He recorded "pretty faint; little elongated; gradually brighter in the middle; the following of 2 in parallel [with NGC 3988] with a star between." Both Herschels missed nearby IC 2982, next to the star.
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NGC 4005 = NGC 4007 = UGC 6952 = MCG +04-28-107 = CGCG 127-120 = WBL 368-007 = LGG 261-002 = PGC 37661
11 58 10.1 +25 07 19; Leo
V = 13.1; Size 1.2'x0.7'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 92°
24" (3/22/14): moderately bright, fairly small,
elongated 3:2 E-W, 30"x20", bright core. Situated 1.6' SE of mag 8.2
17.5" (3/19/88): fairly faint, small, oval slightly
elongated E-W, bright core.
Located 1.8' SE of mag 7.8
Otto Struve found NGC 4005 on 16 Mar 1869 with the 15-inch refractor at the Pulkovo Observatory in St. Petersburg while searching for Comet Winnecke (7P/Pons-Winnecke) in Mar-Apr 1869.
William Herschel discovered this galaxy and it was catalogued as H. III-325 (later NGC 4007), but the declination in the GC and NGC is two degrees too far south due to a copying or reduction error (Auwer's reduction has the correct position). This correction was noted by Dreyer in his 1912 "Scientific Papers of WH." Because of Struve's unambiguous position, this galaxy is identified as NGC 4005 in UGC, CGCG, MCG, RNGC, RC3, despite Herschel's earlier discovery.
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11 58 05.8 -02 07 12; Vir
V = 12.6; Size 1.7'x1.2'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 20°
17.5" (5/11/02): fairly faint, small, slightly
elongated SSW-NNE, 0.7'x0.5', very small brighter core, faint stellar nucleus
with direct vision. Near the
middle of a 13' N-S string of stars concave outwards towards the east. A mag 12 star lies 1.6' NE. Forms a pair with
John Herschel discovered NGC 4006 = h1037 on 15 Apr 1828 and
noted "F; S; R; bM; sp a * 11m." His position and description matches
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NGC 4007 = NGC 4005 = UGC 6952 = MCG +04-28-107 = CGCG 127-120 = WBL 368-007 = LGG 261-002 = PGC 37661
11 58 10.1 +25 07 19; Leo
V = 13.1; Size 1.2'x0.7'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 92°
See observing notes for NGC 4005
William Herschel discovered NGC 4007 = H. III-325 on 6 Apr 1785 (sweep 393) and noted "eF, vS." John Herschel either copied or precessed Williams's position incorrectly as the North Polar Distance in GC and NGC is two degrees too far south. The error was caught and corrected by Dreyer in his 1912 revision of WH's catalogues. Otto Struve independently found the galaxy on 16 Mar 1869 and Dreyer himself picked it up at Birr Castle in 1878 (labeled as Alpha on the diagram of the cluster), and it was catalogued as NGC 4005 at the correct position.
All major catalogues identify this galaxy as NGC 4005 although you could argue that by prior discovery, NGC 4007 should take historical precedence. In any case, it is clear that NGC 4005 = NGC 4007. Unfortunately, as a result of the two degree error, the NGC position falls close to NGC 4003. So, Karl Reinmuth in his 1926 survey "Die Herschel-Nebel", Dorothy Carlson's NGC/IC Correction list, CGCG, UGC, MCG all misidentify NGC 4007 = NGC 4003, ignoring Dreyer's correction. See Malcolm Thomson's Catalogue Corrections and Corwin's notes.
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11 58 17.0 +28 11 33; Leo
V = 12.0; Size 2.5'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 167°
17.5" (4/9/99): moderately bright, very elongated ~N-S with a prominent core., 1.4'x0.5'. The extensions nearly reach an extremely faint mag 15.5 star at the north edge. Initially I thought this galaxy was NGC 4004 which is located 20' SSW.
8" (4/24/82): faint, round, bright core.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4008 = H. II-368 = h1038 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and noted "pF, bM." John Herschel made 4 observations and measured an accurate position. A total of 7 observations were made at Birr Castle.
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11 58 15.1 +25 11 24; Leo
= *, Corwin.
J.L.E. Dreyer discovered NGC 4009 with the 72" on 26
Apr 1878 in the last observation of the cluster at Birr Castle. He placed it 238" in PA 41.5° from
mag 8 HD 103913 and at this exact offset (labeled "Iota" on the final
compiled sketch) is a mag 15 star (GSC 1985-1944). RNGC and PGC misidentify
******************************
NGC 4010 = UGC 6964 = MCG +08-22-049 = CGCG 243-034 = Holm 314a = LGG 258-021 = PGC 37697
11 58 37.0 +47 15 37; UMa
V = 12.6; Size 4.3'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 66°
17.5" (4/7/89): faint, large, edge-on WSW-ENE, weak
concentration. Forms a pair with
NGC 4001 6' NW. Member of the NGC
3877 subgroup of the
John Herschel discovered NGC 4010 = h1040 on 26 Apr 1830 and
noted "F; mE; very gradually little brighter middle; 100" l, 25"
br." His position is 2'
southwest of center of
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NGC 4011 = CGCG 127-121 = WBL 368-008 = PGC 37674
11 58 25.4 +25 05 51; Leo
V = 14.7; Size 0.7'x0.3'; PA = 35°
24" (3/22/14): very faint or faint, small, round,
15" diameter, very weak concentration. Located 3.7' SE of NGC 4005 and 5.4' NW of
J.L.E. Dreyer discovered NGC 4011 on 24 Apr 1878 in one of
the later observations of the cluster with the 72" and labeled as
"Epsilon" on the published sketch (constructed from all
observations). His notes read
"vF, vS, *12m 2.5' np."
The nebula was placed +/- 4' in approximately PA 112° from mag 8.3 HD 103913. The actual offsets to
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11 58 27.6 +10 01 17; Vir
V = 13.4; Size 1.9'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 153°
17.5" (3/24/90): very faint, small, elongated NNW-SSE, low even surface brightness.
Albert Marth discovered NGC 4012 = m 225 = Sf. 108 on 15 Jan
1865 and recorded "vF, S, lE". His position matches
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11 58 31.7 +43 56 48; UMa
V = 11.2; Size 5.2'x1.0'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 66°
48" (5/1/22): at 375x; very nice bright, large edge-on ~5:1 SW-NE, with a high surface brightness. The galaxy is cleaved by an easily visible thin dust lane that extends through the entire central portion. Very close to the geometric center is a mag 12 star. The central halves are brighter and outline the equatorial dust. The tips are fainter and uneven; brighter on the south side of the western extension and the north side of the eastern extension. Two 13th mag stars are 4' SW and 5' SW.
17.5" (3/8/97): moderately bright, fairly large edge-on
5:1 WSW-ENE, 3.5'x0.7'. A mag 12
star is superimposed very close to the actual center and masquerades as a
bright stellar nucleus (similar to
William Herschel discovered NGC 4013 = H. II-733 = h1041 on 6 Feb 1788 (sweep 810) and recorded "pB, mE, about 4' long and 3/4' br. A pretty bright small nucleus and very faint branches near the meridian." John Herschel made two observations and logged on sweep 248 "B; mE; very small & very much brighter middle to a * = 10-11m; pos of extension = 62.3° by measure."
George Johnstone Stoney, Lord Rosse's assistant, recorded it on 17 Mar 1849 as "E with a split or opening in the direction of major axis and a star a little following the center." The dark lane was confirmed on 12 Apr 1861: "Brightest part preceding the star and certainly a narrow split going towards preceding end from the star."
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11 58 35.8 +16 10 38; Com
V = 12.3; Size 1.4'x0.9'; Surf Br = 12.4; PA = 120°
18" (4/5/03): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1 WNW-ESE, 1.0'x0.5', weakly concentrated halo, rises suddenly to a very small brighter core. Forms the eastern vertex of an equilateral triangle with a mag 10.8 star 6.5' NW and a mag 12 star 6.4' SW.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4014 = h1042 on 26 Apr 1832 and
logged "Not vF; R; pretty gradually brighter middle; 35". The next sweep is observed it again
as"pB; pretty suddenly brighter middle; 25"." His position matches
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NGC 4015 = Arp 138 NED1 = VV 216a = UGC 6965 = MCG +04-28-109 = MCG +04-28-110 = CGCG 127-122 = WBL 368-010 = LGG 260-006 = KPG 314 = PGC 37703
11 58 42.6 +25 02 12; Com
V = 13.2; Size 1.4'x1.4'; Surf Br = 13.7
48" (5/9/21): at 488x; bright, moderately large, round,
~45" diameter, sharply concentrated with a very bright core that increases
to an intensely bright nucleus! An
attached companion (perhaps foreground
24" (3/22/14): moderately to fairly bright, moderately large, sharply concentrated with a very bright blazing core and a faint halo. The superimposed or interacting companion (VV 216b) was just visible at 375x as an extremely faint, elongated patch jutting out on the north side!
17.5" (3/19/88): fairly faint, small, slightly
elongated bright core. First of
three with
J.L.E. Dreyer discovered NGC 4015, along with NGC 4021 and
4023. on 24 Apr 1878 and described it as "F, vS, E pf, mbM." With respect to NGC 4005, he placed it
at a separation of 545.1" in PA 124.9° and it was labeled "Beta"
on the constructed sketch of the cluster.
At this exact separation is
The PGC positions for the two components,
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11 58 29.0 +27 31 44; Com
V = 13.3; Size 1.5'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 175°
48" (4/20/17): at 488x; moderately bright and large,
slightly elongated but irregular shape.
Contains a brighter elongated bar through the center oriented ~E-W with
a slightly brighter, very small nucleus.
The halo changed shape and size with averted version so I was probably
picking up part of the spiral arms that extend north on the west side and south
on the east side. The
"bowtie" structure visible around the bar on the SDSS was not seen. A mag 17.3 star is superimposed just
15" N of center and a mag 16.2 star is at the southeast edge of the
galaxy. Forms a pair (
17.5" (4/9/99): faint, fairly small, elongated ~ E-W, 0.8'x0.5', no noticeable concentration. A mag 12 star lies 1.3' S of center. First and fainter of pair with NGC 4017 6' SE.
R.J. Mitchell, LdR's assistant, discovered NGC 4016 at Birr
Castle on 30 Mar 1854 and noted "another vF neb about 5' np or nearly
north [of NGC 4017]." At this
offset is
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NGC 4017 = Arp 305 NED2 = VV 424 = UGC 6967 = MCG +05-28-065 = CGCG 157-069 = PGC 37705
11 58 45.8 +27 27 10; Com
V = 12.2; Size 1.8'x1.4'; Surf Br = 13.0
48" (4/20/17): at 488x; beautiful 2-armed spiral with a very distinctive "S" shape. Contains a bright, elongated core or bar oriented E-W, though it was not as narrow as a typical bar. It brightened somewhat in the center to a rounder nucleus. Two very easy, graceful spiral arms were visible; the eastern arm is a bit brighter and knotty (HII regions) near its root on the southeast side of the core. It rotates clockwise, bending north on the east side of the galaxy and then curls towards to the west, ending nearly due north of the core. The western arm was also easily seen as an extension south-southeast, while tapering and fading to the south of the core. Forms a striking pair with NGC 4016 6' NW.
17.5" (4/9/99): fairly faint, elongated 3:2 WSW-ENE, 1.2'x0.8', weak concentration [face-on SBc spiral]. Forms a pair with NGC 4016 6' NW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4017 = H. II-369 = h1043 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and noted "F, E, pL. The following part the brightest." John Herschel made three observations, although all positions are rough.
On 30 Mar 1854, R.J. Mitchell (Lord Rosse's assistant) noted "F, spiral? Another vF neb [NGC 4016] about 5' np or nearly north." The following spring he commented "Query, shaped like an "S"? Its light is certainly patchy and the neb is lE nearly pf. np this object is another F, R neb with stellar centre." His sketch, included in the 1861 publications, accurates depicts the "S" shape of NGC 4017. Finally on 16 Apr 1855, he wrote "my previous conjectoure as to shape is rather confirmed by Mr. Johnstone Stoney [on a visit prior to starting his professorial duties], who saw the preceding branch turned off sharply to the south, while the following bend is not so sharp, but this latter branch reacher farther round and is rather fainter."
CGCG mislabels NGC 4017 as NGC 4016.
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11 58 40.7 +25 18 59; Com
V = 13.8; Size 1.7'x0.3'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 163°
24" (3/22/14): fairly faint to moderately bright,
moderately large, very elongated 3:1 NNW-SSE, 1.2'x0.4', broad weak
concentration.
17.5" (3/19/88): faint, fairly small, edge-on NW-SE. A pair of mag 13 stars at 25" separation is located 3' SSE. Member of the NGC 4007 group with NGC 4022 7' SE.
J.L.E. Dreyer discovered NGC 4018 on 26 Apr 1878 in the last
observation of the cluster from Birr Castle. He placed it roughly 12' in PA 37° from NGC 4009 and it is
labeled "Kappa" on the constructed diagram. The actual separation is 10' in PA 37°, although NGC 4009 is
a star. The note"mE np sf, 2
st S" pins down the identification as
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12 01 10.3 +14 06 16; Com
V = 13.2; Size 2.4'x0.3'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 145°
24" (5/20/20): at 375x; fairly faint, moderately large, excellent very thin edge-on! Extended ~10:1 NW-SE, ~80"x8", bright core, tapers at tips. A mag 10.1 star is 5.6' SSE.
18" (4/9/05): fairly faint, edge-on NW-SE, 1.0'x0.2',
low even surface brightness. A mag
10 star is 5.5' SE and 2' following this star is
John Herschel discovered NGC 4019 = h1044 on 23 Apr 1832 (the last night he made a discovery at Slough, setting sail for the Cape of Good Hope the following year). He described it as "eF; has a *9m 5' south-following". There is nothing near his position. A mag 15 star is 3.5' northwest of his position and a mag 10 star lies 6' SE of this faint star (a good match with his description), so the faint star is one possible candidate for NGC 4019.
Harold Corwin identifies NGC 4019 as
Update: Corwin checked Herschel's sweep records and it appears his offsets refer to Beta Leonis. Rereducing yields a position 2 minutes of RA further east, which is within 20 seconds of RA within IC 755. Hence the equivalnce is very likely.
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11 58 56.6 +30 24 42; UMa
V = 12.7; Size 2.1'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 15°
17.5" (5/4/02): fairly faint, moderately large, elongated 2:1 SSW-NNE, 1.8'x0.9', broad concentration but no well-defined core. A mag 10.5 star lies 3.1' WSW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4020 = H. II-725 = h1045 on 3 Feb 1788 (sweep 805) and recorded "pB, E, mbM, about 2' long from sp to nf, but nearer to the meridian." John Herschel recorded "Not vF; bicentral or elongated; very gradually brighter middle to a central axis pos = 199.5°, or pos of the two centres = 19.5°; 14" long and 25" br." The Slough Catalogue has a typo; read H. II-725 for H. II-275. He corrected the error in the GC. Bindon Stoney, observing on LdR's 72" on 26 Apr 1851, not "Bicentral appearance very indistinct. Light mottled, E ssp-nnf."
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NGC 4021 = MCG +04-28-112 = CGCG 127-124 = WBL 368-011 = PGC 37730
11 59 02.6 +25 04 59; Com
V = 14.5; Size 0.6'x0.5'; PA = 85°
24" (3/22/14): faint, fairly small, round, 24" diameter, slightly brighter core. Located 5.2' NE of NGC 4015 in the NGC 4005 cluster.
17.5" (3/19/88): very faint, very small, slightly elongated ~E-W, 0.4'x0.3'. Forms the northern vertex of an equilateral triangle with NGC 4015 5' SW and NGC 4023 6' SSE. Member of the NGC 4007 group.
J.L.E. Dreyer discovered NGC 4021 on 26 Apr 1878, the last
session "nebulae" were discovered at Birr Castle. He recorded,
"F, S, R or lE and placed this object 58.2" in PA 312.1° with respect
to NGC 4015. It was labeled "Delta" on the final compiled
sketch of the cluster. At Dreyer's micrometric offset is
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NGC 4022 = UGC 6975 = MCG +04-28-111 = CGCG 127-125 = WBL 368-012 = LGG 261-004 = PGC 37729
11 59 01.0 +25 13 21; Com
V = 13.0; Size 1.2'x1.2'; Surf Br = 13.3
24" (3/22/14): moderately bright, fairly small, round, small very bright core increases to the center. Two mag 13 stars lies 2.2' WSW and 2.4' WNW.
17.5" (3/19/88): faint, small, slightly elongated, bright core. Contains a stellar nucleus or a star is superimposed. Member of the NGC 4007 group with NGC 4018 7.3' NW.
J.L.E. Dreyer discovered NGC 4022 on 26 Apr 1878 in the last observation of the cluster from Birr Castle. He placed it approximately 6' in PA 144° from NGC 4018 (Kappa) and noted "pF, vS, stellar". On the final constructed diagram NGC 4022 is labeled "Lambda". The actual separation is 7' in PA 140°.
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NGC 4023 = UGC 6977 = MCG +04-28-113 = CGCG 127-127 = WBL 368-013 = PGC 37732
11 59 05.5 +24 59 20; Com
V = 13.6; Size 0.9'x0.7'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 25°
48" (5/9/21): at 488x; bright, fairly large, slightly elongated, ~50"x40". Contains a relatively large, very bright core that increases towards the center. The halo extends nearly 1' and has a fairly low surface brightness, suggesting a face-on spiral (though no spiral structure). A mag 16.5 in the halo on the north side [14" from center] and a mag 16 star is at the NNW edge of the halo [24" from center]. NGC 4015 is 5.9' NW.
24" (3/22/14): fairly faint, fairly small, round, weak concentration, slightly irregular surface brightness. Situated 5.9' SE of NGC 4015.
17.5" (3/19/88): faint, small, slightly elongated ~N-S, weak concentration. Member of the NGC 4007 group with NGC 4015 7' WNW.
J.L.E. Dreyer discovered NGC 4023 on 24 Apr 1878 on a late
observation of the NGC 4005 group at Birr Castle. He described the nebula as "pF, pL, diffuse" and
placed it at 358.1" in PA 117.8° with respect to NGC 4015. It was labeled "Gamma" on the
final compiled sketch of the cluster.
At this offset is
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11 58 31.2 -18 20 50; Crv
V = 11.7; Size 1.9'x1.5'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 70°
18" (3/19/04): moderately bright, slightly elongated,
sharply concentrated with a bright 25" core that increases to the
center. The fainter outer halo
measures ~1.4'x1.1'. An isosceles
triangle of mag 10-11.5 stars (sides 2', 2', 4.8') lies 6' W. Located 1 degree NW of the Antennae
(
William Herschel discovered NGC 4024 = H. II-295 on 7 Feb
1785 (sweep 368) and recorded "F, vS, iF, bM." His RA was 30 seconds too large. Howe measured an accurate position in
1899-00 at Denver (repeated in the
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11 59 10.2 +37 47 37; UMa
V = 13.6; Size 2.8'x1.6'; Surf Br = 15.0; PA = 40°
18" (3/30/05): picked up at 165x as a moderately large but very low surface brightness glow. At 225x, it appears ~1.5' diameter with very little concentration. The DSS images reveals a face-on irregular barred spiral with very low surface brightness arms.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4025 = H. III-617 = h1046 on 17 Mar 1787 (sweep 714) and noted "eF, irregularly round, about 1' in diameter."
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11 59 25.0 +50 57 42; UMa
V = 10.8; Size 5.2'x1.3'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 178°
17.5" (3/8/97): bright, large, excellent lens-shape
edge-on 5:1 N-S, 4.0'x0.8'.
Sharply concentrated with a striking bulging core and non-stellar
nucleus. Extensions tapers at
ends. Located 7.2' SSW of mag 9.2
William Herschel discovered NGC 4026 = H. I-223 = h1047 on 12 Apr 1789 (sweep 919). He recorded "considerably bright, elongated in the direction of the meridian [N-S], bright nucleus with very faint branches, 3' long." His RA was 20 seconds too large, but the NGC position (probably from John Herschel) is accurate.
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11 59 30.5 -19 15 44; Crv
V = 11.1; Size 3.2'x2.4'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 167°
24" (4/10/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): at 260x this is a strange looking one-armed spiral. Overall it appeared quite bright and large with a very irregular shape, 3'x2', and sharply concentrated with a fairly small, round core. The core gradually increased to the center. Emerging from the core on the NW end is a fairly well-defined arm that initially extends north in the direction of a mag 11.8 star located 3.7' NNW of the center of the galaxy. This arm then sharply curves counter-clockwise ~135°, bending around to the N and NE, ending just outside a mag 14 star situated close NE of the core. On the SE end of the core, a second arm begins to emerge but it suddenly terminates, creating a very asymmetric appearance with one long, wrapping arm.
A faint companion,
48" (2/28/19): at 488x; the spectacular spiral arm on the north side of the galaxy wrapped around over 180° and faded out beyond a 14th mag star, nearly due east of the core of the galaxy. The core of the galaxy was roundish but contained a brighter bar oriented E-W. There was a darker region just south of the core, due to dust. NGC 4027A, situated 4' S, appeared fairly faint, moderately large, elongated N-S, irregular, fairly low even surface brightness. An extremely faint star is at the southeast edge.
13.1" (2/16/85): fairly bright, round, moderately large, broad concentration, possible stellar nucleus. A mag 14 star is off the ENE edge 1.0' from center. NGC 4027 is an unusual interacting one-armed barred spiral.
13.1" (4/28/84 and 9/22/84): a spiral arm highly suspected north of the nucleus trailing to the east.
8" (3/28/81): faint, moderately large, no details.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4027 = H. II-296 = h3371 on 7 Feb 1785 (sweep 386) and logged "pB, pL." His RA was 1.0 minute of time too large. John Herschel made an interesting description from the Cape of Good Hope: "Globular; F; pL; R; 2'; resolved; stars barely seen; but in a better night for definition would no doubt be clearly resolved into st 16m." His position is accurate, though of course his description isn't valid. It was described as a single branched spiral with condensations in the Helwan Observatory bulletin for 1921, based on photos taken by Knox-Shaw in 1914-16 with the 30" reflector.
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NGC 4028 = NGC 4014 = UGC 6961 = MCG +03-31-005 = CGCG 098-012 = PGC 37695
11 58 35.8 +16 10 38; Com
See observing notes for NGC 4014.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4028 = H. III-3 on 30 Dec 178 (sweep 72) and recorded "vF, not cometic tho' almost round. It forms an isosceles triangle with 2 small stars [by a diagram these are about 6' sp]. It is probably of the resolvable kind but eF; it may be a very distant compressed cl of stars, but would require a great quantity of light to resolve." There is nothing at his position (an early sweep prone to large errors) and III-3 was not found visually by Bigourdan or photographically by Reinmuth.
Harold Corwin equates NGC 4028 with NGC 4014, which matches WH's description of forming an isosceles triangle with two stars (6' sp and 6' np). He notes this would require WH made offset errors on two different sweeps landing roughly at the same erroneous position.
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12 00 03.1 +08 10 54; Vir
V = 13.5; Size 1.2'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 150°
17.5" (3/24/90): faint, small, elongated NNW-SSE, small bright core. A mag 13.5 star is 1.8' NE of center.
Albert Marth discovered NGC 4029 = m 226 on 25 Mar 1865 and noted "vF, vS, lE, with stellar N." His position is accurate.
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12 00 23.5 -01 06 01; Vir
V = 10.6; Size 4.2'x3.0'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 27°
17.5" (3/24/90): bright, moderately large, oval SW-NE, halo increases to a small bright core, mottled halo with structure suspected. Bracketed by a mag 10.5 star 2.2' SSW and a mag 11 star just off the NNW edge 1.6' from the center. Visible in 16x80 finder.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4030 = H. I-121 = h1048 on 1 Jan 1786 (sweep 507) and recorded "vB, cL, mbM. Between, but a little following two pB stars." John Herschel made two observations and logged (sweep 145) "B; R; pL; pretty suddenly brighter middle; r; 70"; has 3 or 4 large stars near." Using the Great Melbourne Telescope, Joseph Turner sketched it on 10 Apr 1877 (p. 133 of his logbook) and noted it was gradually brighter to the center with no resolution. Pietro Baracchi (in Feb 1886 with the GMT) logged it as "B; pS; R; vgpmbM".
******************************
12 00 31.3 +31 56 51; UMa
V = 14.4; Size 0.4'x0.4'; Surf Br = 12.3
17.5" (2/24/90): very faint, fairly small, elongated SSW-NNE. A mag 15.5 star is at the SW end and a second mag 15 star is 0.7' N of center.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4031 on 6 Apr 1864 with the
11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His single position is an exact match with
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12 00 32.9 +20 04 27; Com
V = 12.3; Size 1.9'x1.8'; Surf Br = 13.4
17.5" (3/28/87): moderately bright, round, fairly
small, even surface brightness. A
mag 12 star is 3.4' NNE. Located
west of the
William Herschel discovered NGC 4032 = H. II-404 = h1049 on 27 Apr 1785 (sweep 403) and recorded "pB, pL, mbM, R, cometic." His position (Caroline's reduction) is 2' too far SE. John Herschel observed this galaxy on 6 sweeps and his brightness descriptions vary from "extremely faint" to "bright"!
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12 00 34.8 -17 50 34; Crv
V = 11.7; Size 2.6'x1.1'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 47°
13.1" (4/28/84): fairly bright, small, elongated 3:2
SW-NE, small bright nucleus.
Located 1° north of the "Antennae" galaxies NGC 4038/
William Herschel discovered NGC 4033 = H. II-508 on 31 Dec 1785 (sweep 503) and logged "pB, S, lE, bM." Using the Great Melbourne Telescope on 11 Apr 1877, Joseph Turner sketched it as very elongated SW-NE with a brighter core (p. 133 of logbook). Pietro Baracchi reported it as "B; S; lE; gpmb." (28 Feb 1886, GMT). Engelhardt measured an accurate position.
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12 01 29.6 +69 19 26; Dra
V = 13.5; Size 1.7'x1.1'; Surf Br = 14.1; PA = 5°
17.5" (3/29/89): extremely faint, small, very low
surface brightness. A mag 14 star
is 30" off the NW edge.
Located 9.5' NE of mag 7.3
William Herschel discovered NGC 4034 = H. III-903 on 6 Apr
1793 (sweep 1036) and noted "eF, S, iF, very little brighter
middle." CGCG misidentifies
this galaxy (
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12 00 29.3 -15 56 53; Crv
V = 13.4; Size 1.1'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 0°
18" (4/9/05): very faint, fairly small, round, 0.8'
diameter, very low surface brightness with little or no concentration. Located 5.8' SSW of mag 9
William Herschel discovered NGC 4035 = H. III-279 = h3372 on
8 Feb 1785 (sweep 372) and recorded "eF, pL. Requires much attention to be seen. I saw it also with 240, but its light
was much lessened and the difficulty of seeing increasing." Caroline's reduction is less than 2'
northeast of
******************************
12 01 26.7 +61 53 45; UMa
V = 10.7; Size 4.3'x1.7'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 85°
24" (5/27/17): at 200x beautiful large spindle 4:1
~E-W, 3'x0.8'. Sharply
concentrated with a small, very bright core/nucleus and tapered
extensions. Forms a bright pair
with
17.5" (5/2/92): very bright striking galaxy! Fairly large, very elongated 3:1 E-W, 3.0'x1.0', halo increases to a bright core, very bright nucleus. The eastern extension appears slightly brighter. NGC 4041 lies 16' NNE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4036 = H. I-253 = h1050 on 19 Mar 1790 (sweep 953). He logged "very bright, very large, extended." Caroline's reduced position is 15 sec of RA east of UGC 7005. John Herschel called this galaxy "pB; R; pretty suddenly little brighter middle; 25" diameter." His position is accurate.
******************************
12 01 23.7 +13 24 03; Com
V = 11.9; Size 2.5'x2.0'; Surf Br = 13.5
17.5" (5/19/01): very faint, moderately large, low
surface brightness, ill-defined, ~2' diameter, slightly elongated N-S, very
weak concentration. Located 5' W
of mag 9
William Herschel discovered NGC 4037 = H. III-77 = h1051 on 8 Apr 1784 (sweep 187) and recorded "eF, pL, R, r." John Herschel made two observations and measured an accurate position.
******************************
NGC 4038 = Arp 244 NED1 = VV 245b = ESO 572-047 = MCG -03-31-014 = UGCA 264 = PGC 37967 = The Antennae = Ringtail Galaxies
12 01 53.0 -18 52 05; Crv
V = 10.3; Size 3.4'x1.7'; Surf Br = 11.9; PA = 80°
82" (5/4/19, McDonald Observatory): at 613x; I was surprised to see the numerous high surface brightness knots lining the rim of NGC 4038 and the looping spiral arm on the east side. A total of 17 knots were counted; these were irregularly spread out with several in clumps. The beginning of the spiral arm extending south was very noticeable exiting the eyepiece field.
48" (4/1/11 and 5/3/19): I took a quick look at the Antennae Galaxy on 4/1/11 to see the faint tidal tails that shoot north and south from the east end of NGC 4038/4039. The tidal tail heading south from NGC 4038 (the northern component) was easily visible, sweeping 2' S but then quickly dimming. The streamer heading north was also visible but appeared detached from the galaxies. It was picked up ~2.5' NE of NGC 4038 and extended 2' N, terminating at a faint star.
On 5/3/19 we examined the galaxy using a NPB filter at 375x. Overall the galaxy dimmed but a ring of HII knots extending 270° seemed to light up, providing a striking appearance! They appeared to brighten and dim as individual knots "turned on" with averted vision and gave the impression of viewing car headlights through different layers of fog.
24" (4/10/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): this was an amazing object in the 24" at 350x. The main, bright northern component (NGC 4038) was partially annular, with a very bright knotty rim and a darker center giving a truly unique appearance for a galaxy. At least 3 knots were visible embedded along its rim. On the SE side is the brightest knot (the nucleus of the galaxy) which appeared faint, small, ~12" diameter. A second fainter knot is on the west side and was only ~6" in size. Finally, a third very faint 6" knot is on the north side. The three knots were roughly spaced out 120° apart along the outer portion of this tortured galaxy. An elongated "arm" (the interacting companion NGC 4039) is attached on the east end and curves around on the south side towards the southwest. Another very faint, but slightly larger 20" knot is embedded along the main portion of NGC 4039, roughly halfway along its length. At the southwest tip of the brighter portion of NGC 4039 was a relatively large, brighter knot (its nucleus) that at times appeared double. Surrounding the southwest portion of NGC 4039 is a much fainter outer halo extended SW-NE. This fainter halo extends further southwest for a few arc minutes and widens to a bulbous shape at the end. This was by far the most detailed view I've seen of the Antennae galaxy. NGC 4027, another disturbed galaxy, lies SW.
17.5" (5/14/88): fairly bright, moderately large. Forms a striking "shrimp-like" or "comma" shape with the tail attached at the east end and extending to the south. Appears clearly darker between the two objects on the west side.
13.1" (5/21/82): appears as two irregular galaxies connected at the east end in a "shrimp" shape.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4038 = H. IV-28.1 = h1052, along with NGC 4039, on 7 Feb 1785 (sweep 368). He recorded both as "pB, L. Two joined together, the smallest south [NGC 4039]; or one opening with a branch very faintly joined." Herschel assigned a single entry in class IV (planetary), though John Herschel separated these into IV 28.1 and IV 28.2 in the Slough catalogue. Bindon Blood Stoney, Lord Rosse's assistant, sketched the galaxy pair on 14 Apr 1852 (Plate XXVII, Fig. 18 in 1861 publication). It appears to show one of the long tidal tails.
The long "Antennae" tidal tails were first photographed by Carl Lampland with the 40-inch Lowell reflector in 1917. In 1923 J.C. Duncan first used the term "antennae" based on 100-inch photos at Mt. Wilson: "Most remarkable of all, two faint extensions, like antennae, seem to cross at the eastern end of the bag, one reaching northward and the other southward, and both concave toward the west" in the "Photographic studies of nebulae.III." based on the 100" Hooker telescope. In 1940, Harlow Shapley and John S. Paraskevopoulos described a "Ring-Tail" structure based on photos taken with the 60" reflector at the Boyden Station at Bloemfontein, South Africa. The Toomre's adopted the nickname "the Antennae" in their early 1972 computer simulation "Galactic Bridges and Tails".
******************************
NGC 4039 = Arp 244 NED2 = VV 245a = ESO 572-048 = MCG -03-31-015 = UGCA 265 = PGC 37969 = The Antennae = Ringtail Galaxies
12 01 53.6 -18 53 11; Crv
V = 10.6; Size 3.2'x2.1'; Surf Br = 12.4; PA = 130°
24" (4/10/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): attached on the east end of NGC 4038 (see detailed notes) is a long "tail" or arm (this is the interacting companion NGC 4039) that curves around on the south side towards the southwest. Another very faint, but slightly larger 20" knot is embedded along the main portion of the tail roughly halfway. At the tip of the main tail was a relatively large, brighter knot that at times appeared double. Surrounding the SW portion of the tail is a much fainter outer halo extended SW-NE. This fainter halo extends beyond the tail for a few arc minutes and widens to a bulbous shape at the end. This was by far the most detailed view I've seen of the Ring-tail galaxy.
17.5" (5/14/88): this is the southern member of the striking "Ring-Tail galaxy". Attached at the east side of NGC 4038 and forms a "tail" elongated NW-SE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4039 = H. IV-28.2 = h1053, along with NGC 4038, on 7 Feb 1785 (sweep 368). He assigned only a single H-designation (IV-28). See that number for more.
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12 02 05.4 +17 49 23; Com
V = 13.3; Size 1.9'x1.3'; Surf Br = 14.3; PA = 145°
17.5" (5/11/02): faint, fairly small, slightly elongated NW-SE, 0.8'x0.7', broad weak concentration. An isosceles triangle with sides 2'/2'/1' consisting of mag 12.5 stars is 2' SE.
Lewis Swift discovered NGC 4040 = Sw. 6-41 on 30 Mar 1887
and noted "forms nearly a square with 3 stars". His position and description is a good
match with
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NGC 4041 = UGC 7014 = MCG +10-17-129 = CGCG 292-061 = PGC 37999
12 02 12.2 +62 08 14; UMa
V = 11.3; Size 2.7'x2.5'; Surf Br = 13.2
24" (5/27/17): at 200x; bright, large, roundish, nearly 2' diameter. Sharply concentrated with a large, low surface brightness halo and an intensely bright core. The core brightness towards the center but there was no distinct nucleus. Forms a bright pair with NGC 4036 15' SSW.
17.5" (5/2/92): fairly bright, moderately large, slightly elongated 4:3 SW-NE, 2' diameter, broad concentration with an overall fairly high surface brightness. Two mag 11 and 12 stars at 1.0' separation are 3.5' SSE. NGC 4036 lies 16' SSW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4041 = H. I-252 = h1054 on 19 Mar 1790 (sweep 953) and recorded "vB, cL, R." John Herschel made two observations and logged (sweep 411) "B; R; at first gradually, the pretty suddenly very much brighter middle to a nuclear mass which seems resolvable." His position is accurate.
******************************
12 02 46.8 +20 09 49; Com
V = 15.7; Size 0.3'x0.2'
24" (3/22/14): very faint, very small, round, 12" diameter. Cannot hold steadily at 375x but not difficult to see knowing the position. The identification of this number is uncertain.
Albert Marth discovered NGC 4042 = m 227, along with NGC
4056 and
Karl Reinmuth, in his 1926 photographic survey "Die Herschel-Nebel", suggests the possible equivalent with NGC 4032, but this galaxy is 1.8 tmin of RA west and 4' south of Marth's position. Carlson and RNGC also give this possible equivalence.
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NGC 4043 = UGC 7015 = MCG +01-31-012 = CGCG 041-026 = PGC 38010
12 02 22.9 +04 19 47; Vir
V = 13.5; Size 0.6'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.2; PA = 135°
17.5" (3/24/90): faint, very small, round, bright core, faint stellar nucleus.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4043 = h1055 on 9 Apr 1828 and recorded "S; R; preceds a double star about 30 sec, and is 3' south of it. RA is a rough estimate only from the double star. On the next sweep he logged "Not B; S; R; pretty suddenly brighter middle; 15"." and measured an accurate position.
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12 02 29.5 -00 12 45; Vir
V = 13.0; Size 1.2'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.2
17.5" (3/24/90): faint, small, slightly elongated, almost even surface brightness.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4044 = H. III-491 = h1056 on
1 Jan 1786 (sweep 507) and noted "vF, S". His position matches
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12 02 42.3 +01 58 38; Vir
V = 12.0; Size 2.7'x1.9'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 95°
24" (4/15/23): at 327x; moderately bright and large, oval 3:2 E-W, brighter rounder core, distinct stellar nucleus, low surface brightness halo over 1' in diameter.A mag 12.3 star is 1.6' SE of center.
17.5" (5/10/86): moderately bright, fairly small, slightly elongated E-W, stellar nucleus offset to the SW of faint superimposed star. Forms a close pair with NGC 4045A 1.5' SSE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4045 = H. II-276 = h1057 on 20 Dec 1784 (sweep 349) and noted "pF, S, R, little brighter in the middle." John Herschel made the single observation "F; R: suddenly brighter middle; 25"; a star sf." and measured an accurate position.
Heinrich d'Arrest found this galaxy on 10 Apr 1863, but his
declination was 15' too far south.
Although he questioned if it was equal to h1057, Dreyer assumed it was
new and catalogued it as GCS 5602 = NGC 4046. This galaxy was found a 3rd time by David Todd (#13a) on 2
Jan 1878 in his search for a trans-Neptunian planet, along with NGC 4045A and
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12 02 42.3 +01 58 38; Vir
V = 12.0; Size 2.7'x1.9'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 95°
See observing notes for NGC 4045.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4046 on 10 Apr 1863 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His single observation (Latin translation copied from Harold Corwin's notes) reads "round; not small. Class II. It makes a triangle with 2 stars mag 13 and mag 16 to the south and following 6.6 sec. However, the question remains if it is h1057 [NGC 4045] with a 15' error in declination." In fact there is nothing at his position, but 15' north is NGC 4045, which matches his description. The mag 16 "star" is likely NGC 4045A. So, NGC 4046 = NGC 4045. See Harold Corwin's identification notes for more.
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12 02 50.6 +48 38 10; UMa
V = 12.2; Size 1.6'x1.3'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 105°
17.5" (4/25/98): moderately bright and large, ~1.3'x1.1', halo slightly elongated ~E-W. Fairly well concentrated with a fainter halo surrounding a bright core and nucleus. A mag 11 star lies 3.6' WSW. Sky hazy with smoke.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4047 = H. II-741 = h1058 on
9 Mar 1788 (sweep 816) and noted "pF, S, R, gradually brighter in the middle." Caroline's reduction is 1.6' northeast
of
******************************
12 02 50.0 +18 00 56; Com
V = 14.0; Size 0.65'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.1; PA = 92°
17.5" (5/11/02): faint, very small, elongated 3:2 E-W, 0.5'x0.35', even surface brightness. A mag 11.5 star lies 3.0' NW.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4048 = h1059 on 23 Mar 1827 and on a second sweep noted "vF; S; R pretty suddenly brighter middle; almost stellar." His position is accurate.
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12 02 54.7 +18 45 09; Com
V = 13.3; Size 0.9'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.5; PA = 52°
17.5" (5/11/02): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 3:2 SW-NE, 1.0'x0.7', weak broad concentration. A mag 11 star is 2.6' SE and another mag 11.5 star is 5' following.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4049 = H. III-390 = h1060 on
27 Apr 1785 (sweep 403) and simply noted "suspected." His position (CH"s reduction) is
28 sec of RA followoing
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12 02 54.0 -16 22 25; Crv
V = 12.2; Size 3.1'x2.1'; Surf Br = 14.1; PA = 85°
18" (3/19/04): faint, fairly large, oval 4:3 E-W,
2.0'x1.5'. Broad, weak
concentration with a 15" brighter nucleus using direct vision. Located 5.8' NE of mag 8.3
William Herschel discovered NGC 4050 = H. II-509 on 31 Dec
1785 (sweep 503) and logged "F, cL, irregularly round, little brighter in
the middle." His re-reduced
position matches
******************************
12 03 09.6 +44 31 53; UMa
V = 10.2; Size 5.2'x3.9'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 135°
48" (5/10/18): at 375x; NGC 4051 is a highly structured S or Z-shaped barred spiral with easy HII knots and subtle details! This Seyfert galaxy is very sharply concentrated with a brilliant quasi-stellar nucleus! The bright core extends into a slightly brighter central region or bar elongated 2:1 NW-SE and just over 1.5' in length. The halo extends at ~4.5'x3.5' NW-SE.
A very obvious eastern arm is attached at the southeast end of the bar and angles at a 90° angle towards the northeast, pointing towards a mag 14.0 star [2.8' NE of center]. A low surface brightness thin arm [roughly 1.6' in length] angling SE to NW was visible on the north side. On the DSS this arm appears to emanate from the bright eastern arm though visually it appeared straight and completely detached.
A large knotty arm, attached at the northwest end, bends sharply towards the south. This arm is thick or wide at its root with a large brighter knot or region embedded (catalogued as [EKS96] #31 and #28 in the 1996 "Atlas of HII Regions in Nearby Seyfert Galaxies"). As the arm dips south it terminates at a faint 10" knot (#10), 1.4' W of center. In addition, an obvious, small bright knot (#52), ~8" diameter, is just south of the core [by 0.6']. This knot resides in a very thin arm (not seen) just south of the central region. Overall, I was very impressed with this gorgeous galaxy!
17.5" (3/8/97): fairly bright, large, ~4.0'x2.5'
NW-SE. Nearly extends to a mag 11
star 2.2' W. Very bright, very
small core increasing to a bright stellar nucleus (original Seyfert galaxy
list). The galaxy shows signs of
spiral structure and there appears to be a short outer spiral arm attached at
the SE end hooking north separated by a slightly darker region between the main
body (verified on photo). This
galaxy, along with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4051 = H. IV-56 = h1061 on 6
Feb 1788 (sweep 810) and recorded "cB, irregularly round, considerably
brighter nucleus with extensive chevelure about 5' dia." His position matches
Bindon Blood Stoney (Lord Rosse's assistant) sketched the galaxy on 3 May 1851 as an "S" shaped barred spiral (Plate 27, Fig. 19 in the 1861 publication). He captured the structure very accurately and noted, "Spiral. I suspect the f branch extends to [star] alpha [on the northeast end]." On 19 Apr 1857, assistant R.J. Mitchell logged "The preceding branch seems to me the brighter rather of the two, and more suddenly curved than the following one, both of them look not quite so sharp as given in the drawing."
NGC 4051 is one of the original 6 galaxies studied by Carl Seyfert in his seminal 1943 paper "Nuclear Emission in Spiral Nebulae".
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12 02 05 -63 13 24; Cru
Size 8'
13.1" (2/20/04 - Costa Rica): this cluster is located in the field, just 10' NW of mag 4.3 Theta 1 and 15' W of mag 4.7 Theta 2 Crucis in the SW portion of the constellation! At 105x, ~60 stars mag 10 and fainter are mostly scattered in a 9' diameter. More striking, though, is a dense 3' subgroup of mostly mag 12-13 stars on the SE end of the cluster over a background of haze from unresolved stars. A neat string of six stars oriented WNW-ESE is located on the south end with a brighter mag 9.5 star about 2.5' further west.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4052 = h3373 on 8 Mar 1837 and logged "Cluster VII class; loose and scattered but pretty rich." There is nothing at his position, but 1 min of RA west is a scattered cluster.
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12 03 11.6 +19 43 44; Com
V = 14.0; Size 1.0'x0.4'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 109°
17.5" (5/11/02): faint, fairly small, elongated 5:2 WNW-ESE, 0.7'x0.3'. Brighter along the major axis and the very small core contains a stellar nucleus. A mag 15 star is 1.6' W of center. Located 33' SSW of NGC 4065 (brightest in a large group of NGC galaxies).
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4053 = m228 on 9 May 1864
with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His position, measured on 3 nights, matches
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12 03 12.4 +57 53 36; UMa
V = 14.2; Size 0.6'x0.4'; PA = 90°
48" (4/20/17): at 488x; NGC 4054 is a close triple (VV
136) that fits in a 30" circle.
24" (6/4/16): at 322x; the western and largest component (VV 136a) of the triple system NGC 4054 appeared faint, small, slightly elongated 20"x15", low surface brightness. The southeast component (VV 136b) is smaller but significantly higher surface brightness and was noted as fairly faint, very small, elongated 12"x9" E-W. The centers of these small galaxies are separated by just 15". VV 136c, the northeast component, was not seen.
16" LX200 (4/14/07): very faint, very small, slightly elongated, 20"x15" diameter. This is a triple system, though it initially appeared single. After careful viewing an extremely faint "star" occasionally popped out on the southeast edge. This virtually stellar object is VV 136b = LEDA 3547623.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4054 = H. III-794 on 17 Apr 1789 (sweep 923). He noted "extremely faint, small, verified by 300x." Bigourdan wasn't able to find this triple system with the 12-inch refractor at the Paris Observatory (too faint?).
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12 04 01.5 +20 13 57; Com
V = 13.1; Size 1.2'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 0°
See observing notes for
John Herschel discovered NGC 4055 = h1062 on 29 Apr 1832, the same night he logged h1063 = NGC 4057 and h1064 = NGC 4059. His coordinates were very uncertain ("PD very doubtful") and given to the nearest degree, although all three objects were described as "B[right]". The description for h1064 also mentions "On meridian with two more".
As it seems very likely these are duplicates of brighter
galaxies, Harold Corwin suggests (in response to my email about the
identifications) that NGC 4055 = NGC 4061,
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12 03 57.7 +20 18 45; Com
V = 15.8; Size 0.3'x0.3'
24" (3/22/14): extremely faint and small, round,
6"-8" diameter. At 375x,
I could repeatedly glimpse this galaxy, though would not have picked it up
without knowing the exact location.
Located 3.5' SW of
Albert Marth discovered NGC 4056 = m 229, along with NGC
4042 and 4046, on 18 Mar 1865. All
of these objects have uncertain identifications because of imprecise positions
and several faint nearby galaxies.
His description "eF, vS" adds no new information. RNGC identifies
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NGC 4057 = NGC 4065? = UGC 7050 = MCG +04-29-007 = CGCG 098-042 = CGCG 128-007 = VV 179 = PGC 38156
12 04 06.2 +20 14 07; Com
V = 12.6; Size 1.1'x1.0'; Surf Br = 12.7
See observing notes for NGC 4065.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4057 = h1063 on 29 Apr 1832, the same night he logged h1062 = NGC 4055 and h1064 = NGC 4059. His coordinates were very uncertain ("PD very doubtful") and given to the nearest degree, although all three objects were described as "B[right]". The description for h1064 also mentions "On meridian with two more".
Since it is very likely these are duplicates of brighter
galaxies, Harold Corwin suggests NGC 4055 = NGC 4061, NGC 4057 = NGC 4065, and
NGC 4059 = NGC 4070. RNGC and PGC
misidentify
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12 03 49.1 +03 32 53; Vir
V = 13.1; Size 1.2'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 165°
17.5" (3/24/90): fairly faint, very small, elongated
NW-SE, small bright core. Located
15' W of mag 7.2
George Searle discovered NGC 4058 = HN 37 on 24 Mar 1868
with the 15-inch refractor at Harvard College Observatory (Annals of Harvard
Observatory, Vol 13, #257). His
position matches
******************************
NGC 4059 = NGC 4070? = UGC 7052 = MCG +04-29-009 = CGCG 128-009 = WBL 374-008 = PGC 38169
12 04 11.3 +20 24 36; Com
V = 13.1; Size 1.0'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.1
See observing notes for NGC 4070. Uncertain identification.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4059 = h1064 on 29 Apr 1832, the same night he logged h1063 = NGC 4057 and h1062 = NGC 4055. His coordinates were very uncertain ("PD very doubtful") and given to the nearest degree, although all three objects were described as "B[right]". The description for h1064 mentioned "On meridian with two more".
Since it is very likely these are duplicates of brighter
galaxies, Harold Corwin suggests
(in response to my email about the identifications) that NGC 4055 = NGC 4061,
NGC 4057 = NGC 4065, and NGC 4059 = NGC 4070. Karl Reinmuth, in his 1926 photographic survey based on
Heidelberg plates, misidentifes
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NGC 4060 = CGCG 128-006 = WBL 374-004 = PGC 38151
12 04 01.0 +20 20 15; Com
V = 14.6; Size 0.4'x0.3'; PA = 85°
24" (3/22/14): faint, small, round, 15" diameter. Located 2.1' WSW of NGC 4066. Brightest of three companions to NGC 4066 on the southwest side.
17.5" (3/28/87): extremely faint, very small, round. Located 2' WSW of NGC 4066 in the NGC 4065 cluster.
Albert Marth discovered NGC 4060 = m 230 on 18 Mar 1865
(same night he found NGC 4042, NGC 4053 and NGC 4056). Due to his poor positions, and density
of galaxies in the cluster, only NGC 4053 has a secure identification. Marth's position is 3 seconds of RA
west and 2.3' S of
Another possibility is that PGC 38140 (identified as NGC 4056
in the RNGC) is NGC 4060. PGC
38140 is only 0.6' N of Marth's position, though it is noticeably fainter
visually and that would leave no other candidate for Marth's NGC 4056. Finally, it is possible that NGC 4060 =
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NGC 4061 = NGC 4055: = VV 179b = UGC 7044 = MCG +04-29-006 =
12 04 01.5 +20 13 57; Com
V = 13.1; Size 1.2'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 0°
24" (3/22/14): fairly faint or moderately bright,
fairly small, round, 25" diameter, brighter core but not as strongly
concentrated as NGC 4065 just 1.1' ENE.
These form a striking pair with NGC 4065. Nearby lies
17.5" (3/28/87): fairly faint, small, almost round, brighter core. Forms a pair with NGC 4065 1' ENE within the NGC 4065 cluster.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4061 = H. III-394 = h1065, together with 5 other galaxies, on 27 Apr 1785 (sweep 403). His description reads, "Six nebulae. The times and numbers belong to the three first [III-391, III-392 and III-393]; but I saw three more [10 or 12'] south of them. They were are all vF, vS." I suspected many more besides." The three nebulae that he did not measure positions for are likely NGC 4061, NGC 4065, and NGC 4076 (the three brightest).
John Herschel observed NGC 4061 on 3 sweeps and recorded on 25 Mar 1830 (sweep 244), "vF; a double neb by diag, pos 20° sp, nearly equal. They run together." Herschel's h1062 (= NGC 4055), which was recorded on 29 Apr 1832, is very likely a duplicate observation. See that number for more.
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12 04 03.8 +31 53 44; UMa
V = 11.1; Size 4.1'x1.7'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 100°
17.5" (2/24/90): fairly bright, large, elongated 5:2 WNW-ESE, 4.0'x1.6', broadly concentrated.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4062 = H. I-174 = h1066 on 20 Mar 1787 (sweep 722) and noted "cB, E, about 5' l and 1.5' broad." John Herschel made 4 observations and logged on 11 Mar 1828 (sweep 131), "pB; vL; mE; 10° np to sf; very gradually brighter middle; 3' l, 1' br."
Lord Rosse's assistant George Johnstone Stoney wrote on 12 Mar 1850, "broad equable band; several consipicuous stars in it especially near the ends."
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12 04 05.9 +01 50 49; Vir
V = 14.0; Size 1.1'x0.5'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 10°
24" (4/15/23): at 327x; fairly faint, elongated 2:1
N-S, 40"x20", even surface brightness except for a faint stellar
nucleus. Located 6' SW of
17.5" (5/10/86): very faint, very small, slightly
elongated N-S. In a group with UGC
7042 3.9' NW, NGC 4073 6.0' ENE and
David Todd discovered NGC 4063 = Todd 12b = St. 11-15 on 2 Jan 1878. It was found during his search for a trans-Neptunian planet using the 26-inch Clark refractor at the USNO. Édouard Stephan rediscovered the galaxy less than 4 months later on 27 Apr 1878. He measured an accurate position on 3 May 1881 and included it in his 11th discovery list, #15. Dreyer credited Stephan with the discovery in the NGC.
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12 04 11.2 +18 26 36; Com
V = 11.4; Size 4.4'x1.7'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 150°
17.5" (4/6/91): moderately bright, fairly small, elongated 2:1 NW-SE, 3'x1.5', large bright core but no nucleus, sharper light cut-off on the SW side due to dust. Two mag 14 stars are 1.6' SSW and 2.7' E of center.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4064 on 29 Dec 1861 with
the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His single position matches
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NGC 4065 = NGC 4057: = VV 179a = UGC 7050 = MCG +04-29-007 =
12 04 06.2 +20 14 07; Com
V = 12.6; Size 1.1'x1.0'; Surf Br = 12.7
24" (3/22/14): moderately bright, fairly small, round, 30" diameter, well concentrated with a small bright core. Forms a close pair with NGC 4061 just 1' W. NGC 4072 lies 2.4' SE and NGC 4076 is 6.5' ESE. NGC 4066 and 4070, two similar ellipticals, lie 6.8' N and 10.5' N.
17.5" (3/28/87): fairly faint, small, slightly elongated, brighter core. Brightest in the NGC 4065 cluster (a large group of NGC galaxies) with NGC 4061 1.1' WSW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4065 = H. III-395 = h1067 and 5 other galaxies on 18 Mar 1865 (sweep 403). They were recorded together as "Six nebulae. The places belong to the three first [III-391, III-392 and III-393]..." The three galaxies to the south without positions are likely NGC 4061, NGC 4065, and NGC 4076 (the three brightest). He swept up the entire sextet again on 27 Dec 1786 (sweep 671).
John Herschel noted "pB" on one sweep and "vF; R; the second of 5" on another. Herschel's h1063 (= NGC 1057), recorded on 29 Apr 1832, is very likely a duplicate observation. See notes for that number.
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NGC 4066 = UGC 7051 = MCG +04-29-008 = CGCG 128-008 = WBL 374-007 = PGC 38161
12 04 09.4 +20 20 53; Com
V = 13.0; Size 1.2'x1.2'; Surf Br = 13.2
24" (3/22/14): moderately bright, fairly small, round, high surface brightness, strong concentration with a very bright nucleus that increases to the center. NGC 4070 is 3.7' NNE and a trio of galaxies are close southwest: NGC 4060 2.1' WSW, NGC 4069 1.7' SSW and NGC 4056? 3.4' SW.
17.5" (3/28/87): faint, small, round, strong bright core. In a tight trio with NGC 4060 2' WSW and NGC 4069 1.7' SSW. Also in the field are NGC 4065 7' S and NGC 4070 3.8' NNE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4066 = H. III-392 = h1068*, along with 5 other galaxies, on 27 Apr 1785 (sweep 403). They were recorded together as "Six nebulae. The times and numbers belong to the three first (H. III-391, III-392 and III-393)..." He entire sextet was swept up again on 27 Dec 1786 (sweep 671).
John Herschel observed this galaxy on 4 sweeps, first recording it on 24 Feb 1827 (sweep 59). He equated his h1068 with his father's III-391 and misassigned III-392 to NGC 4069 = h1070.
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12 04 11.5 +10 51 16; Vir
V = 12.5; Size 1.4'x1.0'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 35°
17.5" (1/23/88): fairly bright, fairly small, round, bright core. Brightest in a group.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4067 = H. III-37 = h1069 on 15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174) and recorded "eF, vS, in a line with 2 small stars and followed by one that is larger. I had some doubt with the sweeping power, but 240x showed it very plainly and of considerable extent." There is nothing at his position but 1 minute of RA west (a similar error as several other nebulae discovered that night) and 3' south is UGC 7048. John Herschel made 5 observations and measured an accurate position.
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12 04 00.8 +52 35 18; UMa
V = 12.5; Size 3.3'x1.7'; Surf Br = 14.3; PA = 30°
48" (4/20/17): moderately bright, fairly large,
elongated SW-NE. The surface
brightness of this galaxy is fairly low but very irregular/patchy with a ragged
outline and there is no core or zones.
A mag 12 star is superimposed near the center, which is not well
defined, and a second mag 14 star is at the southwest end. The brightest section is near the mag
12 star and to the NE. The outline
is irregular and spreads out more on the northeast half.
17.5" (5/13/88): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated SW-NE. A mag 12 star is superimposed and a mag 14 star is at the SW end 40" from the center. A string of four mag 11-13.5 stars is just NW. In a low power field with NGC 4102 24' ENE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4068 = H. II-781 on 12 Apr 1789 (sweep 919). He recorded "pretty faint, stellar." On 26 Apr 1789 (sweep 929), he logged, "A pretty small star involved in nebulosity of no great extent; the star does not seem to belong to it." His RA was about 15 seconds too large and declination 2' too far south..
According to Harold Corwin, Bigourdan misidentified a star
as NGC 4068 on two nights and "rediscovered" the galaxy on 11 Mar
1886, though made an error in his position, and Big. 166 (later
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12 04 06.0 +20 19 26; Com
V = 15.5; Size 0.3'x0.2'
24" (3/22/14): faint, very small, round, 15" diameter. Located 1.7' SSE of NGC 4066. NGC 4060 lies 1.5' NW and an extremely faint galaxy (possibly NGC 4056) lies 2.0' SW. Either I missed the mag 16 star just off the southeast edge (~10" from center) or the galaxy and star were merged together
17.5" (5/14/88): extremely faint and small, round. Located 1.7' SSW of NGC 4066. Forms an equilateral triangle with NGC 4060 and NGC 4066 within the NGC 4065 cluster. The identification of this number with PGC 38166 is very certain.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4069 = h1070 on 24 Feb 1827 (sweep 59). His description reads "vF, R, 4th of 5; has another on same meridian, north". This is one of the very faint galaxies near NGC 4066 and was not seen by his father, although Sir John assumed h1070 = H. III-392. His position (single sweep) is 6 seconds of RA east of PGC 38166, a galaxy that like is too faint to have been swept up. Assuming NGC 4069 = PGC 38166, then the nebula "on the same meridian, north" would refer to NGC 4066. But how could he have missed NGC 4060, which is just 1.5' NW? See Harold Corwin's discussion in his identification notes. Courtney Seligman classified NGC 4069 as a "lost or nonexistent object, commonly misidentified as PGC 38166."
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NGC 4070 = NGC 4059? = UGC 7052 = MCG +04-29-009 = CGCG 128-009 = WBL 374-008 = PGC 38169
12 04 11.3 +20 24 36; Com
V = 13.1; Size 1.0'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.1
24" (3/22/14): fairly faint to moderately bright, small, round, high surface brightness, very small bright nucleus. NGC 4066 lies 3.7' S.
17.5" (3/28/87): faint, small, round, weak concentration. Located 3.8' NNE of NGC 4066 within the NGC 4065 cluster.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4070 = H. III-391 = h1071,
along with 5 other galaxies, on 27 Apr 1785 (sweep 403). They were noted together as "Six
nebulae. The times and numbers
belong to the three first (III-391, III-392 and III-393)..." His position (Auwer's reduction) is
2.4' southeast of
Harold Corwin concludes that John Herschel's h1064 = NGC 4059 may be a duplicate observation of NGC 4070. See that number.
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12 04 15.3 -67 18 35; Mus
V = 13.0; Size 80"x51"
18" (7/6/05 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): I had a difficult time ferreting out this faint PN that is buried within a very rich Milky Way field. It was finally picked up at 76x (27 Panoptic) and OIII filter as a faint, round disc at least 40" in diameter. Removing the filter, a faint star was superimposed on the SW side of a low surface brightness glow. Also viewed unfiltered at 228x which showed the faint star and the disc more easily, though this is quite faint for NGC planetary. The best view was at 128x using an OIII filter, although NGC 4071 has a low-excitation level. The disc appeared fairly faint with subtle irregularities in surface brightness and was likely brighter along portions of the rim.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4071 = h3374 on 4 Mar 1835 and recorded "vF; R; 40"; has a vS star in centre; in a field of at least 80 or 90 stars." His position is accurate. The "vS star" he mentions might be the one on the southwest side.
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NGC 4072 = CGCG 098-045 = CGCG 128-010 = WBL 374-009 = PGC 38176
12 04 13.8 +20 12 35; Com
V = 14.8; Size 0.5'x0.2'; Surf Br = 12.2; PA = 30°
24" (3/22/14): faint, very small, round, 15" diameter. Not difficult to pick up 2.4' SE of NGC 4065. A mag 13.6 star is 1' NE.
17.5" (3/28/87): extremely faint and small, round, at visual threshold. A mag 13 star is 1.1' NE of center. Located 2.6' SE of NGC 4065. Member of the NGC 4065 cluster.
Ralph Copeland, assistant to the 4th Earl of Rosse,
discovered NGC 4072 on 3 Apr 1872.
During an observation of GC 2686 = NGC 4061 and GC 2689 = NGC 4065 he
found "a third and much fainter neb south-following the second [NGC 4065],
in pos 128.4°, dist 144.1" At
precisely Copeland's offset is
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NGC 4073 = UGC 7060 = MCG +00-31-029 = CGCG 013-059 = WBL 372-011 = PGC 38201 = Todd 12a
12 04 27.0 +01 53 45; Vir
V = 11.5; Size 3.2'x2.3'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 105°
24" (4/15/23): at 327x; fairly bright, large oval ~3:2 E-W, well concentrated with a bright core that gradually increases to a small bright nucleus. Large low surface brightness halo increases with averted to ~2'x1'. Brightest in a large group (MKW 4).
17.5" (5/10/86): moderately bright, elongated WNW-ESE,
moderately large, bright core, stellar nucleus. Brightest of a poor cluster (MKW 4) with NGC 4063 6.0' SW,
William Herschel discovered NGC 4073 = H. II-277 = h1072, along with NGC 4077, on 20 Dec 1784 (sweep 349). He noted it as "faint, small. (goes in the same field with the following [NGC 4077]." John Herschel made 4 observations (first on 7 Apr 1828). David Todd independently found this galaxy (#12a) on 2 Jan 1878 during his his search for a trans-Neptunian planet. Édouard Stephan also observed NGC 4073 on 27 Apr 1878.
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12 04 29.6 +20 18 59; Com
V = 14.4; Size 0.5'x0.2'; Surf Br = 11.6; PA = 105°
17.5" (3/28/87): faint, very small, round, even surface brightness. Located within the NGC 4065 cluster with NGC 4076 7' S.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4074 = H. III-393 = h1073, along with 5 other galaxies, on 27 Apr 1785 (sweep 403). They were noted together as "Six nebulae. The times and numbers belong to the three first [NGC 4072 = III-391, NGC 4070 = III-392 and NGC 4074 = III-393] which are vF, vS." His position (Auwer's reduction) is 3.1' too far SW. John Herschel made a single observation on 29 Mar 1832 (sweep 409), measured an accurate position, and noted "eF".
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NGC 4075 = MCG +00-31-032 = CGCG 013-064 = PGC 38216 = Todd 11
12 04 37.8 +02 04 22; Vir
V = 13.3; Size 1.2'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 60°
24" (4/15/23): at 327x; relatively bright, elongated 3:2 SW-NE, 0.6'x0.4', small bright core. A very wide pair of similar mag 10.3/10.4 stars is just under 5' S.
17.5" (5/10/86): fairly faint, fairly small, almost round, stellar nucleus. Located 11' NNE of NGC 4073 within a group.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4075 = h1074 on 14 Apr 1828 and
noted "F; S; R." His
position was 6 sec of RA west of
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NGC 4076 = UGC 7061 = MCG +03-31-034 = CGCG 098-046 = CGCG 128-012 = WBL 374-010 = PGC 38209
12 04 32.5 +20 12 18; Com
V = 13.3; Size 0.9'x0.9'; Surf Br = 12.9
24" (3/22/14): fairly faint, fairly small, round, 30" diameter, small slightly brighter core. Located 6.5' ESE of NGC 4065 (close pair with NGC 4061). NGC 4072 lies 4.4' W.
17.5" (3/28/87): faint, fairly small, slightly
elongated, diffuse. Located within
the NGC 4065 cluster and the eighth galaxy in the field.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4076 = H. III-396 = h1075, along with 5 other galaxies, on 27 Apr 1785 (sweep 403). He recorded the sextet together as "Six nebulae. The times and numbers belong to the three first [III-391, III-392 and III-393]..." The three nebulae [10 to 12'] to the south without positions are likely NGC 4061, NGC 4065, and NGC 4076 (three brightest).
John Herschel recorded NGC 4076 on 24 Feb 1827 (sweep 59). He simply noted "the last of 5." His position as 2.7' too far south-southeast.
Ralph Copeland, observing with LdR's 72" on 3 Apr 1872,
notes "south following these nebulae [NGC 4061, 4065 and 4072] are two
others, F, L, R, gradually little brighter middle and eF, L, R, little brighter
middle, pos 47.6°, Dist 133.6".
The last pair refers to NGC 4076 and
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NGC 4077 = NGC 4140 = UGC 7063 = MCG +00-31-031 = CGCG 013-063 = PGC 38218
12 04 38.0 +01 47 16; Vir
V = 13.2; Size 1.3'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 15°
24" (4/15/23): at 327x; moderately bright and large, elongated 2:1 N-S, 50"x25", brighter elongated core region. A star is attached on the N end of the halo. Brighter of a pair with NGC 4139 1.3' NW.
17.5" (5/10/86): fairly faint, oval ~N-S. A mag 14 star is attached at the north
end. Forms a pair with NGC 4139 =
William Herschel discovered NGC 4077 = H. III-258 = h1076, along with NGC 4073, on 20 Dec 1784 (sweep 349). He noted it as "vF, vS. (goes in the same field with the preceding [NGC 4073] conveniently." John Herschel viewed it on 10 Apr 1828 (sweep 143) and recorded, "F; R; bM; 20"; the south-following of two {with NGC 4073]."
Heinrich d'Arrest independently found this galaxy, as well
as NGC 4139, on 10 Apr 1863, but his RA was exactly 5 min too large, and Dreyer
recatalogued it as
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12 04 47.6 +10 35 44; Vir
V = 13.2; Size 1.3'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.4; PA = 18°
17.5" (1/23/88): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly
elongated, bright core. Located in
a group with
Heinrich d'Arrest found NGC 4078 on 23 Mar 1865 with the
11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His position, measured on two nights, matches
The UGC notes misidentifies NGC 4083 as NGC 4078.
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12 04 49.9 -02 22 57; Vir
V = 12.4; Size 2.2'x1.6'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 125°
17.5" (3/24/90): faint, fairly small, diffuse, slightly elongated NW-SE, even surface brightness. A mag 13 star is off the NW end 1.7' from center.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4079 = h1077 on 15 Apr 1828 and recorded "not vF; L; R; 40"; has a * 10m, 60" north." His position is accurate.
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12 04 51.8 +26 59 33; Com
V = 13.7; Size 1.4'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 122°
18" (3/30/05): faint, fairly small, elongated 5:2 NW-SE, 1.0'x0.4'. The core appears to be offset SE of center as the galaxy appears to extend to the NW of this spot.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4080 = H. III-355 = h1078 on
11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and noted "vF, pmE, S." His position matches
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12 04 33.7 +64 26 13; UMa
V = 12.8; Size 1.5'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 135°
17.5" (3/20/93): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 5:2 NW-SE, 1.2'x0.5'. A nice evenly matched mag 10 double star (STI 739) is 4.7' NW.
Lewis Swift discovered NGC 4081 = Sw. 1-20 on 18 Jun 1884 and recorded "F; S; vE; D * nr; preceding nearest bright star east 20 sec." His position was 18 seconds of RA too large and 1' too far north, but his description matches.
Philip Keenan rediscovered NGC 4081 on a Yerkes Observatory
plate and assumed it was new. He
labeled it
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NGC 4082 = MCG +02-31-026 = CGCG 069-046 = Holm 324b = WBL 375-004 = PGC 38274
12 05 11.4 +10 40 14; Vir
V = 14.4; Size 0.9'x0.3'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 80°
17.5" (1/23/88): extremely faint, very small, round. Forms a faint pair with NGC 4083 3.7' SSE within the NGC 4067 group.
Albert Marth discovered NGC 4082 = m 232 on 25 Mar 1865 and noted "vF, vS, lE, little brighter in the middle."
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NGC 4083 = MCG +02-31-024 = CGCG 069-044 = Holm 324c = WBL 375-002 = PGC 38275
12 05 14.0 +10 36 47; Vir
V = 14.1; Size 0.9'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 35°
17.5" (1/23/88): very faint, very small, round, even surface brightness. Located 2.2' NNW of a mag 10.5 star. Forms a faint pair with NGC 4082 3.7' NNW. Located within the NGC 4067 group.
Albert Marth discovered NGC 4083 = m 233 on 25 Mar 1865 and noted "eF, vS."
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12 05 15.3 +21 12 52; Com
V = 13.6; Size 0.7'x0.7'; Surf Br = 12.4
17.5" (5/14/88): fairly faint, very small, round, bright core, faint stellar nucleus. Located less than 1° north of the NGC 4065 cluster.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4084 on 26 Apr 1865 with
the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His position, measured on two nights, matches
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12 05 22.9 +50 21 12; UMa
V = 12.4; Size 2.8'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 78°
17.5" (4/13/91): fairly faint, moderately large, very
elongated 4:1 WSW-ENE, 2.5'x0.6', weak concentration. Forms an isosceles triangle with mag 7.6
8" (3/28/81): faint, small, elongated WSW-ENE. Two mag 8 stars are in the field to the SE and SW. Located 11' SSW of NGC 4088.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4085 = H. I-224 on 12 Apr 1789 (sweep 919). He recorded "pretty bright, much elongated, the brightness confined to a small point." His position is poor - about 6' too far SE. d'Arrest found it on 4 Dec 1861 but his position was nearly 3' too far south (he suspected it was identical to H. I-224). John Herschel still assigned two numbers in his 1864 General Catalogue , but Dreyer combined the two GC designations in the NGC. d'Arrest later made two accurate measurements of NGC 4085.
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12 05 29.3 +20 14 49; Com
V = 13.6; Size 1.0'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 85°
17.5" (3/28/87): faint, very small, round, weak concentration. Located 13' E of NGC 4076. Forms a pair with NGC 4090 3.9' N within the NGC 4065 cluster.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4086, along with NGC 4090,
on 2 May 1864 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His single position is a fairly good
match with
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12 05 35.3 -26 31 21; Hya
V = 12.1; Size 2.1'x1.7'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 39°
18" (4/29/06): moderately bright, fairly small, slightly elongated, small bright core. A mag 10 star 5' SSW has two faint companions (RST 2777); a close mag 13 star at 1.8" and a wider 12" companion. I'm surprised that neither one of the Herschels noted this interesting unequal triple. Several brighter stars are scattered in the field.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4087 = H. III-754 = h3375 on 24 Feb 1789 (sweep 911) and logged "Suspected, eF, too low to be verified, but I have not much doubt." John Herschel made an observation on 22 Mar 1836 (sweep 689) from the Cape of Good Hope and recorded "pB; R; gradually brighter in the middle." Lewis Swift found it again on 11 Apr 1898 and included in his large 11th discovery list (#132) at Lowe Observatory. Howe reported Sw. 11-132, "this must be identical with 4087, since both are pretty bright, and their places agree within three seconds in right ascension and 1' in declination." As a result, Dreyer didn't assign a duplicate IC designation.
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NGC 4088 = Arp 18 = VV 357 = UGC 7081 = MCG +09-20-089 =
12 05 34.1 +50 32 23; UMa
V = 10.6; Size 5.8'x2.2'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 43°
48" (4/4/11 and 5/1/22): this is a showpiece spiral in the 48-inch with the initial eyepiece view matching the detail in the DSS image. The galaxy extended 5.5'x2.0' SW-NE. Near the center is an elongated, extremely bright core. The very bright central portion extends from the core in a roughly 2'x0.5' region towards the SW but is concave a bit, bending slightly towards the south. This feature appears similar to a slightly distorted central bar. Just south of the central bar is a dust lane running SW to NE parallel to the bar, though the contrast is higher to the northeast of the core.
The dust lane separates the bright bar feature from a very long arm that extends the entire length of the galaxy along the south side and vaguely emerges from the southwest end of the bar. This arm is clumpy with a couple of large, bright knots to the east of the core. As it extends further NE the arm dims, but abruptly brightens (1.7' NE of the core) with a faint extension at the end fanning out and bending north in the direction of a mag 13.5 star.
Emerging from the NE end of the core is a second prominent arm that immediately doubles back towards the SW on the N side. This arm nearly parallels the central bar to the north and is separated by a less contrasty darker strip or dust lane. This clumpy arm contains a fairly prominent star-forming knot, [BKD2008] WR 201, only 0.6' NW of the core. After this point the arm dims dramatically continuing a bit further SW. The two main arms, along with the central bar create a squashed "S" or "Z" appearance!
18" (3/13/10): using 280x this striking, irregular spiral extends 5:2 SW-NE, rougly 5'x2'. The surface is noticeably mottled and clumpy with a dark patch or dust lane that extends to the S of the core with a weaker darkening to the N of the core. At the NE end of the galaxy, a portion of what appears to be a spiral arm emerges from the main body and bends to the N. A corresponding feature on the SW end of the galaxy, bending S, is much more subtle.
18" (5/3/08): at 280x appeared very bright, large, elongated 5:2 SW-NE, 4.5'x1.8', contains a bright elongated core. The galaxy is very asymmetric, with an unusually mottled or clumpy appearance and an irregular outline. At the NE end is a faint extension (this is a disrupted arm on the DSS) that juts out or dangles from the NE end of the main body and hooks slightly towards a mag 13.5 star located 3.7' NE of center. A more subtle irregular extension is at the SW end. Just east of the N side of the core the surface brightness drops, either due to a dust lane or large dust patch on the E side of the core and then brightens a bit again just following the dust patch. NGC 4085 lies 11' SSW. Member of the M109 (NGC 3992) group = LGG 258.
17.5" (4/13/91): bright, fairly large, elongated 5:2 SW-NE, 5.0'x2.0', mottled patchy appearance, small elongated brighter core but no nucleus. A mag 15 star is 2' off the NW side. Faint spiral structure is visible with concentration. An extremely faint arm is off the NE end curving towards a mag 14.5 star to the NE 3.7' from center and a second extremely faint arm is just visible off the SW end curving to the south. Forms a pair with NGC 4085 11' SSW.
8" (3/28/81): fairly bright, elongated SW-NE, weak concentration, cigar-shaped. Forms a pair with NGC 4085 11' SSW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4088 = H. I-206 on 9 Mar 1788 (sweep 816) and logged "cF, E, about 4' long." His summary description from 3 observations reads "cB, E, 45° np sf, 6' long, 4' br, almost equally bright." Heinrich d'Arrest made 3 observation, the earliest on 4 Dec 1861.
Sir Robert Ball, observing assistant at Birr Castle on 28 Mar 1867, recorded "vB, vL, E 53.5°. A new spiral with probably many details of interest, of an S shape. There is certainly a brighter portion sf the nucleus with a dark lane between them. Likewise, a similar brightness np the nucleus. I thought the darkness did not extend all round the centre. There can be little doubt of the curved branch following, it seems to proceed in the direction of a star nf."
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12 05 37.5 +20 33 21; Com
V = 13.7; Size 0.8'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.0
17.5" (5/14/88): faint, very small, slightly elongated,
bright core, faint stellar nucleus.
Forms a very close pair with
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4089, along with
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NGC 4090 = UGC 7077 = MCG +04-29-015 = CGCG 128-019 = WBL 374-013 = PGC 38288
12 05 27.9 +20 18 32; Com
V = 13.9; Size 1.2'x0.5'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 38°
17.5" (3/28/87): faint, almost round, diffuse, fairly small. A mag 14 star is 1.1' SE of center. Located 3.7' N of NGC 4086 within the NGC 4065 cluster.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4090, along with NGC 4086, on 2 May 1864. He mentioned this galaxy in his description for NGC 4086 as 3' to the north but his position is 10 sec of RA too large and 1.3' too far south. He notes a mag 13 star 1.1' southeast, as mag 15-16 at 60" distance, so the identification is certain despite the poor position.
******************************
NGC 4091 = UGC 7083 = MCG +04-29-019 = CGCG 128-022 = WBL 374-015 = PGC 38308
12 05 40.1 +20 33 21; Com
V = 14.0; Size 1.0'x0.25'; Surf Br = 12.2; PA = 43°
17.5" (5/14/88): faint, very small, elongated SW-NE. A mag 13.5 star is 1.0' S. Forms a very close pair with NGC 4089 37" W of center and the second of six in the field within the NGC 4065 cluster.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4091, along with NGC 4089,
on 2 May 1864 and described a double nebula separated by 3 sec in RA. His mean position from 4 nights matches
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12 05 50.2 +20 28 38; Com
V = 13.2; Size 1.0'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.1
17.5" (5/14/88): faint, very small, round, weak
concentration. A mag 11.5 star is
close NW 0.9' from center. This
galaxy is the third of six in the field with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4092 = H. III-382, along
with
Heinrich d'Arrest measured an accurate position for
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NGC 4093 = MCG +04-29-021 = CGCG 128-024 = WBL 374-017 = PGC 38323
12 05 51.4 +20 31 18; Com
V = 14.1; Size 0.8'x0.7'; PA = 50°
17.5" (5/14/88): very faint, very small, round, weak concentration. A mag 14 star is close off the NW edge 1.1' from center. Fourth of six in the field within the NGC 4065 cluster.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4093 on 4 May 1864. Two nights earlier he discovered the pair NGC 4089 and 4091. His position, measured on 3 nights, is accurate.
In his 1912 revision of WH's catalogues, Dreyer suggests H. III-382 is NGC 4093. But more likely Herschel picked up NGC 4092, which is brighter.
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12 05 54.0 -14 31 35; Crv
V = 11.8; Size 4.2'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 63°
18" (3/19/04): fairly faint, fairly large, elongated at
least 5:2 SW-NE, 2.2'x0.8, fairly low even surface brightness. The NE end of the galaxy points between
a mag 10.5 star just following (2.2' E of center) and a mag 11 star close north
(1.7' from center).
John Herschel discovered NGC 4094 = h3376 on 7 May 1836 and
recorded "eF; L; pmE; very gradually brighter middle. The direction of elongation points
between two stars 11m; very near, and nf the centre." His position and description matches
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NGC 4095 = MCG +04-29-022 = CGCG 128-025 = WBL 374-018 = PGC 38324
12 05 54.3 +20 34 22; Com
V = 13.5; Size 0.9'x0.9'
17.5" (5/14/88): faint, very small, round, small bright core. A mag 14 star is 1.0' E. Fifth of six in the field within the NGC 4065 cluster with NGC 4098 3.1' NE. Located between NGC 4093 and NGC 4098.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4095 = H. III-383 = h1079, along with NGC 4092 and 4098, on 26 Apr 1785 (sweep 402). They were recorded together as "Three, the time is that of the last [NGC 4098], which is vF and S. The other two which are south-preceding are much fainter and smaller." His position is 11 seconds of RA east and 2.5' north of NGC 4098. The "other two" in the trio are likely NGC 4095 = CGCG 128-025 and NGC 4092 = UGC 7087, the next two brightest galaxies in the group.
John Herschel made two observation (sweeps 409 and 423) and his mean position is less than 1' too far north. Heinrich d'Arrest measured a very accurate position.
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12 06 01.0 +47 28 41; UMa
V = 10.8; Size 6.6'x1.8'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 20°
17.5" (4/7/89): bright, very large, almost edge-on 4:1
SW-NE, sharp concentration with a very small bright core embedded within the
long extensions. Member of the CVn
II Group (brightest member
William Herschel discovered NGC 4096 = H. I-207 = h1081 on 9 Mar 1788 (sweep 816) and reported "cF, mE about 4' long from sp to nf but nearer the meridian." On 10 Apr 1788 (sweep 830) he recorded "cB; mE; 6 or 7' long, from sp to nf, about 70°." In his 1811 PT paper, WH commented "it seems to join to imperceptible nebulosity on the south preceding side." The galaxy does extend further out and more gradually fade on the southwest side. On 8 Mar 1831 (sweep 330), John Herschel logged, "B; vL; mE in pos 32°; seen through much fog." His position is accurate.
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12 06 02.5 +36 51 49; UMa
V = 13.4; Size 1.2'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 98°
18" (4/5/03): fairly faint, small, round, 0.5' diameter, very small brighter core, occasional faint stellar nucleus. Located 1.6' NNE of a mag 11.4 star, close to the UMa/CVn border.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4097 = H. III-400 = h1080 on
1 May 1785 (sweep 405) and recorded "eF, vS, suspected, stellar; about 1
1/2' north of a small star."
His position and description of the nearby star points to
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NGC 4098 = NGC 4099 = VV 61 = UGC 7093 = MCG +04-29-023 =
12 06 03.6 +20 36 28; Com
V = 13.7; Size 1.1'x0.6'; PA = 164°
17.5" (5/14/88): fairly faint, fairly small, round, bright core. Last and brightest of six in the field within the NGC 4065 cluster. Appears slightly brighter than NGC 4092 8.4' SSW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4098 = H. III-384 = h1082, along with NGC 4092 and 4095, on 26 Apr 1785. The were recorded as "Three, the time is that of the last [NGC 4098], which is vF and S. The other two which are south-preceding are much fainter and smaller." His position is poor; 11 seconds east and 2.5' north of NGC 4098 = UGC 7093. On 27 Dec 1786 (sweep 671) he made another observation and logged "Two, the place is that of the most north [NGC 4098], which is the largest. Both vF." This time his RA was just 6 seconds preceding NGC 4098 and the second object was either NGC 4095 or NGC 4092. John Herschel made three observations (first on 25 Mar 1830) though mistakenly labeled it as III-383.
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12 06 03.6 +20 36 28; Com
V = 13.7; Size 1.1'x0.6'; PA = 164°
See observing notes for NGC 4098.
William Herschel found NGC 4099 on 26 Apr 1785 (sweep 402), recording three nebulae described as "Three, time is that of the last [NGC 4098], which is vF and S. The other two [probably NGC 4092 and 4095] which are south preceding are much fainter and smaller." John Herschel was confused trying to match his father's three objects with the two he observed and those discovered by d'Arrest. He attributed the discovery of NGC 4092 to d'Arrest (instead of WH) and assigned III-384 separately to GC 2714 (later NGC 4099). But III-384 applies to NGC 4098 = h1082 and Dreyer suggests in his 1912 update of WH's catalogues that NGC 4099 "is probably superfluous". Since this number is a duplicate of one of WH's discovered, I've arbitrarily equated it with NGC 4098 here.
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12 06 08.4 +49 34 59; UMa
V = 11.2; Size 5.4'x1.8'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 167°
17.5" (5/2/92): bright, very large, very elongated 3:1
NNW-SSE, 4.0'x1.5', large brighter core, faint stellar nucleus. The northern extension appears slightly
brighter. Mag 8.2
William Herschel discovered NGC 4100 = H. III-717 = h1084 on 9 Mar 1788 (sweep 816) and logged cF, mE about 5' long near the meridian [N-S], about a little sf." Caroline's reduction is 1.3' northeast of center. John Herschel made two observations, recording on 7 Mar 1831 (sweep 329), "pB; vL; mE in pos 166.5°; 3' long, 1' broad, very gradually very little brighter middle. This cannot be either [NGC 4088] nor [NGC 4096], as neither of these agrees in its angles of position."
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12 06 10.6 +25 33 25; Com
V = 13.5; Size 1.0'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 60°
17.5" (5/11/02): faint, small, irregularly round, 0.6'x0.5', weak even concentration to the center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4101 = H. III-326 = h1083 on
6 Apr 1785 (sweep 393) and recorded "eF, vS. 240 verified it with great difficulty. It was in the field I gaged, otherwise
I should certainly have overlooked it." John Herschel made two observations and his mean position is
a good match with
******************************
NGC 4102 = UGC 7096 = MCG +09-20-094 = CGCG 269-036 = LGG 258-041 = PGC 38392
12 06 23.0 +52 42 40; UMa
V = 11.2; Size 3.0'x1.7'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 38°
48" (4/20/17): at 488x; fascinating galaxy with unusual
structure. Overall, NGC 4102 is
very bright, large, elongated at least 2:1 SSW-NNE, ~2.5'x1.1', very sharply
concentrated with a small, intensely bright nucleus surrounded by a bright oval
core SW-NE with a bar-like enhancement.
Just outside the core the surface brightness drops significantly forming
a darker [dusty] annulus.
Surrounding this is a bright, thick, mottled ring oriented NNW-SSE
(slightly offset in orientation from the core). A brighter knot (
17.5" (5/13/88): fairly bright, moderately large, oval 3:2 SW-NE, small very bright core, stellar nucleus. A mag 12.5 star is at the west end 48" from the center!
William Herschel discovered NGC 4102 = H. I-225 = h1085 on 12 Apr 1789 (sweep 919). This was last 13 galaxies discovered in the sweep and he logg it as "pretty bright, pretty large." John Herschel recorded "B; R; pretty suddenly brighter middle; has a * 12m 35" sp, very near the edge."
Lord Rosse assistant Bindon Stoney noted on 13 Apr 1852: "I suspect a dark curved passage south of center, probably a new spiral." Four years later R.J. Mitchell confirmed "I have little doubt this is a spiral" and he made two diagrams of the possible arm arrangements.
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12 06 40 -61 15 00; Cru
Size 7'
13.1" (2/20/04 - Costa Rica): at 105x, ~60 stars mag
9.5-13 are resolved in a 8' region including roughly ten mag 10 stars. The cluster has a very interesting
asymmetric arrangement with a perfect 5' string of five stars extending out of
the cluster to the WSW. At the west end of the string is the 10th magnitude
variable AI Crucis. Two other short strings on the eastern end of the cluster
meet up and make a perfect arrow asterism. NGC 4103 is located 12' ESE of mag 6.6
10x30mm Canon IS (3/27/19 - Tasmania): moderately bright cluster, perhaps 8' diameter, mottled but no obvious resolution. Situated within a large, glowing naked-eye patch of the Milky Way that includes two bright stars.
James Dunlop discovered NGC 4103 = D 291 = h3377 on 30 Apr 1826. He made a total of 3 observations with description "a cluster of small stars of mixt magnitudes, irregular figure, about 6' long and 4' broad."
John Herschel observed the cluster on 3 sweeps. On 14 Mar 1834 (sweep 432) he logged "middle of a rich, large, irregularly round cluster; poor VI or rich VII, stars 10..14 mag; diam 5' with stragglers." A second observation was made two weeks later (sweep 434) under poor conditions: "cluster of stars class VII, pretty rich and compact, stars 10..12 mag, and nearly equal; diameter 5'; the whole field is in a state of wavy fluctuation, owing to the southeast wind, and so bad that each star is dilated into a large puff ball." The next night he took another look (sweep 435) and recorded "A 10th mag star in centre of a pretty rich close cluster; 5' diameter; irregularly round; stars 10..13 mag."
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12 06 38.9 +28 10 26; Com
V = 12.1; Size 2.6'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 35°
17.5" (3/20/93): moderately bright, moderately large,
elongated 3:2 SW-NE, 1.8'x1.2', broad concentration. Forms a close pair with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4104 = H. II-370 = h1086 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and noted "pB, cL, mb towards the nf side." His position (Caroline's reduction) is 20 sec of time too far west. John Herschel made a total of 6 observations, so pinned down the position.
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12 06 40.8 -29 45 37; Hya
V = 10.7; Size 2.7'x2.0'; Surf Br = 12.5; PA = 151°
18" (5/28/06): western member of a close, moderately
bright pair with
8" (5/21/82): elongated glow resolves into NGC 4105 and NGC 4106 just following. NGC 4105 is slightly brighter and larger but appears faint, small and round.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4105 = H. II-865 = h3378, along with NGC 4106, on 7 Mar 1791 (sweep 998). They were logged together as "Two, within a minute of two of each other. Both faint, small, round, bright middle. Nearly in the same parallel." John Herschel made two observations, recording on 10 May 1834 (sweep 452), "The first of a double nebula (pos 111.2° by means of 2 measures), B; R; pL; pretty suddenly brighter middle; r; 25"."
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NGC 4106 = ESO 440-056 = MCG -05-29-014 = LGG 271-005 = PGC 38417
12 06 45.6 -29 46 06; Hya
V = 11.4; Size 1.6'x1.3'; Surf Br = 12.1; PA = 77°
18" (5/28/06): eastern member of a close, striking pair with slightly brighter NGC 4105 just 1.1' W. Appears moderately bright, round, ~40" diameter, well concentrated with a bright, prominent core. The halo is fairly faint and increases in size with averted vision to ~55" diameter. This galaxy is slightly smaller with a less condensed core than NGC 4105.
8" (5/21/82): faint, small, round. This is a close companion to NGC 4105 and is the slightly fainter and smaller of the pair.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4106 = H. II-866 = h3379, along with NGC 4105, on 7 Mar 1791 (sweep 998). See NGC 4015. John Herschel made two observations, recording on 10 May 1834 (sweep 452), "The 2nd of a double nebula, B; R; pL; pretty suddenly brighter middle; r; 25"."
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12 04 47.6 +10 35 44; Vir
See observing notes for NGC 4078.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4107 on 17 Apr 1863 and described (loosely translated) a "very small, slightly elongated planetary, a mag 10-11 star follows by 30.2 seconds of time and 1' south." There is nothing at his position but Harold Corwin found that exactly two min of RA west is NGC 4078, which has a star at his required offset. d'Arrest recorded the galaxy again on 23 Mar 1865 (and just two days later by Albert Marth) at the correct position and it was also catalogued NGC 4078. So, NGC 4107 = NGC 4078.
In the
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12 06 44.6 +67 09 47; Dra
V = 12.7; Size 1.7'x1.4'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 105°
17.5" (3/29/89): brightest in a quartet with
John Herschel discovered NGC 4108 = h1087 on 3 Apr 1832 and
recorded "B; R; gradually brighter in the middle; 20"; first
class". His single position
matches
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12 06 51.1 +42 59 44; CVn
V = 14.2; Size 1.0'x0.9'
24" (5/30/16): fairly faint, fairly small, roundish,
20" diameter, broad weak concentration. Forms a close pair with
LEDA 2210701 appeared extremely faint and small, ~6" diameter. Once acquired, I could hold it nearly 50% of the time, despite a very low SDSS magnitude (V ~16.0). The redshift of z = .086 implies a light-travel time of 1.1 billion years!
UGC 7094 is very faint, edge-on 4:1 SW-NE, 1.0'x0.25', very low surface brightness with no noticeable concentration.
13.1" (4/12/86): very faint, small, round. Forms a pair with NGC 4111 5.0'
NNE.
George Johnstone Stoney or his brother Bindon Blood Stoney (Lord Rosse's assistants), discovered NGC 4109 on 21 Apr 1851. During an observation of NGC 4111, it was noted "the first [NGC 4109] is vF and 6' ssp the second [NGC 4111], which is vB and mE. A double star is 5' nf, whose smaller component is blue." Although mentioned in the 1861 publication, John Herschel did not include this galaxy in the GC so Dreyer added it to the GC Supplement (GCS 5618).
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12 07 03.5 +18 31 54; Com
V = 13.7; Size 1.3'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 128°
17.5" (5/11/02): faint, fairly small, elongated 5:3 NW-SE, 0.8'x0.5', low fairly even surface brightness. A nice mag 12/13 double lies 5.5' S [separation 14"]. Globular cluster NGC 4147 is 43' following.
William Rambaut, Lord Rosse's first observing assistant, or
possibly Lord Rosse himself, discovered NGC 4110 on 1 April 1848. While observing the globular cluster
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NGC 4111 = UGC 7103 = MCG +07-25-026 = CGCG 215-028 = Holm 333a = WBL 380-003 = LGG 269-006 = PGC 38440
12 07 02.6 +43 04 01; CVn
V = 10.7; Size 4.6'x1.0'; Surf Br = 12.2; PA = 150°
48" (3/1/19): at 488x; stunning edge-on ~8:1 NNW-SSE with a bulging core, ~4.0'x0.5'. Sharply concentrated with an extremely bright, very elongated bulging core. The nucleus is very small and brilliant! Due to dust lanes that run perpendicular to the major axis, the galaxy was slightly brighter on the centerline of the major axis on both sides of the core. The arms taper slightly like a spindle. A very faint star (~17th mag) is at the SW end of the galaxy.
24" (5/30/16): at 225x; very bright, beautiful edge-on ~7:1 NNW-SSE, 3.5'x0.5'. Sharply concentrated with a small very bright elongated core, with an unusually bright quasi-stellar nucleus. An extremely faint star or stellar knot was suspected near the southeast end. A very wide unequal pair (HJ 2596) with a orange mag 8.1 primary lies 3.7' NE.
NGC 4111 is the brightest in a group (LGG 269 = UMa NED4
Group) containing NGC 4109 4.8' SSW (background object), NGC 4117 8.6' NE, NGC
4118 9.4' NE, UGC 7094 11.6' SW and
18" (5/14/07): this striking edge-on is extends 6:1 NNW-SSE, ~3.5'x0.6'. Dominated by a small, sharply concentrated, intense core. The core is only 24"x15" and brightens somewhat to the center. The eastern flank possibly has a sharper edge, but no dust lane was visible. Located 4' SW of a wide double star (8.2/10.7 at 34").
18" (6/4/05): fairly bright, fairly large, excellent edge-on at least 6:1 NW-SE. Sharply concentrated with a very bright 20" core that increases to the center. The extensions are very thin, ~3'x0.4', with a slightly bulging core. A wide double star (HJ 2596 = 8.2/10.7 at 34") to the northeast is collinear with the core.
17.5" (4/28/89): fairly bright, fairly large, edge-on 5:1 NW-SE, small very bright core, long thin extensions. A double star with components mag 8.2/10.7 at 34" separation lies 3.8' NE. Brightest in a group with NGC 4109 4.8' SW and NGC 4117 8.7' WSW.
13.1" (4/12/86): fairly bright, pretty edge-on, small very bright core, faint thin arms. Located 5' SW of a mag 8 star. In a group with NGC 4109 5' SSW and NGC 4117 8.5' WSW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4111 = H. I-195 = h1088 on
14 Jan 1788 (sweep 798) and recorded "E sp nf, vBN with faint
branches. His position and
description matches
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12 07 09 -40 12 24; Cen
V = 12.0; Size 1.6'x0.9'; Surf Br = 12.3; PA = 5°
18" (5/15/10): at 175x, this southern galaxy appeared
fairly faint (view diminished by low elevation), fairly small, elongated 3:2
N-S, ~45"x30", broad concentration. Located just north of a group of 3 stars with the closer two
(1' S and 1.5' S) collinear with the major axis of the galaxy and mag 9.25 HD
105253 2' SSW.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4112 = h3380 on 2 Mar 1835 and recorded "F; S; R; at the end (or forming the continuation of an arc of 3 stars respectively, in order 8, 9 and 10m."
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12 07 08.5 +32 59 46; Com
V = 14.3; Size 0.8'x0.5'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 55°
See observing notes for
John Herschel discovered NGC 4113 = h1089 on 3 Apr 1831 and simply noted as "eF". There is nothing at his position but Harold Corwin found that exactly one degree north is NGC 4122, which JH found earlier on 29 Apr 1827, but also with a poor position! So, likely NGC 4113 = NGC 4122.
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NGC 4114 = MCG -02-31-018 = PGC 38460
12 07 12.3 -14 11 08; Crv
V = 13.1; Size 1.9'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 135°
18" (5/8/04): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 5:3 NW-SE, 1.0'x0.6'. Sharply concentrated with a small, prominent core which increases to a quasi-stellar nucleus. The low surface brightness halo requires averted to view.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4114 = H. III-533 = h3381 on 27 Mar 1786 (sweep 548) and recorded "vF, S, iF. Time uncertain to 5 or 6 seconds." John Herschel noted "F; S; R: gradually brighter in the middle; 15"." and measured an accurate position.
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12 07 09.6 +14 24 24; Com
= *?, Gottlieb. Not found, RNGC.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4115 = h1090 on 3 Apr 1826 (sweep 24) and simply noted "a suspected neb. Extremely faint." There are no galaxies near his position, though a mag 14.8 star is 30" away. So, either this number is lost or perhaps refers to this faint star. See Harold Corwin's notes.
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12 07 37.2 +02 41 29; Vir
V = 12.0; Size 3.8'x2.2'; Surf Br = 14.1; PA = 155°
17.5" (3/28/87): moderately bright, fairly large, elongated NNW-SSE. Appears brighter along the major axis. NGC 4123 lies 14.1' NE.
George Johnstone Stoney (or his brother Bindon Stoney)
discovered NGC 4116 on 6 Mar 1851.
While observing
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NGC 4117 = UGC 7112 = MCG +07-25-027 = CGCG 215-029 = Holm 334a = LGG 269-018 = PGC 38503
12 07 46.1 +43 07 35; CVn
V = 13.0; Size 1.8'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 18°
24" (5/30/16): fairly faint to moderately bright,
fairly small, very elongated 3:1 SSW-NNE, 0.9'x0.3', well concentrated with a
small bright elongated core with faint extensions. Forms a pair with
17.5" (4/28/89): fairly faint, fairly small, oval SSW-NNE, weak concentration. Forms a close pair with faint NGC 4118 1.6' SE and NGC 4111 lies 8.5' WSW. The double star h2596 = 8.2/10.7 at 34" is 5' WSW.
13.1" (4/12/86): fairly faint, small, elongated SSW-NNE, broadly concentrated. Located on the opposite side of a mag 8 star from NGC 4111.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4117 = H. III-708 = h1091 on 6 Feb 1788 (sweep 810) and logged vF, vS. The foregoing nebula [NGC 4111], 2 stars [HJ 2598] and this are in a line from sp to nf." John Herschel's position on 12 Apr 1830 was poor but d'Arrest measured an accurate position on 2 nights in May 1865.
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NGC 4118 = MCG +07-25-028 = CGCG 215-030 = Holm 334b = PGC 38507
12 07 52.8 +43 06 41; CVn
V = 15.2; Size 0.7'x0.4'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 150°
24" (5/30/16): at 225x; very faint, very small, slightly elongated NW-SE, ~14"x10". Located just 1.5' SE of NGC 4117. Member of the NGC 4111 group.
17.5" (4/28/89): extremely faint, very small, requires averted to glimpse. Forms a close pair with much brighter NGC 4117 1.6' NW.
13.1": not seen.
R.J. Mitchell discovered NGC 4118 on 20 Apr 1857 using LdR's 72". He noted "about 60" or 70" sff [of NGC 4117] is an eF nebulous knot which I at first took for a star." The 1880 publication includes a sketch and this object is labeled "delta". Dreyer credited Lawrence Parsons, the 4th Earl of Rosse, with the discovery.
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12 08 09.7 +10 22 43; Vir
V = 11.3; Size 4.3'x1.4'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 114°
See observing notes for
William Herschel discovered NGC 4119 = H. II-14 on 18 Jan 1784 (the only object in short sweep 85). He recorded "a nebula of a longish figure, not cometic; probably it consists of stars." There is nothing at his position (using 59 Vir as the reference star) and the galaxy could not be recovered by Bigourdan, Reinmuth or Frost (Annals of Harvard College Observatory, Vol 88, No 1).
According to Harold Corwin, NGC 4119 is likely the first observation of NGC 4124 as originally suggested by Dreyer in his 1912 revision of Herschel's catalogues: "WH's final position is just 50 arcmin south of NGC 4124, and there are no other bright galaxies nearby that he might have picked up."
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12 08 31.4 +69 32 35; Dra
V = 13.5; Size 1.8'x0.4'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 166°
17.5" (3/29/89): very faint, thin, very elongated NNW-SSE. A mag 15 star is at the south end 0.5' from center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4120 = H. III-904 on 6 Apr
1793 (sweep 1036) and noted "eF, vS, E from north to south." Caroline's reduced position is 33 sec
of RA west and 2.5' north of
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12 07 56.5 +65 06 50; Dra
V = 13.5; Size 0.5'x0.45'
17.5" (3/20/93): fairly faint but very small, round,
stellar nucleus surrounded by a small round halo. Forms a pair with bright galaxy
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4121 on 9 Sep 1866 with the
11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His position, measured on 3 nights, matches
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NGC 4122 = NGC 4113 = MCG +06-27-011 = CGCG 187-009 = PGC 38451
12 07 08.5 +32 59 46; Com
V = 14.3; Size 0.8'x0.5'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 55°
17.5" (2/24/90): very faint, very small, slightly
elongated, small bright core.
Located at the NW edge of Coma Berenices border.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4122 = h1093 on 29 Apr 1827 and recorded "eF; vS; R; mbM." There is nothing near his position, though 1.1 min of RA west is CGCG 187-009 = PGC 38451. JH found the galaxy again on 3 Apr 1831, but his position on this sweep was 1 degree too far south! See Harold Corwin's identification notes for NGC 4113.
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NGC 4123 = UGC 7116 = MCG +01-31-023 = CGCG 041-042 = Mrk 1466 = PGC 38531
12 08 11.2 +02 52 41; Vir
V = 11.4; Size 4.4'x3.2'; Surf Br = 14.1; PA = 135°
17.5" (3/28/87): fairly bright, fairly large, elongated 3:2 NW-SE, 3'x2', small bright core. NGC 4116 lies 14.1' SW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4123 = H. V-4 = h1092 on 23 Feb 1784 (sweep 158) and recorded "vF, of a considerable extent, being about 5 or 6' diameter. To the north of the nebula at a distance of about 15' or more is a bright triangle of stars, the base where of is towards the nebula." The "bright triangle" is about 13' N and consists of 10th magnitiude stars.
Lord Rosse assistant R.J. Mitchell wrote on 29 Mar 1856, "the north one [NGC 4123] is however a spiral like an "S", the arms being faint." His diagram in the 1861 publication shows a long "bar" shaped middle and two curling spiral arms.
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NGC 4124 = NGC 4119: = UGC 7117 = MCG +02-31-036 = CGCG 069-058 = IC 3011 = PGC 38527
12 08 09.7 +10 22 43; Vir
V = 11.3; Size 4.3'x1.4'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 114°
17.5" (5/14/88): bright, fairly large, elongated WNW-ESE, bright elongated core.
17.5" (5/10/86): fairly bright, moderately large, attractive system, very elongated 3:1 WNW-ESE, elongated large bright core.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4124 = H. I-33 = H. II-60 =
h1094 on 15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174). He described II-60 as "faint, small,
resolvable." Caroline's
reduced position is 2' NE of
William Herschel probably first discovered this galaxy on 18 Jan 1784 and catalogued it as H. II-14 (later NGC 4119). So, Herschel apparently catalogued this galaxy three times, as I-33, II-60 and IIi-14. See notes on NGC 4119.
Finally Schwassmann's Sn. 124 = IC 3011, found on a Heidelberg plate on 23 Feb 1900, is an exact match. So, NGC 4124 = NGC 4119 = IC 3011 and there are three Herschel designators: H. II-14 = H. II-60 = H. I-33.
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NGC 4125 = UGC 7118 = MCG +11-15-027 = CGCG 315-019 = Holm 335a = PGC 38524
12 08 05.7 +65 10 24; Dra
V = 9.7; Size 5.8'x3.2'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 95°
17.5" (3/20/93): bright, moderately large, very elongated almost 4:1 E-W, 2.5'x0.7'. A very bright elongated core and nearly stellar nucleus dominates the galaxy with much fainter extensions but overall the surface brightness is high. A mag 10 star is 2.4' ESE of center. Forms a pair with NGC 4121 3.6' SW.
John Russell Hind discovered NGC 4125 = Au 28 on 5 Jan 1850
with a 7-inch Dolland refractor at George Bishop's private observatory in
London. He noted "tolerably bright, but small." This was the second deep sky object he
discovered after
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12 08 37.4 +16 08 34; Com
V = 13.4; Size 1.0'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 0°
17.5" (5/11/02): faint, small, slightly elongated N-S, 0.6'x0.5', weak even concentration to a faint, stellar nucleus. A mag 14 star lies 2' SE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4126 = H. III-68 = h1095 on
21 Mar 1784 (sweep 182) and noted "Two vS stars very near each other with
suspected nebulosity between them.
240x left it doubtful."
Caroline's reduced position is 23 sec of RA east of
******************************
12 08 26.3 +76 48 15; Cam
V = 12.7; Size 2.5'x1.2'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 140°
17.5" (5/2/92): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated
3:2 NW-SE, broad mild concentration.
A mag 14.5 star is at the east end and second mag 14 star is close
east. Forms the east vertex of an
isosceles triangle with mag 5.8
William Herschel discovered NGC 4127 = H. I-279 = h1096 on 12 Dec 1797 (sweep 1068). He noted "pretty bright, considerably large, irregularly elongated, brighter middle." John Herschel made two observations and measured an accurate position.
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12 08 32.4 +68 46 04; Dra
V = 12.0; Size 2.6'x0.9'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 58°
17.5" (3/20/93): moderately bright, fairly small, very elongated 4:1 WSW-ENE, 1.5'x0.4'. Contains a very bright core and almost stellar nucleus that dominates the much fainter extensions.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4128 = H. I-263 on 6 Apr
1793 (sweep 1036) and noted "cB, lE." Caroline's reduced position is 2' north of
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12 08 53.3 -09 02 12; Vir
V = 12.5; Size 2.3'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 95°
17.5" (2/28/87): moderately bright, fairly small, elongated ~E-W, weakly concentrated. A mag 13 star is 3.0' NW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4129 = H. II-548 = h1097 = h3382 on 3 Mar 1786 (sweep 536) and recorded "F, pL, mE from np to sf, not far from the parallel." John Herschel made two observations at Slough and once at the Cape of Good Hope. On sweep 136 he noted "F; very gradually brighter middle; E in parallel; 30" l, 20" br."
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NGC 4130 = NGC 4129 = MCG -01-31-006 = PGC 38580
12 08 53.3 -09 02 12; Vir
V = 12.5; Size 2.3'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 95°
See observing notes for NGC 4129.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4130 on 15 Mar 1866 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His description mentions a mag 13 star precedes by 21.7 seconds of time, but no star matches that position. Instead, Harold Corwin found his description fits NGC 4129, which is located exactly 5° south of d'Arrest's position, and a mag 13 star is exactly 21 sec of time west! So, NGC 4130 = NGC 4129.
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12 08 47.3 +29 18 17; Com
V = 13.2; Size 1.3'x0.7'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 73°
17.5" (3/20/93): fairly faint, small, fairly high
surface brightness, elongated 2:1 ~E-W, small prominent core, stellar
nucleus. Located 4.0' NE of a mag
10.5 star. First of three on a
line and second brightest with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4131 = H. III-356 = h1098, along with NGC 4132 and 4134, on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396). He recorded the trio as "Three, the time and number belongs to the largest [NGC 4134] which is faint, irregular. I suspect a fourth, but could not stay to ascertain it, though I am pretty sure. The other two are very faint, small, much elongated." Sweeps 396/397 on 11 Apr 1785 were Herschel's most productive night -- with 72 discoveries. John Herschel made two observations, the first on 31 Mar 1827 (sweep 66).
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NGC 4132 = MCG +05-29-020 = CGCG 158-030 = Holm 339a = WBL 382-002 = PGC 38593
12 09 01.4 +29 15 01; Com
V = 13.9; Size 1.1'x0.3'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 20°
17.5" (3/20/93): faint, fairly sm.all, elongated 5:2 SSW-NNE, small brighter core. Second and faintest of three with NGC 4134 4.5' SSE and NGC 4131 4' NW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4132 = H. III-357 = h1099,
along with NGC 4131 and 4134, on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396). He recorded the trio as "Three,
the time and number belongs to the largest [NGC 4134] which is F, irregular. I suspect a fourth, but could not stay
to ascertain it, though I am pretty sure.
The other two [NGC 4131 and NGC 4132] are vF, S, mE."
John Herschel made three observations (first on 31 Mar 1827) and his mean position is a good match with this galaxy.
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12 08 49.9 +74 54 15; Dra
V = 12.3; Size 1.8'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 125°
17.5" (5/2/92): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated
3:2 NW-SE, irregular surface brightness with one or two bright knots possibly
including a substellar nucleus.
Forms the vertex of a right angle with a mag 12 star 2.5' N and a mag 13
star 2.2' E of center. Located 18'
NNW of mag 6.4
William Herschel discovered NGC 4133 = H. I-278 = h1100 on 12 Dec 1797 (sweep 1068) in the north (under the pole). He noted "considerably bright, considerably large, irregularly round, much brighter middle, cL, iR." His position was accurate, though Dreyer thought that Herschel exchanged the polar distance with NGC 4133 and NGC 4127. On 6 May 1831 (sweep 349), John Herschel called it "F; R; gradually brighter in the middle. Strong twilight" and on a later sweep, "pB; R; gradually brighter in the middle."
******************************
NGC 4134 = UGC 7130 = MCG +05-29-023 = CGCG 158-031 = Holm 339b = WBL 382-003 = PGC 38605
12 09 10.0 +29 10 37; Com
V = 12.8; Size 2.2'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 150°
17.5" (3/20/93): moderately bright, moderately large, elongated 5:2 NW-SE, broad concentration, NGC 4132 5' NNW. Brightest and third of three spiral galaxies almost collinear in a NW-SE direction!
William Herschel discovered NGC 4134 = H. II-371 = h1101,
along with NGC 4131 and 4132, on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396). He recorded the trio as "Three,
the time and number belongs to the largest [NGC 4134] which is F, irregular. I suspect a fourth, but could not stay
to ascertain it, though I am pretty sure.
The other two [NGC 4131 and NGC 4132] are vF, S, mE." Sweeps 396/397 on 11 Apr 1785 were
Herschel's most productive night -- with 72 discoveries. Three minutes later he discovered the
John Herschel made three observations (first on 31 Mar 1827) and measured a fairly accurate position.
******************************
12 09 08.9 +44 00 12; CVn
V = 14.0; Size 0.9'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 90°
17.5" (4/28/89): very faint, small, elongated WSW-ENE,
weak concentration. Brighter of a
pair with
Édouard Stephan discovered NGC 4135 = St. 11-16, along with NGC 4137, on 27 Apr 1878. He reduced an accurate position on 4 May 1881 and included the discovery in his 11th list, published the same year
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12 09 17.7 +29 55 39; Com
V = 11.0; Size 4.0'x3.7'; Surf Br = 13.8
13.1" (4/12/86): moderately bright, round, brighter core, stellar nucleus. NGC 4131/NGC 4132 pair lies 38' SSW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4136 = H. II-321 = h1108 on
13 Mar 1785 (sweep 387) and recorded "pB, L, gradually brighter in the
middle." His position matches
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NGC 4137 = UGC 7135 = VV 454 = MCG +07-25-033 = CGCG 215-036 = PGC 38619
12 09 17.6 +44 05 26; CVn
V = 14.3; Size 1.1'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 100°
17.5" (4/28/89): very faint, small, slightly elongated ~E-W, even surface brightness. Forms a pair with NGC 4135 5.5' SSW.
Édouard Stephan discovered NGC 4137 = St. 11-17, along with NGC 4135, on 27 Apr 1878. He reduced an accurate position 3 years later on 4 May 1881 and included the discovery in his 11th list.
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12 09 29.9 +43 41 07; CVn
V = 11.3; Size 2.6'x1.7'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 150°
13.1" (4/12/86): moderately bright, moderately large, elongated NW-SE, rises quickly to a small bright core, possible stellar nucleus. A mag 11 star is 2.0' NNW of center. Member of the NGC 4111 Group = LGG 269.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4138 = H. I-196 on 14 Jan 1788 (sweep 798) and recorded "cB, cL, very gradually brighter middle, iF."
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NGC 4139 = IC 2989 = MCG +00-31-030 = CGCG 013-061 = WBL 372-013 = PGC 38213
12 04 34.0 +01 48 05; Vir
V = 13.8; Size 1.0'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 30°
24" (4/15/23): at 327x; fairly faint, elongated 2:1 SSW-NNE, 30"-35" major axis, broad concentration with a slightly brighter core. Fainter and smaller of a pair with NGC 4077 only 1.3' SE.
17.5" (5/10/86): faint, very small, elongated 2:1 SW-NE, small bright core. Forms a close pair with NGC 4077 just 1.3' NW in a group. Located 6.0' SSE of NGC 4073. This galaxy is identified as IC 2989 in the UGC, MCG and CGCG.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4139 = IC 2989 = PGC 38213, along with NGC 4140, on 10 Apr 1863. He described a double nebula, with the companion preceding by 4-5 seconds of time and somewhat north. There is nothing at his position but Corwin found that d'Arrest apparently made a 5 minute error in RA. See NGC 4140 for the story.
David Todd rediscovered the galaxy on 6 Jan 1878 during his search for a trans-Neptunian planet and reported it as objects #16b and #14b. Finally Guilllaume Bigourdan found it a third time on 29 Mar 1895 and reported it as Big. 287 (later IC 2989). Both Dorothy Carlson and the RNGC misclassify NGC 4139 as nonexistent. CGCG labels this galaxy as IC 2989, though RC3 gives NGC 4139 as an identity.
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NGC 4140 = NGC 4077 = UGC 7063 = MCG +00-31-031 = CGCG 013-063 = PGC 38218
12 04 38.0 +01 47 16; Vir
V = 13.1; Size 1.3'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 15°
See observing notes for NGC 4077
Heinrich d'Arrest found NGC 4140 on 10 Apr 1863, along with NGC 4139, which was mentioned as 5 seconds of time preceding and somewhat north. There is nothing near his usually accurate ring-micrometer position. But Harold Corwin notes that exactly 5 minutes of RA west of d'Arrest's position is the pair NGC 4077 and IC 2989, matching his description. So, NGC 4140 = NGC 4077 and NGC 4139 = IC 2989. Dorothy Carlson classifies NGC 4140 as nonexistent in her NGC corrections list and this is repeated in the RNGC. Listed in my RNGC Corrections #6.
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12 09 47.3 +58 50 57; UMa
V = 14.5; Size 1.3'x0.9'; PA = 75°
17.5" (5/13/88): very faint, small, round, even surface brightness. Two mag 15 stars are 1' W and 1' NW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4141 = H. III-795 = h1102 on 17 Apr 1789 (sweep 923). He noted "very faint, small, round, irregular figure." His RA was 20 seconds of time too small. John Herschel made a single observation on 1 May 1831 (sweep 345): "faint; pretty large; little extended; gradually brighter middle; 40"." His RA was 15 seconds of time too small.
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12 09 30.2 +53 06 18; UMa
V = 13.3; Size 2.2'x1.2'; Surf Br = 14.2; PA = 175°
16" LX200 (4/14/07): faint, moderately large, elongated
3:2 N-S, 1.0'x0.6', weak concentration.
Nearly collinear with a wide pair of mag 11/13 stars ~4' SW.
17.5" (5/13/88): faint, moderately large, diffuse, weak concentration, oval ~N-S.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4142 = H. III-814 = h1103 on 26 Apr 1789 (sweep 929) and logged "vF, S, easily resolvable." His position is accurate. John Herschel made a single observation on 4 May 1831 (sweep 347) and noted, "vF; irreg fig; very gradually little brighter middle; twilight."
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12 09 36.1 +42 32 03; CVn
V = 10.7; Size 2.3'x1.4'; Surf Br = 11.8; PA = 144°
13.1" (4/12/86): moderately bright, fairly small, slightly elongated, very bright core, stellar nucleus. Located 5.0' NE of mag 7.6 SAO 44055. Member of the NGC 4111 group = LGG 269.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4143 = H. IV-54 = h1104 on 14 Jan 1788 (sweep 798) and noted "cB, Nucleus with faint chevelure (halo)." His position is just off the east side of this galaxy. On 1 May 1828 (sweep 150), John Herschel logged "R; suddenly brighter in the middle to nucleus."
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12 09 58.5 +46 27 28; UMa
V = 11.6; Size 6.0'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 104°
17.5" (4/7/89): fairly bright, very large, edge-on 5:1
WNW-ESE, 5'x1', bright core.
Double star mag 13.5/13.5 at 8" separation is off the SE end 2.3'
from center. Located between two
mag 9 stars 8' N (double) and
8": faint, edge-on WNW-ESE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4144 = H. II-747 = h1107 on 10 Apr 1788 (sweep 830) and recorded "pB, E, about 3' long, from np to sf about 15 or 20°." John Herschel made two observations, logging on 26 Apr 1830 (sweep 255), "F; vmE in pos 109° by measure; very gradually very much brighter in the middle; 4' long, 30 or 40" br."
On 9 Mar 1850, Birr Castle assistant George Johnstone Stoney called it a "long ray with mottled light and probably a tendency to an annular arrangement about the nucleus."
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12 10 01.6 +39 52 58; CVn
V = 11.3; Size 5.9'x4.3'; Surf Br = 14.6; PA = 100°
24" (5/30/16): at 200x; fairly bright, very large,
roughly oval 4:3 ~E-W, 4'x3', contains a large brighter core and a noticeably
patchy or irregular halo with a strong impression of spiral structure. Two arms were fairly confident; one
extending east of the core on its south side and another extending west of the
core on its north side. Otherwise,
it seemed like slightly brighter HII patches in the low surface brightness halo
were just resolving in the outer halo.
Located 9' due west of mag 6.8
13.1" (3/17/86): fairly faint, fairly large, very
diffuse, weak broad concentration, slightly elongated E-W. Located 9' W of mag 6.9
William Herschel discovered NGC 4145 = H. I-169 = h1105 on 18 Mar 1787 (sweep 717) and noted "cB, cL." On 28 Apr 1827 (sweep 73), John Herschel reported, "pB; vL; dilute; very gradually little brighter middle."
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12 10 18.3 +26 25 51; Com
V = 12.7; Size 1.4'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.2
17.5" (5/4/02): fairly faint, fairly small, round, 0.8'
diameter. Weak concentration in
halo but direct vision revealed a very small brighter core of ~10" (this
is a Seyfert galaxy). Located 22'
ESE of mag 7.1
William Herschel discovered NGC 4146 = H. III-327 on 6 Apr 1785 (sweep 393) and noted "vF, pS." Caroline's reduction is 13 sec of time preceding UGC 7163. There were no observations made by JH or at Birr Castle.
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12 10 06.2 +18 32 32; Com
V = 10.4; Size 4.4'; Surf Br = 0.1
48" (4/22/17): NGC 4147, a class IX globular, was well
resolved and impressive at 488x.
It appeared very bright, fairly large, large bright core. Over 100 stars were resolved including
a number of relatively bright 14.5-15.5 stars. The stellar density increases significantly towards the
center where a large number of resolved stars are packed over a hazy, mottled
background. The loose halo was
well resolved, a bit scraggly around the edges and extended to ~5' diameter. The superthin galaxy
17.5" (4/13/96): moderately bright, fairly small, irregular 2'-2.5' diameter, very small bright core. A few faint stars are resolved at 220x including one brighter star at the south edge. Appears on the verge of more extensive resolution. At 280x, the halo clearly has an irregular outline and several stars are resolved in extensions or star lanes. The core is mottled and intense but not resolved.
17.5" (3/20/93): fairly bright, moderately large, round, 2.5' diameter. Approximately six faint stars are just resolved around the edges of the halo including a single easy mag 14 star at the south edge. The compact core is mottled and clumpy but has no clean resolution. There is an impression of several star lanes in the halo just below the limit of resolution.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4147 = H. I-19 = h1106 on 14 Mar 1784 (sweep 170) and recorded "a very brilliant nebula. Not cometic. Brightest in the middle but the brightness extends a good way towards the extremes; pS." His position was 20 seconds of time too large. The NGC position is accurate (Engelhardt measured a micrometric position). John Herschel made 3 observations; on 23 Mar 1827 he wrote, "B; R; 80"; consists of distinct stars. A globular cluster."
Herschel probably discovered this globular a month earlier on 15 Feb 1784 (sweep 146) but his position for H. I-11 = NGC 4153 was poor (not unusual in his early sweeps). See that number and Harold Corwin's NGC identification notes.
Lord Rosse (or assistant William Rambaut) observed NGC 4147 on 1 Apr 1848 and described it as "a very close cluster of faintish stars, preceded by a small nebula [NGC 4110]."
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12 10 08.0 +35 52 39; CVn
V = 13.3; Size 1.5'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 165°
17.5" (4/28/89): faint, small, slightly elongated ~E-W, small bright core, stellar nucleus. A mag 13 star is 1.4' SE and a mag 12 star 4' W.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4148 on 7 Feb 1866 with the
11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His position, measured twice, matches
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12 10 32.9 +58 18 14; UMa
V = 13.2; Size 1.3'x0.3'; Surf Br = 11.8; PA = 87°
17.5" (5/13/88): fairly faint, small, thin edge-on WNW-ESE, weak concentration. This is a pretty system.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4149 = H. II-802 = h1109 on
17 Apr 1789 (sweep 923) and noted "faint, small, elongated." His position was 3' too far NW. He swept it up a second time on 18 Mar
1790 (sweep 951), but mistakenly assumed III-845 (later
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12 10 33.7 +30 24 06; Com
V = 11.6; Size 2.3'x1.6'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 147°
17.5" (4/15/93): fairly bright, moderately large, small
very bright core, stellar nucleus, faint halo extends NW-SE to 2.0'x1.3'. Located 6' E of mag 9
William Herschel discovered NGC 4150 = H. I-73 = h1110 on 13 Mar 1785 (sweep 387) and noted "vB, S." His position is close off the southwest side of UGC 7165. John Herschel made the single observation "B; R: pretty gradually much brighter middle; 25"; a * 8m 5' preceding."
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NGC 4151 = UGC 7166 = MCG +07-25-044 = CGCG 215-045 = Holm 345a = WBL 383-001 = PGC 38739
12 10 31.4 +39 23 19; CVn
V = 10.8; Size 6.3'x4.5'; Surf Br = 14.2; PA = 50°
13.1" (3/17/86): very bright, very small or stellar
nucleus, fainter halo. A mag 11.5
star is 2.3' N and a closer mag 13 star is 1.3' N of center. Forms a optical pair with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4151 = H. I-165 = h1111, along with NGC 4156, on 17 Mar 1787 (sweep 714). His description reads, "vB, A bright nucleus, but the nucleus not in the middle, or perhaps two joined together, the northern on having the nucleus."
On 26 April 1851, Bindon Blood Stoney (Lord Rosse's assistant) logged, "Has a B, R centre with nucleus, then two dark spaces concentric with the nucleus and outside these faint nebulosity as in figure." Two night laters he noted "Previous observation rather confirmed. The dark spaces certainly exist, but I cannot be sure that appendages are not parts of spiral branches." The following year he wrote "Last year's observation confirmed as to dark curved spaces preceding and following centre and faint nebulosity outside them again." His sketch was included in the 1861 publication (Plate XXVII, Fig. 20).
NGC 4151 is one of the 6 galaxies studied by Seyfert in his seminal 1943 paper "Nuclear Emission in Spiral Nebulae".
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12 10 37.5 +16 01 59; Com
V = 12.2; Size 2.2'x1.7'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 115°
17.5" (4/25/98): moderately bright, round, ~1' diameter, moderately concentrated with a brighter core ~20" in diameter. Halo increases to nearly 1.5' diameter with averted vision. Transparency poor due to smoke.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4152 = H. II-83 = h1112 on 21 Mar 1784 (sweep 182) and noted "F, pL, r." JH and d'Arrest both observed and measured this galaxy four times.
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12 10 06.2 +18 32 32; Com
See observing notes for NGC 4147. Identification uncertain.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4153 = H. I-11 on 15 Feb
1784 (sweep 146). His description
reads, "a B nebula, not very large, however of some extent, it is not
round; the greatest brightness lies towards the middle but is not
circular. The whitishness of this
nebula is of the milky kind of the unresolveable nebula such as that of
[
Harold Corwin states that Walter Scott Houston may have suggested in one his Deep Sky Wonders columns that NGC 4133 might be a comet (perhaps as it was described as elongated?), although offered no proof. See Corwin's identification notes.
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NGC 4154 = NGC 4149 = UGC 7167 = MCG +10-17-155 = CGCG 292-076 = PGC 38741
12 10 32.9 +58 18 14; UMa
See observing notes for NGC 4149.
William Herschel rediscovered NGC 4154 = H. III-845 on 18
Mar 1790 (sweep 951) and recorded "vF, S, E in the parallel." His offset from Delta UMa and
description (elongated E-W) points to within 1' of
Interestingly, Bigourdan was not able to recover this galaxy and using Heidelberg plates, Reinmuth apparently was confused and noted "*12?; no neb seen; BD +59 1426 nff 3.7'." Because of Reinmuth's description, Dorothy Carlson identifies NGC 4154 as a star in her 1940 NGC correction list and RNGC classifies NGC 4154 nonexistent. NGC 4154 is not equated with NGC 4149 in any major catalogue. See Harold Corwin's identification notes.
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12 10 45.7 +19 02 27; Com
V = 13.3; Size 1.1'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 81°
17.5" (5/11/02): fairly faint, fairly small, round, 1.0' diameter, moderate concentration to a small bright core. Two mag 10 stars are 9'-10' SW near the edge of the 20' field. Located 31' NNE of gc NGC 4147.
Lewis Swift discovered NGC 4155 = Sw. 1-21 on 6 Apr 1885.
Although his description "vvF, vS" is not very helpful, his position
is just 6 sec of RA east and 1' south of
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NGC 4156 = UGC 7173 = MCG +07-25-045 = CGCG 215-047 = Holm 345b = WBL 383-003 = PGC 38773 = The Eye of Sauron
12 10 49.5 +39 28 22; CVn
V = 13.2; Size 1.4'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.5
13.1" (3/17/86): faint, fairly small, slightly elongated E-W, possible faint stellar nucleus. Forms a pair with brighter NGC 4151 5.1' SW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4156 = H. II-642 = h1113, along with NGC 4151, on 17 Mar 1787 (sweep 714). He called it "pB, S." while John Herschel wrote, "vF; lE; very gradually brighter middle."
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12 11 04.9 +50 29 07; UMa
V = 11.3; Size 6.8'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 66°
48" (5/1/22): at 488x; extremely bright, very large edge-on, extends ~6'x0.8' WSW-ENE. The galaxy barely reaches a mag 10.4 star, which overwhelms the dim western tip. The core is relatively long, ~3'x0.4', and highly mottled with a dust lane running along its northern edge. A faint outer strip runs along the opposite side of the absorption lane. A brighter knot or patch (likely a star-forming region) is near the west end of the core, 1.3' WSW of center.
17.5" (5/2/92): bright, moderately large, edge-on 7:1 WSW-ENE, 5.0'x0.7', elongated bright core, extensions taper at ends. Located 4.3' SE of mag 8.0 SAO 28277. Two mag 10/10.5 stars oriented N-S are 3.8' SW and 5.1' SW and a mag 11 star lies 4.9' NE. This is a striking galaxy with several bright stars near adding to the view. Member of the M109 (NGC 3992) group = LGG 258.
8" (3/28/81): faint, very elongated WSW-ENE, bright core. A mag 8 star is close NW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4157 = H. I-208 = h1114 on 9 Mar 1788 (sweep 816) and recorded "F, mE from sp to nf, nearer the parallel, about 3' l and 3/4' broad." John Herschel made the single observation, "B; vmE; very gradually little brighter middle; 4' long.". Heinrich d'Arrest measured the position twice.
Fritz Zwicky discovered SN 1937A, a type II(P) supernova, using the 18-inch Schmidt telescope at Palomar. This was his first SN discovery, after initiating a systematic search in September 1936.
******************************
12 11 10.2 +20 10 32; Com
V = 12.1; Size 1.9'x1.7'; Surf Br = 13.2
17.5" (5/14/88): moderately bright, fairly small, broad concentration, slightly elongated ~E-W. A mag 11 star is 1.7' SE of center. Located 25' SW of 5 Comae Berenices (V = 5.6).
William Herschel discovered NGC 4158 = H. II-405 = h1115 on
27 Apr 1785 (sweep 403) and noted "F, S, lE. Preceding a pB star." His position is 2' south of
******************************
12 10 53.6 +76 07 34; Dra
V = 13.4; Size 1.3'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 35°
17.5" (5/2/92): faint, small, elongated 2:1 SW-NE, low almost even surface brightness. Two mag 13 stars are 1.4' ESE and 1.0' NE of center. The galaxy is elongated in the direction of the star to the NE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4159 = H. III-941 = h1116 on
12 Dec 1797 (sweep 1068). He recorded "very faint, pretty small. It has two stars nf making a triangle
with it." Caroline's reduced
position is 1.7' SE of
******************************
12 11 36 +43 45; CVn
= Not found, RNGC.
Guillaume Bigourdan discovered NGC 4160 = Big. 51 on 27 May
1886 and described "a star 13.3m accompanied by a little
nebulosty." There is nothing
at his position (roughly midway between NGC 4138 and
******************************
12 11 33.3 +57 44 14; UMa
V = 12.9; Size 1.1'x0.7'; Surf Br = 12.5; PA = 50°
17.5" (5/13/88): fairly faint, fairly small, bright core, elongated SW-NE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4161 = H. II-803 on 17 Apr 1789 (sweep 923) and noted "faint, small, round." His re-reduced position with respect to Delta UMa on 18 Mar 1790 (sweep 951) is accurate.
******************************
12 11 52.5 +24 07 25; Com
V = 12.2; Size 2.3'x1.4'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 174°
17.5" (5/11/02): moderately bright, moderately large, elongated 3:2 ~N-S, ~2'x1.3'. Weak concentration except for a faint but distinct stellar nucleus (this is probably a superimposed star). Located nearly midway between a mag 10.5 star 2.6' SW and a mag 12 star 2.2' NE. A mag 14.5 star is 1' WNW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4162 = H. II-353 = h1117 on 10 Apr 1785 (sweep 394) and recorded "pB, cL, bM, irr." John Herschel noted "B; L; E; bM; 60"."
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12 12 09.1 +36 10 09; CVn
V = 14.0; Size 1.8'x1.6'; Surf Br = 15.1
17.5" (4/28/89): faint, moderately large, slightly
elongated, very diffuse, weak concentration, low surface brightness. Located between mag 8.7
William Herschel discovered NGC 4163 = H. III-399 on 28 Apr
1785 (sweep 404) and noted "vF, pL, R, r." He observed this galaxy again the next sweep (1 May)
and added "little elongated; easily resolvable."
******************************
12 12 05.4 +13 12 20; Vir
V = 14.8; Size 0.6'x0.4'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 111°
17.5" (1/23/88): extremely faint, very small, round,
only visible with averted vision.
Faintest in a trio and located 3' SSW of
Willhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4164 = T. 1-37 (as well as
paper V) and placed it 2.5' south of d'Arrest's "nova" [NGC
4165]. He commented "but it
is strange that he has not seen the second companion", though I'm not
surprised as this galaxy is quite faint.
Interesting, the LdR observation of
This galaxy is mentioned in the UGC notes for NGC 4168, but not identified as NGC 4164.
******************************
NGC 4165 = IC 3035 = UGC 7201 = MCG +02-31-045 = CGCG 069-078 = WBL 386-002 = PGC 38885
12 12 11.8 +13 14 47; Vir
V = 13.5; Size 1.3'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 160°
17.5" (1/23/88): very faint, fairly small, round, slightly elongated, diffuse. Located 2.6' NW of NGC 4168 in a trio with NGC 4164.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4165 on 8 Apr 1864 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His single position is 1.4' too far southwest, unusually poor for his micrometric positions. He mentions that LdR (or assistant) missed this nebula when he observed NGC 4168 in 1855.
Arnold Schwassmann found this galaxy again on 16 Nov 1900 on
a plate taken by Wolf with the 6" astrograph at the Königstuhl Observatory
in Heidelberg. He measured an accurate position and reported Sn. 222 (later IC
3035) as new. So, NGC 4165 = IC
3035. CGCG misidentifies an
extremely faint companion at the northwest side as
******************************
12 12 09.6 +17 45 26; Com
V = 13.1; Size 1.2'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 20°
17.5" (5/11/02): fairly faint, fairly small, round, 0.8' diameter, moderate concentration to a very small brighter core. Very symmetrical appearance.
Édouard Stephan discovered NGC 4166 = T. 9-10 on 30 Apr 1878. His uncorrected position was 2' S. Stephan didn't publish the discovery. Willhelm Tempel rediscovered NGC 4166 on 15 Mar 1885 with the 11-inch refractor at Arcetri and published it in his 9th discovery list (#10). Temple was searching for the periodic Comet 1867 II when he ran across this galaxy.
******************************
NGC 4167 = NGC 4163 = UGC 7199 = MCG +06-27-026 = CGCG 187-020 = PGC 38881
12 12 09.1 +36 10 09; CVn
See observing notes for NGC 4163
John Herschel discovered NGC 4167 = h1118 on 11 Mar 1831 and recorded "F; pL; R; very gradually brighter middle; a double star south-preceding dist 10'. The MS observation makes the polar distance decidedly 33'; but should it be a mistake for 52', this nebula would be identical to [NGC 4163]." There is nothing at his position, but 30' south is NGC 4163, as he suspected, and 8.5' southwest of this galaxy is a double star. So, NGC 4167 = NGC 4163. Reinmuth writes "no pL neb with ** sp 10' found; NGC 4167 = NGC 4163? and Dorothy Carlson repeated this equivalence in her 1940 monograph on NGC corrections.
******************************
NGC 4168 = UGC 7203 = MCG +02-31-046 = CGCG 069-081 = PGC 38890
12 12 17.2 +13 12 18; Vir
V = 11.2; Size 2.8'x2.3'; Surf Br = 13.2
17.5" (1/23/88): brightest of a trio with NGC 4164 2.9' W and NGC 4165 2.6' NW. Fairly bright, moderately large, bright core, slightly elongated, stellar nucleus.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4168 = H. II-105 = h1119 on
8 Apr 1784 (sweep 187) and noted "pS but pB, roundish, resolvable,
containing some stars visible."
Caroline's reduction is 4.7' southeast of
In the IC 2 Notes section, Dreyer mentioned "not found by Frost on plates of 4 hr exposure", although this bright galaxy was included in Adelaide Ames 1930 "A Catalogue of 2778 Nebulae, including the Coma-Virgo Group", based on plates taken with the Bruce astrograph at Arequipa.
******************************
12 12 18.8 +29 10 46; Com
V = 12.2; Size 1.8'x0.9'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 153°
48" (4/20/17): extremely bright, moderately large, very elongated 5:2 NW-SE, 1.5'x0.6'. Sharply concentrated with a relatively large bright core that increases to an intensely bright nucleus.
24" (5/22/17): at 282x; bright, moderately large, oval 2:1 NNW-SSE, ~1.2'x0.6', highly concentrated with an intense, elongated core that increases to a quasi-stellar nucleus.
18" (6/17/06): brightest member of HCG 61 = "The Box". Appears moderately bright, fairly small, elongated 3:2 NNW-SSE, 1.2'x0.7'. Well concentrated with a 25" bright core that increases to the center.
13.1" (4/10/86): brightest in a small group of four
galaxies = HCG 61. Moderately
bright, fairly small, slightly elongated NNW-SSE, very small bright core. Forms the west vertex of a nearly perfect
rectangle with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4169 = H. III-358 = h1120,
along with NGC 4173/74/75, on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396). He described the quartet as "Four,
the time and number belongs to the largest [
******************************
12 12 18 +29 12; Com
= Not found, Thomson. =*?, Corwin.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4170 and 4171 on 10 May 1864, while observing the NGC 4169 quartet = HCG 61. Under his description for H. II-372 = NGC 4173, he noted "In addition, I think I see two other nearby nebulae; clearer skies would help." There was no position or offset given for these two objects and most likely he glimpsed a couple of nearby stars. The galaxy identified as NGC 4170 in the RNGC is NGC 4173. Other sources apply the designations NGC 4170 = NGC 4171 to NGC 4173.
******************************
12 12 18 +29 11; Com
= Not found and ≠ NGC 4173, Thomson.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4171 and 4170 on 10 May 1864, while observing the NGC 4169 quartet = HCG 61. He did not provide a position or offset, so it is impossible to assign these numbers to a nearby faint star with any confidence. See notes for NGC 4170.
******************************
12 12 15.0 +56 10 38; UMa
V = 13.2; Size 1.3'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.5
17.5" (5/13/88): fairly faint, fairly small, bright core, stellar nucleus.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4172 = H. II-792 = h1123 on 14 Apr 1789 (sweep 920) and noted "F, S, R, bM." His RA is 45 sec too small. John Herschel recorded "pF; S; E; gradually brighter in the middle; 15" l, 12" br." and measured an accurate position (in the NGC).
******************************
NGC 4173 = HCG 61B = KTG 42B = Holm 346a = NGC 4171 = UGC 7204 = MCG +05-29-033 = CGCG 158-043 = FGC 1382 = The Box = Rose 10 = PGC 38897
12 12 21.4 +29 12 25; Com
V = 13.0; Size 5.0'x0.7'; Surf Br = 14.2; PA = 134°
48" (4/20/17): fairly faint to moderately bright, very large, edge-on 6:1 NW-SE, 2.5'x0.4', fairly low surface brightness with only a modest central brightening and no distinct core or nucleus.
24" (5/22/17): at 282x; fairly faint, very large, very elongated ~6:1 NW-SE with averted, 2.0'x0.35', low surface brightness. Only a broad weak concentration with no distinct core/nucleus.
18" (6/17/06): faint, fairly large, very elongated 4:1 NW-SE, 1.5'x0.4'. Overall, low surface brightness with a very weak central brightening. Faintest of the HCG 61 quartet though NGC 4173 lies in the foreground with a recessional velocity only 1/3 of the other members..
13.1" (4/10/86): very faint, very elongated NW-SE, low even surface brightness. Faintest in the NGC 4169 group = HCG 61 and located just 1.7' NNE of NGC 4169. Forms the north vertex of a rectangle with NGC 4174, and NGC 4175.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4173 = H. II-372 = h1121 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396). See description under NGC 4169. The RNGC misidentifies this galaxy as NGC 4170, which is nonexistent (possibly a star).
Although NGC 4173 appears perfectly lined up with NGC 4175, it is apparently in the foreground with a redshift only 1/3 of the other three galaxies.
******************************
NGC 4174 = HCG 61D = UGC 7206 = MCG +05-29-034 = CGCG 158-044 = Mrk 761 = The Box = Rose 10 = PGC 38906
12 12 26.9 +29 08 57; Com
V = 13.3; Size 0.9'x0.35'; Surf Br = 11.7; PA = 50°
48" (4/20/17): fairly bright, moderately large, elongated 3:1 SW-NE, 0.9'x0.3'. Sharply concentrated with a very small, very bright core that increases to an intensely bright stellar nucleus!
24" (5/22/17): at 282x; moderately bright, fairly small, oval 2:1 SW-NE, 0.6'x0.3'. Contains a very small and very bright core with a sharp stellar nucleus (brighter than the nucleus of NGC 4169).
18" (6/17/06): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 3:1 SW-NE, 0.9'x0.3', sharply concentrated with a bright 15"-20" rounder core with the extentions much fainter. Smallest member of the striking HCG 61 quartet.
13.1" (4/10/86): fairly faint, prominent very small bright core. Slightly elongated halo is faint and small. This galaxy is the smallest in NGC 4169 group = HCG 61. Forms a small rectangle with NGC 4175 1.5' NE, NGC 4175 2.5' NW and NGC 4173 3.6' NNW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4174 = H. III-359 = h1122 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396). See notes under NGC 4169.
******************************
NGC 4175 = HCG 61C = KTG 42C = Holm 346b = UGC 7211 = MCG +05-29-036 = CGCG 158-045 = The Box = Rose 10 = PGC 38912
12 12 31.0 +29 10 06; Com
V = 13.2; Size 1.8'x0.4'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 130°
48" (4/20/17): fairly bright, fairly large, edge-on 5:1 NW-SE, ~1.5'x0.3', contains a large, brighter bulging core. The extensions taper at the ends giving a spindle appearance. This galaxy is parallel to NGC 4173 and perpendicular to NGC 4174 to the southwest.
24" (5/22/17): at 282x; moderately bright, fairly large, thin edge-on 5:1 NW-SE. 1.25'x0.25'. Contains a brighter elongated core but not strongly concentrated and no nucleus. NGC 4174, 1.5' SW, is orientated exactly perpendiculat to NGC 4175.
18" (6/17/06): fairly faint, moderately large, edge-on 5:1 NW-SE, 1.3'x0.25', broad weak concentration to a slightly brighter bulging core. Fades at the tips. Second of two edge-ons in HCG 61 = "The Box" with NGC 4173 3' NW.
13.1" (4/10/86): faint, edge-on NW-SE, bright core, similar in size to NGC 4173 but fainter. Last of four in the NGC 4169 group = HCG 61 with NGC 4169 2.9' WNW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4175 = H. III-360 = h1124 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396). See notes under NGC 4169.
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12 12 36.8 -09 09 37; Vir
V = 14.8; Size 0.7'x0.4'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 70°
18" (5/12/07): extremely faint, very small, round, 0.3'
diameter, low even surface brightness.
A small group of stars follows in the field. Located 12' SW of mag 8.7
Francis Leavenworth discovered NGC 4176 = LM 2-454 in 1886
and recorded "mag 16.0, 0.3' dia, R, slightly brighter middle to a
nucleus, *10 follows 15 sec."
His position matches
******************************
12 12 41.2 -14 00 52; Crv
V = 12.5; Size 1.6'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 69°
18" (5/8/04): fairly faint, moderately large, elongated 3:2 WSW-ENE, 1.0'x0.7', broad concentration. With averted vision a very faint larger halo increases the size to perhaps 1.4'x1.0'.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4177 = H. III-534 = h3383 on 27 Mar 1786 (sweep 548) and logged "vF, pL, of unequal light." His position is 12 sec of time too far west. John Herschel recorded "vF; pL; R; very gradually brighter middle; 60"." and measured a fairly accurate position.
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12 12 46.4 +10 51 57; Vir
V = 11.4; Size 5.1'x1.8'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 30°
17.5" (5/14/88): fairly bright, large, very elongated 3:1 SSW-NNE. Gradually increases to a small bright core and faint stellar nucleus.
17.5" (5/10/86): very large but diffuse, very elongated
3:1 SW-NE, very little central concentration but a brighter knot appears along
the SW edge. Located 7.0' WNW of
mag 7.6
John Herschel discovered NGC 4178 = h1125 on 11 Apr 1825
(sweep 3) and recorded, "vF; E nf to sp; 40"." This object was only his third
discovery (after
Arnold Schwassmann found this galaxy again on 6 Sep 1900 on
a plate taken with the 6" astrograph at Heidelberg. Neither he nor Dreyer noticed the
equivalence in position with NGC 4178 and it was recatalogued as
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12 12 52.1 +01 17 57; Vir
V = 11.0; Size 4.0'x1.1'; Surf Br = 12.5; PA = 143°
17.5" (3/24/90): bright, fairly small, very distinctive edge-on system oriented NW-SE, very bright core, sharp light cut-off along the SW flank. A string of mag 11 stars trail off to the NE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4179 = H. I-9 = h1126 on 24 Jan 1784 (sweep 118). His brief description reads "faint, very small, extended." John Herschel's more detailed description reads, "pretty bright; small; much extended; a ray with a nucleus, position 45° np to sf." The NGC position (from JH) is accurate.
David Todd found this galaxy on 5 Jan 1878 during his search for a trans-Neptunian planet and recorded it as object 15 in his list of suspected objects.
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12 13 03.0 +07 02 20; Vir
V = 12.6; Size 1.6'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.4; PA = 22°
17.5" (3/24/90): moderately bright, fairly small,
pretty edge-on SSW-NNE, small bright nuclear bulge, stellar nucleus.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4180 = H. II-133 = h1127 on
13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191) and noted "not vF, S, E, r." His position matches
******************************
NGC 4181 = MCG +09-20-111 = CGCG 269-041 = PGC 38938
12 12 48.9 +52 54 11; UMa
V = 14.0; Size 0.8'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 10°
16" LX200 (4/14/07): very faint, very small, round, 20" diameter. A mag 11 star lies 1.5' S.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4181 = H. III-777 on 14 Apr
1789 (sweep 920) and noted "eF, S, stellar neb." His re-reduced position is 1' south of
******************************
12 13 24 +04 03; Vir
= NGC 4180?, Corwin. Not found, Sulentic. =* or *'s, Gottlieb.
Christian Peters discovered NGC 4182 around 1881 with the 13.5-inch refractor at the Hamilton College Observatory. At his exact position is a mag 12 star. Harold Corwin comments "NGC 4182 may be NGC 4180, or it may simply be a star at Peters's position".
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NGC 4183 = UGC 7222 = MCG +07-25-051 = CGCG 215-053 = FGC 1386 = LGG 269-009 = PGC 38988
12 13 17.0 +43 41 53; CVn
V = 12.3; Size 5.2'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 166°
17.5" (4/28/89): fairly faint, moderately large, edge-on about 7:1 NNW-SSE, 3.5'x0.5', broad concentration without a nucleus. A mag 13.5 star is superimposed at the SE edge of the core 0.8' from the center. Member of the NGC 4111 group = LGG 269 in the UMa Cloud.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4183 = H. III-697 = h1128 on 14 Jan 1788 (sweep 798). He noted "considerably faint, much extended from np to sf, 3 or 4' long, 3/4' broad." On 27 Apr 1788 (sweep 833) he described the galaxy as "elongated, very faint nebulosity intermixed with small stars, near the meridian [N-S] but a little south-preceding to north-following about 2 or 4' long. In his 1814 PT paper, he mentions "several small stars are contained in faint nebulosity about 3 or 4' long and 3/4' broad." His sketch (fig. 10) seems to show 6 superposed stars though only one is evident on the DSS.
R.J. Mitchell, observing with LdR's 72" on 6 Apr 1856, noted "F, bM, a bright star in sf edge and a patch in np end which is the brighter. Neb is fully 4' long."
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12 13 32 -62 43 18; Cru
Size 4'
14" (4/4/16 - Coonabarabran, 178x and 318x): about two
dozen faint stars resolved in a 4' circle. Flanked by a mag 10 star ~4' SW and a mag 10 star ~4'
NE. The richest part is a 30"
clump on the east side with a half-dozen stars resolved at 318x. Located 16' NNE of mag 6.0
John Herschel discovered NGC 4184 = h3384 on 8 Mar 1837 and noted "Cluster class VI; vf, almost nebulous". There is no obvious clustering at his position on the DSS1.
Brian Skiff comments "Looks like an absorption hole, and no more ridiculous than the typical Ruprecht cluster. I make it just 0'.8 diameter at: 12 13 37 -62 43.2." Ruprecht gives a diameter of 5' to include a larger scattered group. RNGC classifies the number as nonexistent.
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12 13 22.1 +28 30 40; Com
V = 12.1; Size 2.6'x1.9'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 165°
18" (4/5/03): fairly faint, moderately large, elongated
4:3 ~N-S, 1.5'x1.1', broad concentration.
Forms the southern vertex of a triangle with mag 7.7
William Herschel discovered NGC 4185 = H. II-373 = h1129 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and noted "F, L, bM." d'Arrest mentioned that this galaxy forms the western vertex of an equilateral triangle with two mag 12 stars and measured an accurate position.
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12 14 06.5 +14 43 33; Com
V = 13.8; Size 1.1'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 60°
17.5" (5/10/86): faint, small, slightly elongated. Located 11.0' SSE of
13.1" (4/28/84): faint, small, slightly elongated SW-NE, 11' SSE of M98.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4186 = T. 1-38 in 1887. His position in this paper is 10 seconds of RA preceding and 10' south of M98. But in list V (AN 2439) he states it is located 20 seconds of time east and 9.5' south of M98. Dreyer used the latter position, but confused the direction of RA offset and placed NGC 4186 20 sec of RA preceding of M98, instead of following. His offset in list V establishes NGC 4186 = UGC 7240, but the RA in the NGC is 40 seconds of RA too small. The correct position was measured by Kobold in 1901 (Strasbourg Annales, Vol 3, 1907).
Because of erroneous NGC position, UGC and MCG misidentify
It's possible NGC 4186 was first observed at Birr Castle on 10 Feb 1861. Samuel Hunter noticed a "F, R neb with a * or Nucl in centre", which he described as 1/2 field of finder [13'] north of M98. If he confused the direction, then the comment probably applies to NGC 4186.
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NGC 4187 = UGC 7229 = MCG +09-20-117 = CGCG 269-042 = Holm 347a = PGC 39004
12 13 29.2 +50 44 29; CVn
V = 13.2; Size 1.3'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 145°
17.5" (4/28/89): faint, small, slightly elongated NW-SE, small bright core. A mag 13 star is 1.0' WNW of center. A mag 15.5 is superimposed on the south edge.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4187 = H. II-813 on 26 Apr
1789 (sweep 929) and logged "pB, S, lE." His position is just 1'
south of
RNGC misidentifies a faint companion just north of NGC 4187 as NGC 4181. There are several faint companions with a couple of arcminutes of NGC 4187.
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12 14 07.4 -12 35 10; Crv
V = 13.7; Size 0.6'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.8
18" (5/8/04): faint, very small, round, 0.4' diameter. A mag 14 star lies 30" N of center, barely off the north edge of the galaxy. The star masks the galaxy a bit and it was not noticed initially.
Ormond Stone discovered NGC 4188 = LM 1-193 in 1886 with the
26" refractor at Leander McCormick Observatory. His rough position (nearest min of RA) is just 0.5 tmin W of
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12 13 47.5 +13 25 33; Com
V = 11.7; Size 2.7'x2.2'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 85°
17.5" (1/23/88): fairly bright, fairly large, slightly
elongated WSW-ENE, broad concentration.
Located northeast of the NGC 4164, NGC 4165, NGC 4168 group in
Virgo.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4189 = H. II-106 = h1131 on
8 Apr 1784 (sweep 187) and noted "vF, pL, r." John Herschel recorded "pB; L; lE;
very gradually very little brighter middle; 2' diam" and measured an
accurate position. Harold Corwin
notes that WH's
Schwassmann found NGC 4189 again on 16 Nov 1900 on a
Heidelberg plate of the Virgo/Coma cluster. His position for Sn. 227 (later
******************************
12 13 44.5 +36 38 05; CVn
V = 13.3; Size 1.8'x1.7'; Surf Br = 14.2
17.5" (4/28/89): fairly faint, moderately large, broad
weak concentration, pretty diffuse, slightly elongated N-S. Located 7' S of mag 8.5
13.1" (4/12/86): fairly faint, moderately large, round, diffuse. A mag 8 star lies 6' N.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4190 = H. II-409 on 1 May 1785 (sweep 405) and logged "vF, S, r." His summary description (including a later sweep) reads "pB, pL, very gradually brighter middle, r."
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NGC 4191 = UGC 7233 = MCG +01-31-026 = CGCG 041-049 = PGC 39034
12 13 50.4 +07 12 03; Vir
V = 12.8; Size 1.2'x0.9'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 5°
17.5" (3/24/90): fairly faint, fairly small, oval SSW-NNE, bright core, stellar nucleus. A mag 12 star is 1.9' NW. Forms a pair with NGC 4180 15' SW.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4191 = h1130 on 19 Apr 1830 (sweep 251). On the next night he logged "F; R; near a small star." and measured positions on four consecutive sweeps.
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12 13 48.2 +14 54 01; Com
V = 10.1; Size 9.9'x2.2'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 155°
17.5" (5/10/86): bright, very large, very elongated 4:1 NNW-SSE, 6'x1.5', small bright core, stellar nucleus. A faint knot was highly suspected near the south tip. NGC 4186 lies 11' SSE. Located 32' W of 6 Comae Berenices (V = 5.1).
13.1" (4/28/84): bright, large, very elongated, small bright nucleus, impressive.
Pierre Méchain discovered M98 = NGC 4192 = h1132 on 15 Mar 1781. Messier made a confirmation a month later.
William Herschel first observed M98 on 30 Dec 1783 (sweep 73) and recorded "A large, extended, fine nebula. It seems to be M98, but from the description in Connoissance des Temps it appears that Mechain has not seen the whole of it, for its feeble branches extend about 1/4°, of which no notice is taken. Near the middle of it a few stars are visible and more suspected; my field will not quite take it in." He made a sketch showing several stars in the middle, which probably represent mottling. He made another observation on 14 Jan 1787 (Sw. 691) and logged, "vB, mE, over 15' long, a BN in the middle."
John Herschel recorded M98 on 4 sweeps, first describing it on 3 Apr 1826 as "B; vmE; a ray pos 70° sf to np; mbM almost to nucleus; 10' long."
Based on a photograph with the Crossley reflector, Heber Curtis (1918) described M98 as "An open, elongated spiral 8'x2' in p.a. 150°. Bright stellar nucleus; numerous almost stellar condensations. Absorption effects on east side"
******************************
NGC 4193 = IC 3051 = UGC 7234 = MCG +02-31-053 = CGCG 069-091 = LGG 285-009 = PGC 39040
12 13 53.6 +13 10 22; Vir
V = 12.3; Size 2.2'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 93°
17.5" (1/23/88): moderately bright, fairly large, oval E-W, brighter core. NGC 4189 lies 15' N over the border in Coma Berenices.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4193 = H. II-163 = h1134 on 17 Apr 1784 (sweep 199) and noted "pS". John Herschel made the single observation "vF; pL; E; very gradually brighter middle" and measured an accurate position.
Schwassmann found this galaxy again on 16 Nov 1900 on plate
taken of the Virgo/Coma cluster with a 6" astrograph at Heidelberg. His position for
******************************
12 14 09.6 +54 31 35; UMa
V = 12.5; Size 2.3'x1.6'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 170°
48" (4/20/17): at 697x; bright, fairly large, elongated ~2:1 NNW-SSE. Sharply concentrated with a very bright elongated core enclosing an intensely bright nucleus. The main halo is roughly oval with a weak, elongated brightening oriented SW-NW at the south end. This low contrast feature is possibly the remnant of a past merger. A very low surface brightness tidal plume was seen as an ill-defined haze spreading out to the north from the NNW side of the main halo and increasing the N-S dimension to over 1.5'.
17.5" (5/13/88): moderately bright, small, elongated NW-SE, very small bright core, stellar nucleus.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4194 = H. II-867 = h1135 on 2 Apr 1791 (sweep 1001) amd noted "pB, vS, stellar." John Herschel called it "F; very suddenly much brighter middle to a * 12m; 20"." His position is at the northwest edge of the galaxy.
The nickname Medusa Galaxy was coined by V-V in his Atlas of Interacting Galaxies, Part II: "Of this 'Medusa', the structure of the "head" is as yet unresolved. In this case, three galaxies apparently are coalescent. "Behind", the dwarfs begin to separate." William Keel repeats the nickname "Medusa" in his March/April 1993 article "The real astrophysical zoo - Colliding galaxies" in Mercury (ASP). Professional journal papers refer to it as "Medusa" since 2000.
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12 14 18.1 +59 36 55; UMa
V = 14.4; Size 1.7'x1.5'; Surf Br = 14.9
17.5" (5/13/88): extremely faint, fairly small, very
diffuse, round, averted only.
Collinear with two mag 14 stars to the NW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4195 = H. III-796 on 17 Apr
1789 (sweep 923) and simply noted "extremely faint". His position is 2.7' NW of
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12 14 29.7 +28 25 24; Com
V = 12.9; Size 1.6'x1.2'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 60°
18" (4/5/03): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 4:3 SW-NE, 0.5'x0.35', fairly well concentrated. Higher surface brightness than larger NGC 4185 16' WNW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4196 = H. II-374 = h1136 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and noted "F, S." John Herschel made 4 observations and d'Arrest provided a micrometric position, so the NGC position is accurate.
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12 14 38.6 +05 48 21; Vir
V = 12.8; Size 3.2'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 36°
17.5" (3/24/90): fairly faint, moderately large, edge-on 5:1 SW-NE, low even surface brightness. A mag 14 star is south of the SW end 1.5' from the center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4197 = H. II-134 = h1137 on 13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191). He logged it as "faint, much elongated."
On 17 Apr 1830 (sweep 250), John Herschel described this galaxy as "pretty bright; elongated; very gradually brighter in the middle; 20"; like II. 133 [NGC 4180]."
******************************
12 14 22.0 +56 00 42; UMa
V = 13.6; Size 1.0'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 130°
17.5" (5/13/88): fairly faint, small, elongated NW-SE. Situated between two mag 12 and 13 stars.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4198 = H. II-793 = h1139 on 14 Apr 1789 (sweep 920) and noted "pF, pS, bM." John Herschel logged "pF; S; lE; gradually brighter in the middle; like II. 792 [NGC 4172]." and measured an accurate position.
Swift probably found this galaxy again nearly a 100 years
later, but his RA for Sw. 7-19 (later
******************************
NGC 4199 = VV 183a/b = UGC 7253 = MCG +10-18-011 = CGCG 292-084 = CGCG 293-005 = PGC 39135
12 14 48.6 +59 54 22; UMa
V = 14.4; Size 0.5'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.8
17.5" (5/13/88): very faint, very small. A mag 15 star is involved at the north
end just 16" from center and a mag 16 "star" is involved at the
east end 24" from the center.
NGC 4195 lies 18' SSW. A
later check on the POSS revealed the mag 16 star I recorded is an extremely
faint and small galaxy (
William Herschel discovered NGC 4199 = H. III-797 on 17 Apr 1789 (sweep 923) and noted "extremely faint, small." His RA is 17 seconds too small and declination 4' too far north. He observed this galaxy again on 19 Mar 1790 (sweep 953) and his position (with respect to NGC 4036) was ~25 seconds of RA too large.
This galaxy lies at a distance of ~820 million light years, one of the furthest that Herschel discovered.
******************************
12 14 44.2 +12 10 51; Vir
V = 13.0; Size 1.5'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 98°
17.5" (1/23/88): fairly faint, moderately large, elongated 3:2 E-W, brighter core.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4200 = H. II-164 = h1138 on 17 Apr 1784 (sweep 199) and noted "pS, vmE." On 6 Apr 1831, John Herschel logged "pB; R; pretty suddenly little brighter middle; 40" diameter."
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12 14 41.9 -11 34 58; Vir
V = 13.6; Size 1.0'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 80°
18" (5/8/04): faint, small, slightly elongated ~E-W, 0.5'x0.4', weak concentration to a very small brighter core. An extremely faint halo was suspected. A mag 13.5 star lies 0.8' S of center.
Francis Leavenworth discovered NGC 4201 = LM 2-455 in
1886. His position is 0.5 min of
RA east of
******************************
12 18 08.6 -01 03 52; Vir
V = 14.1; Size 1.2'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 127°
17.5" (3/20/93): very faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1 WNW-ENE, low even surface brightness. A mag 13.5 star is 2.0' NNE of center.
David Todd discovered NGC 4202 = Todd 18 on 6 Feb 1878 during his search for a trans-Neptunian planet (AN 2698). Dreyer only included eight of the 30 objects which Todd sketched as many were considered doubtful or near nebulae already catalogued. Todd's sketch of #18, which includes several nearby field stars, clearly identifies NGC 4202 = UGC 7337 at 12 18 08.6 -01 03 52 (2000). This means that Todd's rough position was 3 tmin too far west although a number of his entries have large errors in RA.
The RNGC misidentifies
******************************
12 15 05.0 +33 11 50; Com
V = 10.9; Size 3.4'x3.2'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 10°
17.5" (4/28/89) : bright, moderately large, round,
sharp concentration with a prominent very bright core (LINER nucleus) a much
fainter halo, possible stellar nucleus.
Located 3.7' SSE of mag 7.8
8": fairly bright, small, small bright nucleus. A mag 5 star (
William Herschel discovered NGC 4203 = H. I-175 = h1140 on 20 Mar 1787 (sweep 722) and recorded "vB, S, R, mbM." On 6 Apr 1855, Lord Rosse's assistant R.J. Mitchell described it as "very like a distant Cl, vB Nucl with neby gradually fading off. Star involved preceding Nucl and other stellar points suspected in the outlying faint neby."
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12 15 14.3 +20 39 31; Com
V = 12.4; Size 3.6'x2.9'; Surf Br = 14.8; PA = 130°
24" (5/31/22): at 263x and 327x; fairly faint, large, overall very diffuse, at least 2' diameter. The brightest portion is a very extended thin bar oriented NW-SE and over 1' in length. The central bar is embedded in a roughly circular, but ill-defined halo of very low surface brightness.
17.5" (5/14/88): fairly faint, fairly large, elongated 2:1 NW-SE. Brighter along the major axis but no distinct core.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4204 = H. III-397 = h1141 on 27 Apr 1785 (sweep 403) and recorded "vF; vL, irr, about 5 or 6' from np to sf and 4 or 5' broad, unequally bright but brightest towards the middle." John Herschel noted "eF; L; very gradually little brighter middle; 45"."
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12 14 55.3 +63 46 55; Dra
V = 12.9; Size 1.7'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 28°
17.5" (4/15/93): fairly faint, fairly small, very elongated 3:1 SSW-NNE, 1.4'x0.5', brighter along major axis. A mag 13 star is just 20" west of the NNE tip.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4205 = Au 29 on 4 Oct 1861
with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His position, measured on 3 nights, matches
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12 15 16.7 +13 01 26; Vir
V = 12.2; Size 6.2'x1.2'; Surf Br = 14.2; PA = 0°
17.5" (1/23/88): fairly faint, edge-on 6:1 exactly N-S,
4'x0.7', fairly large, weak concentration. A mag 12 star lies 2.9' SE of center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4206 = H. II-165 = T. 1-39 on 17 Apr 1784 (sweep 199) and noted "faint, very much elongated." His position was poor -- 30 second of RA too small and 9' too far north. NGC 4216, the next nebula in the sweep, also has a poor position.
Wilhelm Tempel rediscovered NGC 4206 in 1877 (as well as NGC
4222) while observing NGC 4216 and measured accurate positions, though he was
unsure if they applied to H. II-165 and II-109. Arnold Schwassmann found the
galaxy again on two Heidelberg plates taken with a 6" astrograph (measured
on 16 Nov 1900) of the Virgo/Coma cluster and reported Sn. 230 (later
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12 15 30.4 +09 35 07; Vir
V = 12.5; Size 1.6'x0.8'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 124°
17.5" (5/14/88): fairly faint, fairly small, oval WNW-ESE, bright core. A mag 13.5 star at the WNW end 1.2' from center.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4207 on 23 Mar 1865 with
the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His position, measured on 3 nights. matches
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12 15 39.3 +13 54 05; Com
See observing notes for
William Herschel discovered NGC 4208 = H. II-107 = h1142 on 8 Apr 1784 (sweep 187) and simply noted as "pL". Caroline's reduced position is 5' north of NGC 4212 = UGC 7275. Dreyer commented in his 1912 revision of Herschel's catalogues that for H. II-107 and II-108, "there is only one nebula here (NGC 4212)...We may assume that Herschel, after observing the star [6 Comae], again moved the telescope 1° south and took the nebula a second time without noticing it was the same object."
Strangely, John Herschel also recorded this galaxy twice (h1142 and h1144) on two nights and thought they were different objects because of his different positions and descriptions! So, H. II-107 = H. II-108 = h1142 = h1144 = NGC 4208 = NGC 4212. Édouard Stephan also made observations on 30 Apr 1878 and 25 Mar 1879, perhaps looking for two objects. See Corwin's notes.
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12 15 30 +28 31; Com
= Not found, Carlson. = NGC 4185?, Corwin. = *, Steinicke
William Herschel discovered NGC 4209 = H. II-375 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and noted "F, pS." Dreyer notes in his 1912 revision of Herschel's catalogues that John Herschel, d'Arrest and Bigourdan were unable to find this object. With respect to NGC 4196, the previous object in the sweep, Herschel placed II-375 1 min 18 sec foll and 2' N, but there is no object at that position. This sweep was Herschel's most productive -- with 74 discoveries. NGC 4209 is the only catalogued object that cannot be identified with a galaxy.
In an email correspondence (Jul 15 1998) Harold Corwin commented: I've been unable to find NGC 4209. I thought it might be a reobservation of NGC 4185, but both were found by WH on the same night. It is still not a completely impossible identity (e.g. N4208 = N4212, another nebula seen twice within a single sweep), but the chances are against it. I don't see any object aside from N4185 (just over 2 arcmin west) at any reasonable systematic offset (e.g. +- 1 deg, +-10 min, etc) from WH's position.
Wolfgang assigns the number to a star 2' SSW of WH's position. That is certainly possible, but I'd be happier with it if WH had left us a description more complete than "F, pS".
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12 15 15.9 +65 59 07; Dra
V = 12.5; Size 2.0'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 105°
17.5" (4/15/93): moderately bright, moderately large,
elongated 4:3 NNW-SSE, 1.8'x1.4'.
A mag 13.5 star is 1.0' off the WNW edge. Located 11' SE of mag 6.7 SAO 62870.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4210 = H. III-850 = h1143 on 20 Mar 1790 (sweep 954) and noted "vF, pS." John Herschel recorded (single observation) "Not vF; pL; R; very gradually brighter middle; 30"." and measured an accurate position.
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12 15 35.8 +28 10 39; Com
V = 14.1; Size 1.2'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.9; PA = 105°
24" (5/30/16): NGC 4211 is an interacting system (Arp
106) oriented NW-SE (separation 35"), with the brighter component (VV
196a) on the northwest side. At
225x it appeared fairly faint to moderately bright, round, 24" diameter,
increases rapidly to a very small brighter core and stellar nucleus. The fainter southeast component (NGC
4211A = VV 196b) is faint, small, slightly elongated N-S, 15"x10",
slightly concentration at the center.
The tidal tail to the south was not seen. Situated 9' NW of mag 8.2
18" (4/5/03): faint, very small, round, 25"
diameter. This is a double,
interacting system (
Édouard Stephan discovered NGC 4211 = St. 11-18 on 5 Apr 1878. His published position (list 11, #18) was reduced on 30 Apr 1881 and is accurate.
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NGC 4212 = NGC 4208 = UGC 7275 = MCG +02-31-070 = CGCG 069-110 = PGC 39224
12 15 39.3 +13 54 05; Com
V = 11.2; Size 3.2'x1.9'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 75°
17.5" (4/25/98): fairly bright, fairly large, 2.2'x1.4'
oriented WSW-ENE. Moderate
concentration to a large bright core which appears mottled. The nucleus is not well defined although
the core is broadly concentrated and at times a stellar center was
glimpsed. A mag 11.5 star is 2.3'
S.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4212 = H. II-108 = h1144 on 8 Apr 1784 (sweep 187) and noted "mE, resolvable." His position (Caroline's reduction) was 6.5' too far northeast. He apparently also recorded it as the previous object "pL" in the sweep. John Herschel also recorded this galaxy twice (h1142 = h1144) on different nights. See notes for NGC 4208.
The Lord Rosse observation on 8 Mar 1856 (by R.J. Mitchell) reads "Irregular shaped neb with ncl excentric and some sort of knot or appendage following. Possibly another knot in preceding end. The former one is likely connected with the neb forming a sprial arm." The same month he logged "Much better seen. There are 4 knots or stars in the neb besides the bright patch south-following."
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12 15 37.6 +23 58 55; Com
V = 12.5; Size 1.7'x1.7'; Surf Br = 13.7
17.5" (4/17/88): faint, fairly small, round, gradually brighter halo, small bright core. Located 9.9' WNW of 7 Comae Berenices (V = 4.9) which detracts from viewing.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4213 = H. II-354 = h1145 on 10 Apr 1785 (sweep 394) and noted "F, vS." About 45 seconds later, 4.9-magnitude 7 Comae was recorded in the sweep.
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12 15 38.9 +36 19 50; CVn
V = 09.8; Size 8.5'x6.6'; Surf Br = 14.0
48" (5/9/21): NGC 4214 is a nearby (9.5 million l.y.) dwarf starburst galaxy with a bright central starburst/emission complex (surrounded by fainter knots) that is very rich in Wolf-Rayet and O-type stars. Overall, the galaxy is large and very bright, with an irregular structure and appeared very mottled/knotty, particularly in the central region, which tapers to the SE. The halo extends roughly 5' and seems more extensive on the NW side.
The view was fascinating at 488x. At the center is a bright stellar nucleus (starburst/super star cluster NGC 4214-IA) that could be easily mistaken for a superposed star. Immediately SE of the nucleus [13" separation] is a small knot (region IB). NGC 4214-II is a very prominent, relatively large HII region, ~0.3' diameter, situated 0.5' SSE of center. The combination creates a curving central region. A couple of HII knots are on the NW side: HS 1213+3636B, a fairly faint 15" HII knot, is 1' WNW of center and HS 1213+3636A is a small (6") fainter knot to its N [by 27"].
A 14th mag star is near the edge of the halo, 2.5' NNW of center. A fairly faint, small HII knot is 0.5' NW of this star.
13.1" (4/12/86): bright, large, slightly elongated NW-SE, bright core. There is a strong impression of curvature at the ends of the major axis. A mag 11 star lies 4.3' SE of center. Member of the M94 Group (CVn I Cloud).
William Herschel discovered NGC 4214 = H. I-95 = h1146 on 28 Apr 1785 (sweep 404) and recorded "cB, cL. A blunt parallelogram, faintest towards the edges; from np to sf about 4'; the other way about 3'. Position not above 15 or 20° from the meridian." His position is on the northwest side of this Irregular-type galaxy. The next sweep (1 May) he noted "Can hardly be called a parallelogram for want of corners; but rather irregularly elongated."
John Herschel reported this galaxy as new (h1157) on 27 Apr
1827 and logged,"vF, L, R, gradually brighter in the middle,
90"." His RA, though,
was 1 minute too large and he didn't make the connection with his father's H. I
95, so Dreyer later catalogued this entry as
JH reobserved the galaxy 4 years later on 11 Mar 1831 and logged "B, L, gradually brighter in the middle, 50", has a double nucleus very indistinct. The diagram makes it a double neb, the two running together. See fig 71." The second "nucleus" is a bright HII complex southeast of the core. At Birr Castle it was also noted in 1856, "Irreg shaped neb with Nucleus excentric and some sort of knot or appendage following. Possibly another faint knot in preceding end." Two weeks later, "Much better seen. There are 4 knots of stars in the neb besides the bright patch south-following." Hermann Kobold measured an accurate position for this knot in 1893 at Strasbourg.
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12 15 54.5 +06 24 04; Vir
V = 12.1; Size 1.9'x0.7'; Surf Br = 12.2; PA = 174°
17.5" (3/24/90): fairly bright, moderately large, pretty system very elongated NNW-SSE, small bright core, stellar nucleus.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4215 = H. II-135 = h1147 on 13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191) and noted "S, E, pBM." John Herschel made three observations, recording on sweep 250 "vB; mE; very suddenly brighter in the middle to a * 11m."
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NGC 4216 = UGC 7284 = MCG +02-31-072 = CGCG 069-112 = Holm 353a = PGC 39246
12 15 54.2 +13 08 59; Vir
V = 10.0; Size 8.1'x1.8'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 19°
48" (4/27/22): extremely bright and large spiral, ~8:1
SSW-NNE. Very strong concentration
with a prominent elongated core that increases to an intensely bright nucleus.
An irregular dust lane runs along the eastern flank and creates the odd effect
of impinging on the core and pinching it in. A very faint strip (spiral arm)
dimly glows beyond the lane. A mag 14.5-15 star is at the eastern edge, just
beyond the dust lane. The western edge is sharply defined along the entire
length and the south end of the galaxy brightens a bit near the tip. CGCG
069-113 is situated 4' N of center and
18" (6/17/06): very bright, very large, extremely thin edge-on 8:1 SSW-NNE, 7'x0.9'. Sharply concentrated with a striking high surface brightness core with dimensions ~0.9'x0.3', which dominates the extensions. A mag 14 star is just following the core. A dust lane appears to run along the eastern edge of the galaxy, mostly evident by a sharp light cut off along this edge. Brightest of three edge-ons in the field with NGC 4206 and NGC 4222!
17.5" (1/23/88): very bright, very large, edge-on 5:1 SSW-NNE, small very bright core. A mag 14 star is close east of the core. This is a striking galaxy and is the second of three edge-on galaxies in the same field with NGC 4206 11' SW and NGC 4222 12' NE in Coma Berenices!
William Herschel discovered NGC 4216 = H. I-35 = h1148, along with NGC 4206, on 17 Apr 1784 (sweep 199). He described this edge-on as "very much elongated, very bright in the middle and the brightness also elongated. The whole not less than 9 or 10' long." John Herschel made 5 observations, the earliest on 10 and 11 Apr 1825 (sweeps 2 and 3). On sweep 3 he logged, "A very remarkable long ray, extended 70° nf to sp, 1/2 field in length [7 1/2'], suddenly much brighter middle. It has a star nf of center."
On 23 Apr 1860, Birr Castle assistant Samuel Hunter recorded
"a fine E neb, very brighter middle like a globular cluster (I think too
it is resolvable?), small star following nucl, where I also think there is very
dilute nebulosity, parallel to neb [beyond the dust lane]. The neb is either twisted at n end in p
direction or it has a faint companion there? Dark space around centre? perhaps only the contrast of the bright centre. 15' long." The possible nebula Hunter mentions to
the north is likely
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12 15 50.9 +47 05 30; CVn
V = 11.2; Size 5.2'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 50°
48" (4/23/17): bright, very large, striking edge-on
~4.5'x1.0' SW-NE, large bright core that bulges near the center but no distinct
nucleus. The galaxy is bisected by
a beautiful, relatively wide dust lane that slices through the entire length of
the galaxy, only losing contrast at the very tips! The brightest portion, including the core, is on the north
side (northwest facing) of the dust lane.
The cut off section of the galaxy on the south side (southeast facing)
of the the dust lane is fairly thin and low surface brightness, though slightly
brighter at the center/core. A mag
14.8 star is at the southwest tip of the galaxy. A mag 11.6 star is at the edge
of the halo on the north side [50" from center] and a 9th magnitude star
is 2.3' NNE of center. The galaxy
is situated 6' E of mag 7.2
13.1" (4/12/86): moderately bright, pretty edge-on 4:1
SW-NE. A mag 9 star is off the NE
edge 2.2' from the center and a mag 11.5 star is just north of the core 0.8'
from center. Located 6.2' E of mag
7.3
William Herschel discovered NGC 4217 = H. II-748 = h1149 on 10 Apr 1788 (sweep 830) and recorded "pB, pL, sp and in a line with two stars." John Herschel made 5 observations and logged (sweep 255) "pB, vmE in pos = 225° by measure; 5' long, 1' br; 2 stars near and a large star preceding." On 15 Mar 1849, George Johnstone Stoney (Lord Rosse's assistant) described it as a "Ray with split [dark lane] in the direction of the major axis".
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12 15 46.3 +48 07 53; CVn
V = 12.5; Size 1.2'x0.7'; Surf Br = 12.2; PA = 142°
13.1" (4/12/86): fairly faint, small, slightly
elongated NW-SE. Located 2.6' NW
of mag 8.3
William Herschel discovered NGC 4218 = H. III-718 on 9 Mar 1788 (sweep 816) and noted "vF, vS." d'Arrest measured an accurate position as well as noting the mag 9-10 star that follows by 15 sec and 55" south.
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12 16 27.3 -43 19 26; Cen
V = 11.9; Size 4.3'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 36°
24" (4/12/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): at
220x appeared bright, large, elongated 5:2 SW-NE, broad concentration but no
distinct core, ~2.5'x1'. Direct
vision revealed a very faint stellar nucleus. The arms (extensions) dim towards the ends and seem
irregular in surface brightness (DSS shows an irregular, knotty
appearance).
At 220x, NGC 4219A appeared moderately bright, fairly small, elongated 5:3 SSW-NNE, 0.6'x0.35', weak concentration, irregular surface brightness. Situated in a group of stars.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4219 = h3385 on 3 Jun 1834 and
recorded "pF; pL; pmE; very gradually brighter middle; 2' l, 45"
br. His position (measured on 4
nights) and description matches
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NGC 4220 = UGC 7290 = MCG +08-22-089 = CGCG 243-055 = LGG 258-027 = PGC 39285
12 16 11.7 +47 53 00; CVn
V = 11.4; Size 3.9'x1.4'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 141°
13.1" (4/12/86): moderately bright, edge-on 7:2 NW-SE, brighter core, stellar nucleus. Located 12' S of mag 8.3 SAO 44096. NGC 4218 lies 15' NNW. Member of the M109 (NGC 3992) group = LGG 258.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4220 = H. I-209 = h1151 on 9 Mar 1788 (sweep 816) and noted "cB, cL." John Herschel made the single observation "pB; pmE in pos 314.4°; pretty suddenly brighter in the middle. (Foggy)" His position is accurate.
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NGC 4221 = UGC 7288 = MCG +11-15-040 = CGCG 315-029 = PGC 39266
12 15 59.9 +66 13 51; Dra
V = 12.3; Size 2.2'x1.7'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 25°
17.5" (4/15/93): moderately bright, fairly small, slightly elongated, prominent core, stellar nucleus at moments, very faint larger halo slightly elongated SSW-NNE extends with averted to 1.5'-2.0'. NGC 4210 lies 16' SSW.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4221 = h1150 on 3 Apr 1832 and
recorded "pB; S; R; pretty suddenly brighter middle; 15"." His
single position is accurate.
William Herschel recorded the nearby star mag 6.7
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NGC 4222 = UGC 7291 = MCG +02-31-075 = CGCG 069-119 = FGC 1396 = Holm 353c = PGC 39308
12 16 23.0 +13 18 29; Com
V = 13.3; Size 3.3'x0.5'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 56°
17.5" (1/23/88): faint, moderately large, very thin
edge-on SW-NE. A mag 15 star is at
the east end. Located 5' W of mag
8.7
William Herschel discovered NGC 4222 = H. II-109 = T. 1-40 on 8 Apr 1784 (sweep 187) and simply noted "resolvable". This is an odd description for a thin edge-on, but the moon was up and probably affected the observation. Dreyer commented in his 1912 revision of Herschel's catalogues that the observation was probably rushed as the polar distance is 20' too far south, though Caroline's derived position is only 10' to the south. In any case, Wilhelm Tempel corrected the position in his first discovery paper and in his 5th paper provided an offset from NGC 4216. Herschel didn't pick up the brighter nearby edge-ons, NGC 4206 and NGC 4216, until 10 days later (sweep 199)
CGCG, UGC, MCG and PGC incorrectly equate
******************************
12 17 25.8 +06 41 24; Vir
V = 11.9; Size 2.6'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 128°
17.5" (3/24/90): moderately bright, fairly small,
elongated WNW-ESE, bright core, larger faint extensions with averted. Located 5' N of mag 7.9
The galaxy described above is misidentified as
William Herschel discovered NGC 4223 = H. II-137 = h1152 on
13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191) and simply noted "r[esolvable]." Although he was probably rushed (the
nearby entries in the sweep were rapidly found), his position is just 2' north
of
John Herschel made two observations of H. II-137 and one of H. III-480. On 4 Apr 1830 (sweep 250) he recorded "vF; very gradually brighter middle; a *7m to south". The description and position clearly points to II-137 = NGC 4223, but he calls it H. III-480. He made a second observation on 24 Apr 1830 (sweep 254), recording both H. II-137 and H. III-480, and here's where the problem occurs. He catalogued the preceding object as h1152 = H. II-137, but the position is about 1 tmin too far west. He noted, though, that the position was only estimated from III-480. Unfortunately, his position for the eastern galaxy (H. III-480) happens to be a close match (1.4' south) with H. II-137. The result is that JH's entry in the Slough catalogue for NGC 4241 = h1165 = H. III-480 contains two observations -- one for II-137 and one for III-480, with a position matching H. II-137. Furthermore, his entry for h1152 = NGC 4223 = II-137 points to a blank part of the sky, 1 tmin of RA west of H. II-137. In the NGC notes, Dreyer mentions NGC 4223 was not found by d'Arrest, obviously because of the poor position.
The two galaxies were later picked up by Arnold Schwassmann
in 1899 on a Heidelberg plate, placed accurately, and catalogued as
But, Harold Corwin argues that since WH and John Herschel observed both galaxies, the correct assignment should be NGC 4223 = H. II-137 = h1152 = h1165 (sweep 250) = IC 3102 and NGC 4241 = H. III-480 = h1165 (sweep 254) = IC 3115. This changes, though, the long-standing identification of NGC 4241 as the brighter western galaxy. See Corwin's identification notes.
******************************
12 16 33.8 +07 27 42; Vir
V = 11.8; Size 2.6'x1.0'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 57°
17.5" (3/24/90): moderately bright, fairly small, very
elongated SW-NE, small bright core, stellar nucleus. Forms a pair with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4224 = H. II-136 = h1153 on
13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191) and logged "F, S, iF, r." His position matches
******************************
12 16 38.4 -12 19 40; Crv
V = 14.0; Size 0.8'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 60°
18" (5/28/06): faint, very small, round, 15"-20" diameter. Located 1.6' N of a mag 10 star.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4225 = h1154 on 9 Mar 1828 and recorded "F; eS; R; 5"; has a * 8m 80° sf, dist 60"." His position is 1' too far north and the bright star is 1.6' distant.
******************************
NGC 4226 = UGC 7297 = MCG +08-22-090 = CGCG 243-057 = Holm 354b = PGC 39312
12 16 26.3 +47 01 31; CVn
V = 13.5; Size 1.3'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 127°
13.1": faint, small, elongated NW-SE. Forms a pair with NGC 4217 7' WNW.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4226 = h1155 on 19 Mar 1828 and recorded "F; S; lE; the second of 2 in field [with NGC 4217]."
******************************
12 16 33.7 +33 31 19; CVn
V = 12.7; Size 1.5'x0.9'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 70°
17.5" (4/28/89): fairly faint, small, strong bright
core. A mag 15 star is 0.9' NE of
center. Forms the brighter of a
pair with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4227 = H. II-518 = h1156, along with NGC 4229, on 2 Jan 1786 (sweep 508). He recorded them together as "Two, both extremely faint, very small. The preceding [NGC 4227] is the largest, about 3 or 4' distance from each other." John Herschel made two observations, recording on 11 Mar 1828 (sweep 131), "pF; R; pretty suddenly brighter middle; the south preceding of 2 [with NGC 4228]"
******************************
NGC 4228 = NGC 4214 = UGC 7278 = MCG +06-27-042 = CGCG 187-032 = PGC 39225
12 15 38.9 +36 19 50; CVn
See observing notes for NGC 4214
John Herschel found NGC 4228 = h1157 on 27 Apr 1827 and recorded "vF; L; R; gradually brighter in the middle; 90"." There is nothing at his position and d'Arrest could not find this object. Karl Reinmuth questioned if NGC 4228 = NGC 4214 and this is probably the case as Herschel's position is exactly 1.0 minute of RA too large and the description applies. The primary designation should be NGC 4214.
******************************
NGC 4229 = UGC 7299 = MCG +06-27-044 = CGCG 187-034 = Holm 355b = PGC 39341
12 16 38.8 +33 33 39; CVn
V = 13.2; Size 1.1'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 3°
17.5" (4/28/89): fairly faint, very small, slightly elongated N-S, bright core, fairly faint stellar nucleus. Fainter of a pair with NGC 4227 2.6' SSW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4229 = H. II-519 = h1158, along with NGC 4227, on 2 Jan 1786 (sweep 508). They were recorded together as "Two, both extremely faint, very small. The preceding [NGC 4227] is the largest, about 3 or 4' distance from each other." John Herschel made two observations, recording on 11 Mar 1828 (sweep 131), "F; R; pretty suddenly brighter middle; 65° nf the neb [NGC 4227]."
******************************
12 17 09 -55 17 12; Cen
Size 6'
14" (4/4/16 - Coonabarabran, 73x and 178x): roughly 40 stars are resolved in a 7'x5' region (the outline is pretty arbitrary), roughly elongated SW-NE. Appears as an unimpressive asterism with no rich subgroups. A mag 11.5/13 pair at 13" separation is southwest of center with several mag 13-14.5 stars to its northeast. A mag 12 star 2' SW and a mag 11 star 4' SW of the central pair are all collinear. Located 18' SW of mag 5 Delta Crucis.
Note the group of stars described here is 12' S of ESO
171-SC14, the cluster identified as NGC 4230 in most sources including SIMBAD
and ESO.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4230 = h3386 on 5 Apr 1837 and described a "Cluster class VI. F; pL; irreg; 6'; resolved into stars 13, 14, 15m. Place of a * 12m, chief and near the middle of cluster." At his position is an unimpressive 5' group of star that is likely an asterism, with the brightest star 12th magnitude. This is the "cluster" identified by Harold Corwin as NGC 4230. Corwin notes that ESO (and SIMBAD) misidentify ESO 171-SC14 as NGC 4230. This group of stars is scattered southeast of a mag 8 star -- too bright not to have been mentioned by JH. See Harold Corwin's identification notes for more on this number.
******************************
12 16 48.9 +47 27 27; CVn
V = 13.3; Size 1.2'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.4
13.1" (4/12/86): faint, small, round. Forms a very similar close pair with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4231 = H. III-719, along with NGC 4232, on 9 Mar 1788 (sweep 816) and recorded both as "Two both vF, vS, from north to south about 1' distance." Caroline's reduction is 20 sec of time following this pair.
******************************
NGC 4232 = UGC 7303 = MCG +08-22-093 = CGCG 243-059 = Holm 356b = PGC 39353
12 16 49.0 +47 26 20; CVn
V = 13.6; Size 1.4'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 155°
13.1" (4/12/86): faint, small, almost round. This galaxy is a close twin in brightness and size to NGC 4231 located just 1.2' N.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4232 = H. III-720, along with NGC 4231, on 9 Mar 1788 (sweep 816) and recorded both as "Two both vF, vS, from north to south about 1' distance."
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NGC 4233 = UGC 7311 = MCG +01-31-037 = CGCG 041-063 = PGC 39384
12 17 07.6 +07 37 26; Vir
V = 11.9; Size 2.4'x1.1'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 174°
17.5" (3/24/90): moderately bright, small, slightly elongated, bright core, high surface brightness. Forms a pair with NGC 4224 13' SW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4233 = H. II-496 = h1161 on 28 Dec 1785 (sweep 498) and simply noted "F". Despite the sparse description, his position falls on the north side of the galaxy. John Herschel made the single observation "pB; R; very suddenly brighter in the middle to a small nucleus; 20"."
******************************
12 17 09.0 +03 40 58; Vir
V = 12.7; Size 1.3'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.1
17.5" (3/28/87): fairly faint, fairly small, round, even surface brightness.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4234 = h1160 on 7 Apr 1828 and
recorded "pB; L; R; gradually brighter in the middle; 60"." His single position matches
******************************
12 17 09.8 +07 11 28; Vir
V = 11.6; Size 4.2'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 48°
17.5" (3/24/90): fairly bright, fairly large, almost
edge-on SW-NE, broadly concentrated halo.
Cradled along the north side by three mag 12-13 stars 2.2' NW, 1.8' N
and 3.0' ENE of center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4235 = H. II-17 = h1159 on 23 Jan 1784 (sweep 104) and recorded a "longish nebula, not cometic." On 24 Apr 1830 (sweep 253), John Herschel called it "vB; pmE; very suddenly brighter in the middle; among small stars."
Schwassmann found it again on a plate taken with the 6"
astrograph at the Königstuhl Observatory on 30 Oct 1899. He listed it as new
(Sn. 5), missing the earlier NGC identity, so it also carries the designation
******************************
12 16 43.5 +69 27 34; Dra
V = 9.6; Size 21.9'x7.2'; Surf Br = 15.0; PA = 162°
48" (5/9/21): NGC 4236 was huge, very elongated, irregular and full of patches. At 375x, it sprawled NNW-SSE across the entire 16' field (extending beyond 16'x4') using a 13mm Ethos. The galaxy had a tattered appearance, with multiple knots near both the N and S end. The bar formed a fairly conspicuous brighter spine about 5' in length. A fainter star is close to the geometric center and a very weak enhancement is 1' SSE (possibly the core).
Several HII knots are on the south side of the galaxy. The
brightest HII region is
Another HII complex is 4' NNW of center. The two brightest condensations are [HK 83] #15 and #16, which form a 25" E-W pair, and extend ~0.2' and 0.3', respectively. The outer extensions of the galaxy have a very low surface brightness.
18" (4/26/08): this huge, low surface brightness galaxy extends roughly 12'x3', oriented NNW-SSE. There is only a very weak central brightening with no obvious core. A very faint star appears to be superimposed near the geometric center and just to the south is a slightly elongated brightening (possibly the core).
Another brighter region is near the north end of the galaxy. This patch seems elongated at 45° to the major axis, appearing to extend out to the west of the main glow on the north end. Images reveal this is a gigantic HII complex and is catalogued in the Hodge-Kennicutt Atlas of HII regions (1983AJ, 88, 296) as NGC 4236:[HK83] 15, 16 and 17.
The south end is also splotchy and at the very south tip were two very faint "stars" oriented SW-NE that seemed slightly fuzzy (probably small HII knots). The first is also known as VII Zw 446, assumed by Zwicky to be a "blue patchy compact [galaxy]."
17.5" (3/29/89): faint, extremely large, edge-on 5:1 NNW-SSE. Appears as a ghostly streak about 20' length with only a broad, weak concentration! Best at low power due to size and low surface brightness.
13.1" (5/27/84): faint, very large, very elongated NNW-SSE, weak concentration. In a field with five mag 8-9 stars.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4236 = H. V-51 = h1163 on 6 Apr 1793 (sweep 1036) and recorded "very faint, much extended, little brighter middle, about 25' long, and losing itself imperceptibly, about 6 or 7' broad, from about 70° np to sf." His position, measured again on the next sweep, is accurate. John Herschel reported, "immensely large; vF; mE; very gradually brighter middle; it fills more than a field, but is hardly distinguishable. Hazy." He incorrectly labeled his h1163 as H. V-17 in the Slough Catalogue.
******************************
12 17 11.4 +15 19 26; Com
V = 11.6; Size 2.1'x1.3'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 108°
17.5" (4/25/98): moderately bright and large, elongated 3:2 WNW-ESE, 1.5'x1.0'. Moderate concentration to a 30" irregular core which appears mottled. Located 15' NE of mag 6.3 SAO 100023. Poor transparency due to smoke.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4237 = H. II-11 = h1162 on 30 Dec 1783 (sweep 73) and recorded "another nebula [besides M98] about full 1/2° nf 6 Coma Ber. pL, very feeble, almost round, but not cometic. It is not a Messier, for being too feeble it could not be seen by an achromatic of 3 1/2 ft, which I suppose is the maximum of his light." No offsets in time and PD were measured, but the offset from 6 Com matches this galaxy.
John Herschel logged "B; L; lE; very gradually brighter middle" and measured a fairly accurate position.
******************************
12 16 55.8 +63 24 37; Dra
V = 13.6; Size 1.8'x0.5'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 36°
17.5" (4/15/93): very faint, fairly small, very elongated 3:1 SSW-NNE, 1.5'x0.5', low even surface brightness, no central concentration.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4238 = H. III-851 = h1164 on 20 Mar 1790 (sweep 954) and logged "eF, S, iF." His position is 3.6' too far north. John Herschel recorded "vF; not vS; R; very gradually little brighter middle; 15"-20"." and measured an accurate position.
******************************
12 17 14.9 +16 31 53; Com
V = 12.8; Size 1.4'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 120°
17.5" (5/23/98): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 3:2 NW-SE, 0.9'x0.6', weak concentration. Easy to locate as situated between two mag 10.5 stars 2.9' WSW and 2.1' NE.
Carl Frederick Pechüle discovered NGC 4239 in 1884 with the
11-inch Merz refractor at the Copenhagen Observatory. His position is 1.6'
south of
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12 17 24.4 -09 57 06; Vir
V = 12.4; Size 1.3'x1.2'; Surf Br = 12.7
18" (5/28/06): fairly faint, small, round, 25" diameter. Contains a very small bright core ~10" diameter which increases to a bright substellar nucleus. Located just east of a mag 13 star (24" from the center).
18" (3/13/04): faint, small, round, 30" diameter, strongly concentrated with a very small bright core and stellar nucleus. A mag 13 star is barely off the west edge. Observation made through thin clouds.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4240 = T. 1-41 = T. 5-15 on 20 May 1875. His micrometric position and description in his 5th discovery paper (mag 12 star 1/2' southwest) is accurate.
Andrew Ainslie Common found the galaxy again in 1880, assumed it was new and recorded it as #25 in his Copernicus discovery list. He noted "Like a pair of stars 90°; the f one is a nebulous star." His RA is 11 sec too large (estimated positions using setting circles) and his description is a perfect match. Dreyer, who edited the journal Copernicus, added a footnote that Common's #25 was identical to Tempel's nebula.
Finally, Lewis Swift probably found this galaxy again on 27
Apr 1886 and described it in list III-62 as "pB; eS; pB * nr p; Looks a
first like a double star. Curious
object." There is nothing at
his position but 1.4 degrees due north is the same galaxy found by Tempel and
Common, and his description fits (very similar to Common's!). Dreyer assumed Swift's object was new
and catalogued it as
******************************
NGC 4241 = IC 3115 = UGC 7333 = VV 431 = MCG +01-31-040 =
12 17 59.8 +06 39 16; Vir
V = 13.1; Size 1.7'x1.4'; Surf Br = 13.9; PA = 164°
17.5" (3/24/90): extremely faint, oval, very low surface brightness. Forms a pair with NGC 4223 8' WNW. This galaxy is identified as IC 3115 in modern catalogues and the brighter, western galaxy is usually catalogued as NGC 4241. My identification (NGC 4241 = IC 3115 = UGC 7333) follows the historical record.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4241 = H. III-480 = h1165 on
28 Dec 1785 (sweep 498) and recorded "vF, L. Would not have been seen if
it had not been for the preceding [H II-137 = UGC 7319]. His position is just 1' from
Arnold Schwassmann found both galaxies on a Heidelberg plate of the Virgo region in 1899 and measured accurate positions. Schwassmann assumed they were new and Dreyer recatalogued the pair as IC 3102 and IC 3115. So, NGC 4241 = IC 3115 = UGC 7333 and NGC 4223 = IC 3102 = UGC 7319. Modern catalogues, though, identify UGC 7319 as NGC 4241 and UGC 7333 as IC 3115. See Harold Corwin's identification notes on NGC 4223 for the full story.
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12 17 30.1 +45 37 08; CVn
V = 10.8; Size 5.0'x3.8'; Surf Br = 13.9; PA = 25°
13.1" (4/12/86): very large but very diffuse, 4' diameter, broad weak concentration, large core appears offset to the west, almost round. A mag 11.5 star lies 3.2' E of center and a faint mag 14 star is at the south edge 2.0' from center. Member of the CVn II Group (brightest member M106).
William Herschel discovered NGC 4242 = H. III-725 = h1166 on 10 Apr 1788 (sweep 830) and recorded "eF, cL, bM, iR." John Herschel made two observations and logged (sweep 256), "F; vL; R: very gradually brighter middle; diam in RA = 15s of time."
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NGC 4243 = NGC 4240 = MCG -02-31-029 = PGC 39411
12 17 24.4 -09 57 06; Vir
See observing notes for NGC 4240.
Lewis Swift found NGC 4243 = Sw. 3-62 on 27 Apr 1886 and described "pB; eS; pB * near preceding; Looks at first like a double star. Curious object." There is nothing near his position, although the description implies a relatively bright galaxy.
Harold Corwin identifies NGC 4240, located 1° 21" due north of Swift's position, as the most likely object. Swift's "pB* close p" applies to a mag 13 star 25" southwest of center. NGC 4240 was discovered by Wilhelm Tempel in 1875.
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12 17 29.4 +37 48 24; CVn
V = 10.4; Size 16.6'x1.9'; Surf Br = 14.0; PA = 48°
18" (6/4/05): beautiful, extremely large ray extends at least 3/4 across the 20' field, ~15'x1' SW-NE. The galaxy is broadly concentrated without a well-defined core or nucleus and bulges only very slightly at the center. The surface brightness is fairly low and only varies gradually over the entire length, though it has a grainy texture. A mag 13.5 star is near the NE end. Member of the M94 Group (CVn I Cloud).
13.1" (4/12/86): fairly bright, extremely large edge-on about 10:1 SW-NE. Extends to 15' diameter (fades at the ends of the extensions). Appears as a narrow ray with only a weakly concentrated core.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4244 = H. V-41 = h1167 on 17 Mar 1787 (sweep 714). He recorded "considerably or very bright, very gradually brighter middle, 18 or 20' long, about 2' broad, from about 60 degrees sp to nf." NGC 4244 is one of William Herschel's flattest edge-on discoveries (axial ratio ~9:1)
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12 17 36.8 +29 36 29; Com
V = 11.4; Size 2.9'x2.2'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 145°
17.5" (4/25/98): fairly bright, elongated ~4:3 NW-SE,
1.5'x1.1', strong concentration with a prominent roundish core. The core steadily increases to a
stellar nucleus with direct vision.
A string of mag 11 stars from the SW leads to the galaxy. Located 29' W of
William Herschel discovered NGC 4245 = H. I-74 = h1168 on 13 Mar 1785 (sweep 387) and noted "cB, R, mbM." John Herschel made 3 observations and first logged "vB; R; suddenly brighter middle; 60"."
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NGC 4246 = IC 3113 = UGC 7334 = MCG +01-31-041 = CGCG 041-070 = Holm 359b = PGC 39479
12 17 58.1 +07 11 08; Vir
V = 12.7; Size 2.4'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.8; PA = 83°
17.5" (3/24/90): faint, moderately large, elongated
~E-W, very low surface brightness.
A mag 14 star is off the east edge 2.0' NE of center. Forms a pair with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4246 = H. III-91 on 13 Apr
1784 (sweep 191) and recorded "Two, the first [NGC 4235] mE. The second [NGC 4246] eF." His position is 4' south of
Arnold Schwassmann found the galaxy again on 30 Oct 1899
using the 6-inch astrographic refractor at Heidelberg and measured an accurate
position. Schwassmann and Dreyer
assumed it was new and it was catalogued again as
******************************
NGC 4247 = MCG +01-31-042 = CGCG 041-071 = Holm 359c = PGC 39480
12 17 58.0 +07 16 26; Vir
V = 13.5; Size 1.1'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.3
17.5" (3/24/90): faint, very small, round, weak concentration, low surface brightness. Forms a pair with NGC 4246 5.4' S.
George Searle discovered NGC 4247 = HN 35 on 25 Feb 1868 using
the 15-inch Merz Refractor at the Harvard Observatory (Annals of Harvard
Observatory, Vol 13, #265). His
offset from GC 2821 = NGC 4235 is just 4 sec of time preceding and 1' north of
******************************
NGC 4248 = UGC 7335 = MCG +08-22-099 = CGCG 243-064 = CGCG 244-001 = Holm 363b = LGG 290-020 = PGC 39461
12 17 50.4 +47 24 31; CVn
V = 12.5; Size 3.0'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 108°
13.1" (3/17/86): faint, very elongated 3:1 WNW-ESE, moderately large, 1.5'x0.5'. A mag 14.5 is at the NW edge. Located 10' W of NGC 4231 and NGC 4232 and 13' NW of M106. Member of the CVn II Group (brightest member M106).
William Herschel discovered NGC 4248 = H. II-742 = h1169 on
9 Mar 1788 (sweep 816) and recorded "F, S, E." Caroline's reduction is 17 sec of RA
following
******************************
12 17 59.4 +05 35 55; Vir
V = 13.8; Size 0.6'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.2
24" (4/28/14): fairly faint, small, round, 24"
diameter, weak concentration to the center.
17.5" (3/24/90): very faint, very small, slightly
elongated N-S, low surface brightness.
Forms a pair with NGC 4252 7' ESE.
Located at the west edge of the large
Albert Marth discovered NGC 4249 = m 234 on 26 May 1864,
along with NGCs 4252, 4266, 4282 and 4287. His position is an exact match with
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12 17 26.2 +70 48 09; Dra
V = 11.8; Size 2.7'x2.1'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 168°
17.5" (5/2/92): moderately bright, small, round, broad concentration with overall high surface brightness. The halo appears to extend further on the north side of the core.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4250 = H. I-264 = h1170 on 7 Apr 1793 (sweep 1037). He noted "considerably bright, small, bright middle." His position is 1.0 minute of RA too small. John Herschel called it "pretty faint; small; round; pretty gradually brighter middle; 15" diameter."
Philip Keenan apparently found NGC 4250 on a Yerkes
Observatory plate and assigned it the designation
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12 18 08.4 +28 10 31; Com
V = 10.7; Size 3.6'x1.5'; Surf Br = 12.4; PA = 100°
17.5" (5/23/98): bright, moderately large, elongated
~5:2 WNW-ESE, 2.2'x0.8'. Well
concentrated with a roundish prominent core within fainter extensions which dim
towards the tips. At 280x the core
contains a substellar nucleus. A
mag 13-13.5 star is 2.9' ESE of center and 9 Com (V = 6.3) follows by 18'.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4251 = H. I-89 = h1171 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and noted "vB, S, lE." His position is just off the north side of the galaxy. John Herschel made 3 observations and noted on sweep 417 "vB; very small & very much brighter middle; has a *6.7 1.5 min (of time) following."
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NGC 4252 = UGC 7343 = MCG +01-31-045 = CGCG 041-076 = PGC 39537
12 18 30.9 +05 33 34; Vir
V = 14.1; Size 1.5'x0.4'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 48°
24" (4/28/14): fairly faint, fairly small, very
elongated 3:1 SW-NE, 42"x14". even surface brightness. NGC 4249 lies 8' WNW,
17.5" (3/24/90): extremely faint, small, edge-on SW-NE, low surface brightness. Forms a pair with NGC 4249 7' WNW. Located at the west side of the large NGC 4261 group.
Albert Marth discovered NGC 4252 on 26 May 1864, along with NGCs 4249, 4266, 4282 and 4287. He noted "F, E." and measured an accurate position.
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12 18 26.5 +29 48 46; Com
V = 13.1; Size 1.0'x0.8'; Surf Br = 12.7
17.5" (4/25/98): fairly faint, very small, irregularly
round, 20" diameter. Fairly
high surface brightness, quasi-stellar nucleus. A mag 14 star lies 1' N. Located 22' NW of
William Herschel discovered NGC 4253 = H. III-702 = h1172 on
3 Feb 1788 (sweep 805) and noted "vF, vS." Caroline's reduction is 5 sec of time preceding and 2.5'
north of
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12 18 49.6 +14 24 59; Com
V = 9.9; Size 5.4'x4.7'; Surf Br = 13.2
48" (4/1/11): stunning view of this beautiful, asymmetric two-armed spiral at 375x. The galaxy is sharply concentrated with a brilliant 1' core that increases to a sharp stellar nucleus. The brighter more open arm is attached on the east side of the very bright core. It unwinds beautifully and expands counterclockwise for ~225° where it ends to the NW of center. As the arm passes south of the core there is a bright, well defined knot (sketched and later measured 0.9' S of the nucleus) with two additional diffuse knots in this arm 1.2' SW of center and 1.9' W of center. The arm continues to sweep north on the west side, where it is well separated from the main body.
A second long sweeping fainter arm is attached on the west side of the core and unfolds counterclockwise towards the NE. It contains a diffuse knot ~1.2' NNW of center and terminates near an ill-defined knot 2' NE of center. The halo of the galaxy is more extensive on this side and contains a prominent knot HK #1, 1.8' E of center. This knot is at the end of another more ill-defined arm on the north side of the core heading east that contains additional mottled clumps.
24" (5/24/20): at 225x and 375x; relatively large bright circular core, ~1' diameter, increased to a very bright, small mottled nucleus. The irregular outer halo extended ~4' diameter. The brighter and larger arm was easily visible; it emerged from the east side of the core and curved counterclockwise to the south of the core and then extended to the WSW before dimming out. A very subtle brightening or knot was seen within the arm [50" S of center]. A second arm of much lower contrast began on the west side of the core and headed in the NNE direction for ~1.5' before fading into the halo. A very faint knot (HK83 1), was easily seen with averted in the eastern outer halo [1.8' ENE of center] . A mag 13.5 star is just outside the halo, 2' ESE of center.
24" (1/31/14): viewed supernova 2014L, which was just discovered on Jan. 26th. Nothing was seen at 200x, but bumping up the power to 375x, a very faint "star" (perhaps mag 15.5) was visible just SW of the core.
18" (4/10/04): a fairly prominent arm is attached at the southeast end of the large, bright core and winds along the south side towards the southwest. This arm is clearly detached from the core with a dark gap between the arm and the core. The northern arm is ill-defined and appears more like a couple of short "brush-strokes" close north of the core.
17.5" (5/10/86 and 6/6/86): very bright, large, bright core, stellar nucleus. There is an obvious spiral arm attached at the SE side of the core and winding along the south side towards the west. A dark gap is between the spiral arm and the core along the south and west side. A second shorter, diffuse arm is visible on the north side. Viewed Type II SN 1986I, discovered on May 17th, just SE of the core.
13.1" (3/24/84 and 4/28/84): bright nuclear region. A spiral arm is easily visible attached at the SE side of core and winding almost 180° to the west. Located 10' SW of mag 6.5 HD 10710.
Pierre Méchain discovered
William Parsons, the third Earl of Rosse, discovered spiral
structure in April of 1846 using the 72" Leviathan of Parsonstown.
The observation was made a full year after the spiral nature of
William Lassell sketched M99 on 31 Mar 1862 from Malta with his 48-inch and included three principal arms and one or two offshoots . He noted "Viewed with power 285. The spiral form is very evident, more so, I think than in any other nebula I have seen."
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12 18 56.1 +04 47 11; Vir
V = 12.8; Size 1.3'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.3; PA = 115°
17.5" (3/24/90): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated WNW-ESE, small bright core, stellar nucleus.
Auguste Voigt discovered NGC 4255 = Voigt 1 on 22 Apr 1865, probably while making an observation of NGC 4257 (discovered 3 years earlier by d'Arrest). He recorded a fairly accurate position and noted it preceded a mag 11-12 star (modern mag 13.8) by 9 seconds of time. None of Voigt's discoveries with the 31-inch silver-on-glass Marseilles reflector were published. Édouard Stephan, who followed Voigt as director, made an observation on 30 Apr 1878, perhaps aware of the earlier discovery. In any case, he didn't include it in one of his discovery lists.
Christian Peters also found NGC 4255 with the 13.5-inch refractor at Hamilton College Observatory (discovery date unknown) and listed it as a "nova" in the 1881 Copernicus Joiurnal (first list). As Voigt's discoveries weren't published, Peters was credited in the NGC.
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12 18 42.9 +65 53 54; Dra
V = 11.9; Size 4.5'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 42°
17.5" (3/20/93): bright striking galaxy, large, very
thin edge-on 4.0'x0.5' SW-NE, elongated bright core, almost stellar nucleus,
thin tapering extensions. NGC 4210
lies 21' WNW and
William Herschel discovered NGC 4256 = H. II-846 = h1174 on 20 Mar 1790 (sweep 954) and logged "pB, mE, bright nucleus, 5' long and 1/2' broad from sp to nf." John Herschel recorded "pB; vmE in pos 218.2°; 90" l." and measured an accurate position.
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NGC 4257 = MCG +01-31-049 = CGCG 042-006 = PGC 39624
12 19 06.5 +05 43 33; Vir
V = 14.0; Size 1.3'x0.4'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 75°
24" (4/28/14): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated
nearly 3:1 WSW-ENE, 32"x12", pretty smooth surface brightness. Two mag 14/15 stars 1.2' S and 1.8' S
are collinear with the galaxy.
Located 7' SW of NGC 4261 and 10' SW of
17.5" (3/24/90): very faint, small, edge-on WSW-ENE, low even surface brightness. Located in a large group with NGC 4261 7' NNE.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4257 on 21 Apr 1862 with the 11" refractor at Copenhagen Observatory, while observing nearby NGC 4261. His description mentions a mag 18 star 2' south, though the star is closer to mag 14-14.5. The discovery was listed in his sample preliminary results published in 1862 (AN 57, 337).
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12 18 57.5 +47 18 15; CVn
V = 8.4; Size 18.6'x7.2'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 150°
48" (5/1/22): gorgeous extremely bright two-armed barred spiral! At 375x, a well defined and very thin high surface brightness bar runs NNW-SSE. A thick dusty region extends along its western side, reaching further to the south. A very thin and long spiral arm is well defined to the west of the dust infused region, extending toward SSE, roughly 3.5' in length. It contains an obvious bright star-forming knot, ~12" diameter (identified in SIMBAD as [CPH93] 74C). A much fainter 6"-8" knot ([CPH93] 82Ca) is 30" further SE, at the tip of the arm. A surprisingly high surface brightness arm (fairly thin) is very prominent along the northeastern edge. The brightest section is 48C/52C. The arm vaguely wraps around the core on the east side. Two mag 13.4 and 15.3 are in the northern halo beyond this arm.
18" (6/4/05): two spiral arms are evident emerging from the large, very bright core. On the west side of the core, a thin, gently sweeping arm defines the western edge of the galaxy. At the southern end of this arm is a brighter knot or HII region. On the east side of the core, a well-defined, thin arm juts out from the core towards the NNW as a linear extension. The arm is brightest at the root, where it attaches to the core. The core is concentrated to a fairly small, very bright central nucleus and the extensions/arms have a slightly mottled or lively appearance.
This is a Seyfert 2 galaxy with a very active galactic nuclei. The standard model for the core assumes a massive black hole.
17.5" (4/7/89): very bright, very large, very elongated 3:1 NNW-SSE, 14'x4', large bright core concentrated to a very small brighter central region. A thin bright spiral arm is attached at the core and it extends towards the NNW on the following side of the galaxy. There was a sharp edge along the west side of this arm.
14.5" (4/12/21): gorgeous, very large spiral, elongated ~3:1 NNW-SSE, ~12'x4'. Very strongly and pretty sharply concentrated with a very bright inner core that rises to an intensely bright nucleus. A thin spiral arm was immediately noticed attached to the east side of the core and extending NNW in a nearly linear arc in the direction of a mag 13.4 star in the halo. The western side has a much more subtle enhancement on the S edge. The outer halo has a very low surface brightness and increases in size with averted vision.
13.1" (4/12/86): bright, very large, bright core, substellar nucleus, mottling near core. A large bright knot is at end of the southern arm.
13.1" (3/17/86): very bright, very large, impressive! Contains a nearly stellar core in a high surface brightness oval disk.
8": bright, very large, elongated, bright core.
Pierre Méchain discovered M106 = NGC 4258 = H. V-43 = h1175 in July 1781. It was discovered after Messier's final catalogue was sent to publication but was included in a letter dated 6 May 1783 to Johann Bernoulli, the editor of the Berliner Astronomisches Jahrbuch and published in the 1786 Jarbuch volume. Méchain wrote, "In July 1781, I have found another one close to Ursa Major near the star No. 3 of Canes Venatici & 1 deg more or less to the south; I estimate its right ascension 181d 40' & its declination about 49d."
William Herschel independently discovered this galaxy on 9 Mar 1788, unaware of the earlier observation. He recorded H. V 43 as "very brilliant. Bright nucleus with much fainter branches from np to sf, about 15' long, and the sf running out into vF nebulosity extending a great way." On 1 Apr 1788 (sweep 823) he logged "vB, much elongated directly in the meridian [N-S] with faint branches 10 or 12' long, bright nucleus with the nucleus not round."
John Herschel made 4 observations and recorded (sweep 330) "vB; vL; very small & very much brighter middle to an oval nucl; 8 or 9' long; 4 or 5' broad." On 20 Apr 1857 Birr Castle assistant R.J. Mitchell logged "a vL, B, E neb np sf, much mottled. The f edge is comparatively sharp and well defined, but in the p and n edge there is a great inequality of light. Nucleus elongated, vB part to north of nucleus."
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12 19 22.2 +05 22 35; Vir
V = 13.6; Size 1.2'x0.4'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 143°
24" (4/28/14): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated
nearly 5:2 NW-SE, 28"x12", fairly high surface brightness. A mag 15 star is off the NE flank, 0.4'
from center. A number of galaxies
are in the field to the east, including
17.5" (3/28/87): at 220x; fairly faint, small, almost
round, bright core. A mag 15 star
is at the NE edge 0.5' from center.
First of seven in the NGC 4273 group and forms a pair with
John Herschel discovered NGC 4259 = h1178 on 27 Dec 1827 and noted as "precedes four more, nearly in parallel." His position is 2.3' too far south, but the north polar distance was marked as approximate. The four galaxies are perhaps NGC 4273, 4270, 4277 and 4281.
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12 19 22.2 +06 05 55; Vir
V = 11.8; Size 2.7'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 58°
24" (4/28/14): bright or very bright, large, elongated
2:1 SW-NE, 2'x1', sharply concentrated with a very bright round nucleus. A mag 14.7 star is just off the NE edge
of the halo.
17.5" (3/24/90): fairly bright, moderately large, elongated SW-NE, broadly concentrated halo. A mag 14.5 star is off the NE end 1.4' from center. Located 7' NW of mag 7.7 SAO 11933. NGC 4261 lies 17' S.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4260 = H. II-138 = h1177 on 13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191) and simply noted "F". His position is 3.8' northwest of UGC 6361. John Herschel noted "B; E; pretty suddenly brighter in the middle."
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NGC 4261 = UGC 7360 = MCG +01-31-052 = CGCG 042-015 = 3C 270 = PGC 39659
12 19 23.2 +05 49 29; Vir
V = 10.4; Size 4.1'x3.6'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 160°
24" (4/28/14): very bright, very large, oval 4:3 NNW-SSE, 2.4'x1.8'. Sharply concentrated with a large, intensely bright core that brightens to a quasi-stellar nucleus. A mag 15 star is near the edge of the halo on the ENE side. VCC 344 is 1.8' S, just outside the halo, and was logged as "faint, very small, round, 12" diameter, high surface brightness." Forms a pair with NGC 4264 3.3' NE and brightest of 30 galaxies viewed within 35'!
17.5" (3/24/90): bright, fairly large, slightly
elongated NW-SE, very bright core with stellar nucleus embedded. Brightest in a large group of 13 NGC
galaxies. In a field with NGC 4264
3.4' ENE, NGC 4257 7' SSW and
William Herschel discovered NGC 4261 = H. II-139 = h1176 on 13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191) and recorded "Two. The first [NGC 4261] is the largest. The 2nd [NGC 4264] very faint." John Herschel called the galaxy "vB; pL; R; pretty suddenly much brighter middle; 40"." His single position is 10 sec of RA too far west, but Schönfeld and d'Arrest both measured accurate positions.
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12 19 30.6 +14 52 39; Com
V = 11.6; Size 1.9'x1.7'; Surf Br = 12.7
17.5" (5/23/87): moderately bright, small, slightly
elongated, strong bright core, faint stellar nucleus. Forms a pair with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4262 = H. II-110 = h1179 on 8 Apr 1784 (sweep 187) and noted "S, resolvable." A sketch was included (fig. 40) In his 1811 PT paper with the comment (based on a later observation): "this star with a bur is probably one that formerly a planetary nebula with a pretty strong haziness on the borders."
John Herschel made an observation on 26 Apr 1832 (sweep 421) and called it "bright; small; round; like a * 11m with a burr." (sounds like his father's description).
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12 19 42.2 -12 13 32; Crv
V = 12.6; Size 1.2'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.1; PA = 125°
18" (5/28/06): fairly faint, moderately large, slightly elongated, roughly 1.2'x0.9', only a weak broad concentration. The halo is irregular with averted vision and appears elongated 3:2, though at other times appears rounder. On the DSS there is a faint extension to the west and perhaps I was picking up this section with averted.
18" (3/13/04): faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1 WNW-ESE, 0.6'x0.3', low even surface brightness. Observation made through thin clouds.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4263 = H. III-535 on 27 Mar
1786 (sweep 548) and recorded "vF, pS, iF." His position
(Caroline's reduction) is 1.5' southwest of
Lewis Swift independently discovered the galaxy on 6 May
1886 and reported it in list III-63, close to WH's position. Dreyer assumed it
was new and catalogued NGC 4263 again as
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NGC 4264 = UGC 7364 = MCG +01-32-001 = CGCG 042-020 = PGC 39687
12 19 35.8 +05 50 48; Vir
V = 12.8; Size 1.0'x0.8'; Surf Br = 12.4
24" (4/28/14): moderately bright, fairly small, round, 30" diameter, broad weak concentration. Forms a pair with much brighter NGC 4261 3.5' WSW.
17.5" (3/24/90): fairly faint, small, round, broad concentration. Located at the north edge of a large galaxy group and 3.4' NE of NGC 4261.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4264 = H. II-140 = h1180 on 13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191) and recorded "Two. The first [NGC 4261] is the largest. The 2nd [NGC 4264] very faint." John Herschel called the galaxy "pF; R; gradually brighter in the middle; 30"." Henrich d'Arrest measured the position 6 times and noted the separation with NGC 4261 was 13 seconds of time.
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NGC 4265 = NGC 4263 = MCG -02-32-001 = PGC 39698
12 19 42.2 -12 13 30; Crv
See observing notes for NGC 4263.
Lewis Swift found NGC 4265 = Sw. 3-63 on 6 May 1886. His position is only 2' south of NGC 4263 = H. III-535 so I'm not sure why Dreyer assumed it was a different object. In any case, he noted that NGC 4265 was identical to NGC 4263 in the IC 2 Notes section as "Howe saw only one." The primary designation should be NGC 4263.
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NGC 4266 = UGC 7368 = MCG +01-32-002 = CGCG 042-021 = WBL 397-003 = PGC 39699
12 19 42.3 +05 32 18; Vir
V = 13.7; Size 2.0'x0.4'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 76°
24" (4/28/14): fairly faint, thin edge-on 6:1 WSW-ENE,
1.2'x0.2', even surface brightness.
Although this is a nice streak, the galaxy is partially masked by mag
9.1
17.5" (3/24/90): very faint, small, edge-on
WSW-ENE. The view is hampered by
mag 8.5
Albert Marth discovered NGC 4266, along with NGCs 4249,
4252, 4282 and 4287, on 26 May 1864.
His position matches
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12 19 45.2 +12 47 54; Vir
V = 10.9; Size 3.2'x3.0'; Surf Br = 13.3
24" (5/29/14): very bright, moderately large, round, 1.3' diameter, sharply concentrated with an intense core that gradually increases to a stellar nucleus. Contains a much fainter outer halo.
17.5" (4/25/87): bright, fairly small, very diffuse
round halo. Sharp concentration as
increases suddenly to a small very bright core and stellar nucleus.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4267 = H. II-166 = h1181 on
17 Apr 1784 (sweep 199) and noted "pB; vS." His position at the north edge of the halo of
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NGC 4268 = UGC 7371 = MCG +01-32-004 = CGCG 042-023 = Holm 368d = WBL 397-004 = PGC 39712
12 19 47.2 +05 17 02; Vir
V = 12.8; Size 1.6'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 48°
24" (4/28/14): moderately bright, fairly small, elongated 2:1 SW-NE, 0.8'x0.4', contains a small bright core. A mag 14.5-15 star lies 0.8' NW of center. NGC 4273 lies 4.2' NE, NGC 4277 5.4' NE and NGC 4281 10.6' NE with a total of 8 galaxies (7 NGCs) in a 15' field.
17.5" (3/28/87): at 220x; moderately bright, fairly small, elongated SW-NE, brighter core. A mag 14.5 star is 0.8' NW of center. Third of seven in a group with NGC 4273 4.3' NE.
William Herschel probably discovered NGC 4268 = H. II. 568 =
h1189 on 17 Apr 1786 (sweep 552). After recently moved to Slough from Clay Hall
and setting up his scope in the garden (and aligning on the meridian), he
recorded "Four, the time and number is that of the last. They are scattered about." Just afterwards Caroline's log reads
"a stop occasioned by the same blundering person". This was
apparently a new worker not familiar with using the telescope at the handle to
adjust the height. There is
nothing near his recorded position, but exactly 1° south is a group of 5
galaxies -- NGC 4268, 4270, 4273, 4277, and 4281 -- and they all just fit
within his 15' field of view.
Dreyer suggested
John Herschel created additional confusion with his own poor positions. On 27 Dec 1827 (sweep 117), he reported positions on 3 objects (h 1189/90/94), where none exist. Eduard Schönfeld reobserved the group at the Mannheim observatory with a 6" refractor in April and May 1862. He measured accurate positions and found that Herschel's RA was 0.8 minutes too large. Heinrich d'Arrest also observed NGC 4268 at the same time and included the position in a sample of preliminary results published in 1862 AN, 57, 337. Still, the 1864 General Catalogue (GC) contained William's 1° NPD error and John's 0.8 minutes error in RA and as a result there are 7 GC entries that probably refer to only 4 galaxies (GC 2852/56/57/62/65/69 and 5070). Dreyer assumed that Schönfeld's and d'Arrest's nebula was new and added it the GC Supplement as 5632 (later NGC 4268).
Herman Schultz made additional measurements in 1865 with the 9.6" refractor at Uppsala Observatory. He likely discovered NGC 4277 (just east of NGC 4273) and proposed that John Herschel reversed the descriptions for h1189 ("very faint; small") and h1190 ("very bright; round; the central nebula of 4 in a trefoil"). As a result Dreyer assigned h1189 = NGC 4273 and h1190 = NGC 4277, crediting Schönfeld and d'Arrest with the discovery of NGC 4268. Alternatively, Steinicke assigns h1189 = NGC 4268 and h1190 = NGC 4272, leaving the discovery of NGC 4277 to Schultz. In the end, Dreyer was able to sort things out pretty well in the NGC and provide accurate positions for the 5 galaxies, so there are no questions regarding the identifications.
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NGC 4269 = UGC 7372 = MCG +01-32-005 = CGCG 042-024 = Holm 365a = WBL 392-012 = PGC 39719
12 19 49.2 +06 00 54; Vir
V = 12.9; Size 1.1'x0.8'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 137°
24" (4/28/14): moderately bright, small, round,
12" (core) surounded by a much fainter elongated halo 20"x14"
NW-SE. The core has a very high
surface brightness and contains a very bright stellar nucleus. Located 1.6' SE of mag 7.7
17.5" (3/24/90): fairly faint, very small, very small
and bright core, slightly elongated.
Located 1.7' SSE of mag 7.7
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4269 on 4 Mar 1862 with an 11" refractor. His position, measured on 2 nights, is accurate and he measured nearby mag 7.7 HD 107238 at 1.7 sec of time preceding and 85" north. The discovery was listed in his sample preliminary results published in 1862 (AN 57, 337).
d'Arrest missed the companion IC 3155, which was discovered by Auguste Voigt in 1865 with the 31-inch silverized reflector at Marseilles.
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NGC 4270 = UGC 7376 = MCG +01-32-007 = CGCG 042-026 = Holm 368c = WBL 397-005 = PGC 39718
12 19 49.5 +05 27 48; Vir
V = 12.2; Size 2.0'x0.9'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 110°
24" (4/28/14): fairly bright, moderately large, elongated 2:1 WNW-ESE, 1.2'x0.6', sharply concentrated with a very bright core increasing to a bright stellar nucleus. Eight additional NGC galaxies lie within 10'! NGC 4266 is 3.8' NNW, NGC 4273 7.3' SSE, NGC 4281 is 9' SE.
17.5" (3/28/87): at 220x; fairly bright, elongated
WNW-ESE, bright core, fainter arms, moderately large. Located 5.4' SSE of mag 9
William Herschel probably discovered NGC 4270 = H. II-568 or II-569 on 17 Apr 1786 (sweep 553). In his first regular sweep after moving from Clay Hall and setting up his 18.7" in his garden in Slough, he recorded "Four, the time and number is that of the last. They are scattered about." There is nothing near his position (10 min 14 sec following and 34' N of 11 Virginis), but 1° south (or roughly 34' S of 11 Vir) is a group of 5 galaxies (NGC 4268/70/73/77/81) and NGC 4270 is one of the four brightest. The error was like caused by "a stop occasioned by the same blundering person [working the sweep mechanism].", noted immediately after the observation. The "blundering person" was a new worker, who apparently was unfamiliar with the sweeping routine.
John Herschel observed the field on 3 different sweeps (117, 238 and 251) and also stated 4 nebulae were seen on sweep 117 and 238, but he never measured a position for NGC 4270. Heinrich d'Arrest (11" refractor) reobserved NGC 4270 on 4 Mar 1862, as well as Eduard Schönfeld (6" refractor) on 1 Apr 1862, and both measured accurate positions. Herschel assumed d'Arrest made a new discovery and added GC 5070 to a supplementary list at the end of his 1864 General Catalogue (missing Schönfeld's observation at Mannheim). Dreyer assigned William Herschel's II. 568 to NGC 4270, though added a question mark.
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12 19 32.7 +56 44 12; UMa
V = 12.6; Size 1.5'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 55°
17.5" (5/13/88): fairly faint, small, slightly elongated, sharp bright core, stellar nucleus. A mag 14.5 star is off the west edge 1.1' from center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4271 = H. II-804 on 17 Apr 1789 (sweep 923). He recorded "pretty bright, pretty large, irregular figure."
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12 19 47.6 +30 20 20; Com
V = 13.1; Size 1.0'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.0
17.5" (4/25/98): faint, small, round, 30" diameter, weak concentration. A nice wide pair of mag 11 stars (47" separation) lie 5' SSE. Observation in hazy conditions.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4272 = H. III-299 = h1182 on 13 Mar 1785 (sweep 387) and simply noted "eF". John Herschel made the single observation "eF; vS; R; 10"." and measured an accurate position. The UGC declination is 10' too far south.
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NGC 4273 = UGC 7380 = MCG +01-32-008 = CGCG 042-028 = Holm 368a = WBL 397-006 = PGC 39738
12 19 56.1 +05 20 36; Vir
V = 11.9; Size 2.3'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 10°
24" (4/28/14): bright, moderately large, elongated 2:1 N-S, 1.6'x0.8', well concentrated, brighter along the major axis (bar?). Among numerous NGC galaxies including NGC 4277 2' E, NGC 4268 4' SW, NGC 4281 7' NE, NGC 4270 7.5' N and NGC 4259 9' WNW.
17.5" (3/28/87): at 220x; fairly bright, moderately large, elongated 3:2 ~N-S, bright core. Forms a close pair with NGC 4277 2' ESE. Brightest in a group of 7 galaxies with NGC 4281 6' ENE, NGC 4268 3.8' SW and NGC 4270 7.5' N.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4273 = H. II-570 = h1183 = h1190 on 17 Apr 1786 (sweep 553). He recorded "Four, the time and number is that of the last [NGC 4281]. They are scattered about." There is nothing near his position, but exactly one degree south is NGC 4281, the last of the 4 bright galaxies (5 in the field).
John Herschel observed this galaxy on 27 Dec 1827 (h1190, sweep 117) and 15 Mar 1830 (h1183, sweep 238). In both cases he assumed it was a new discovery! His position for h1183 on sweep 238 was accurate. On sweep 119, he described h1190 as "very bright; round; the central nebula of 4 in a trefoil (3 of similar brightness)", but there is nothing at his position (same for h1189 and h1194). Eduard Schönfeld reobserved the group at Mannheim observatory with a 6" refractor on 1 Apr 1862 and proposed that Herschel's RA on this sweep was 0.8 minutes too large. Once corrected h1990 falls very close to NGC 4273. Herman Schultz later analyzed Herschel's observations in his 1874 "Micrometrical Observations of 500 Nebulae" from Uppsala. Schultz suggested that besides the RA error of 0.8 minutes, Herschel reversed the descriptions of h1189 and h1190. Based on this assumption, he concluded that h1190 = NGC 4277 and h1189 = NGC 4273, which was followed by Dreyer in the NGC. Alternatively, Steinicke applies h1189 to NGC 4268, which avoids the assumption of a second error, though leaves Schultz as the discoverer of NGC 4277.
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NGC 4274 = UGC 7377 = MCG +05-29-060 = CGCG 158-071 = PGC 39724
12 19 50.6 +29 36 51; Com
V = 10.4; Size 6.8'x2.5'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 102°
17.5" (4/25/98): bright, very large, elongated 5:2
~E-W, ~5'x2' though difficult to trace the full extent as the outer halo fades
into background. Well concentrated
with a bright roundish core ~1' diameter which increases to a very small or
stellar nucleus. NGC 4253 lies 22'
NW, NGC 4245 29' W and
William Herschel discovered NGC 4274 = H. I-75 = h1185 on 13 Mar 1785 (sweep 387) and simply noted "vB". John Herschel made the single observation "vB; vL; E in parallel (E-W); 2' l, 1.5' br." On 24 Apr 1849, Lord Rosse or his assistant George Stoney suspected a "faint tail following". This probably refers to part of the ring surrounding the core.
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12 19 52.6 +27 37 16; Com
V = 13.1; Size 0.8'x0.7'; Surf Br = 12.3
18" (5/30/03): fairly faint, fairly small, round, 0.7' diameter, brighter core, fairly high surface brightness. A mag 13 star lies 1.1' E.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4275 = H. II-376 = h1184 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and noted "pF, S, almost R, bM." John Herschel made two observations and noted on sweep 417, "F; lE; near a * 15m."
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12 20 07.4 +07 41 30; Vir
V = 12.4; Size 1.6'x1.4'; Surf Br = 13.2
17.5" (3/24/90): faint, fairly small, round, even surface brightness, no noticeable core.
Christian Peters discovered NGC 4276 around 1881 with the 13.5-inch refractor at the Hamilton College Observatory. The discovery date is unknown though it was published in his first table of positions in the Copernicus publication of 1881.
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NGC 4277 = MCG +01-32-009 = CGCG 042-029 = Holm 368f = WBL 397-007 = PGC 39759
12 20 03.7 +05 20 29; Vir
V = 13.4; Size 1.0'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.1
24" (5/20/20): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 4:3 ~NW-SE, 30"x24", very weak concentration. A mag 14 star is 1' S. Situated among several brighter Virgo cluster members and forms a close pair with NGC 4273 2' W.
SN 2020ftl, a Type Ia supernova in NGC 4277, was discovered on Apr 2nd. It reached nearly 14th magnitude but had faded to only mag 15.5 at the time of this observation. As the SN is located only 6" N of the nucleus, it was tough to pick out, but it was seen consistently as a faint stellar point.
24" (4/28/14): fairly faint to moderately bright, fairly small, round, 30" diameter, broad concentration. A mag 14-14.5 star lies 1.2' S of center. Forms a close pair with NGC 4273 2' W and nearly at the midpoint of NGC 4281 5' NE and NGC 4268 5' SW.
17.5" (3/28/87): at 220x; faint, small, diffuse. A mag 14 star is 1.2' S of center. Located just 2.1' E of NGC 4273. Second faintest of 7 in the NGC 4273 group.
Herman Schultz discovered NGC 4277 on 24 Apr 1865, while reobserving the NGC 4073 quartet with the 9.6" refractor at the Uppsala Observatory. He also made observations on two nights in March and April 1866, though noted the sky was always "tolerably bad." Schultz proposed that John Herschel's h1189 and h1190 applied to NGC 4273 and 4277 (after subtracting 0.8 minutes of RA from Herschel's positions and reversing the descriptions), so he assumed NGC 4277 was not a new object. Eduard Schönfeld and Heinrich d'Arrest both examined the field earlier in 1862 and measured accurate positions, but missed NGC 4277.
Dreyer followed Schultz's conclusions in the NGC and credited both William Herschel (II. 571) and John Herschel (h1190) with the discovery of NGC 4277, though used Schultz's position. But of the five galaxies NGC 4268/4270/4273/4277/4281, the Herschels likely observed NGC 4268/70/73/81 and missed NGC 4277. See the other numbers for more on the story.
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NGC 4278 = UGC 7386 = MCG +05-29-062 = CGCG 158-077 = Holm 369a = WBL 399-001 = PGC 39764
12 20 06.8 +29 16 50; Com
V = 10.2; Size 4.1'x3.8'; Surf Br = 13.1
17.5" (4/25/98): bright, roundish, fairly large, the outer halo increasing to ~3.5' diameter with averted vision. The halo surrounds a well-defined very prominent core which increases to a quasi-stellar nucleus. Forms a pair with NGC 4283 3.5' NE. Poor transparency.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4278 = H. I-90 = H. II-322 = h1186, along with NGC 4283 and 4286, on 13 Mar 1785 (sweep 387). His description (which includes II-322) reads "Three, all in a row, but of unequal size and brightness. The most following [NGC 4286] vF." He found this galaxy a month later (on his most productive sweep of 11 Apr 1785) and recorded it as I-90, along with NGC 4283: "Two, the time is that of the brightest and preceding [NGC 4278], which is cB, pL, nearly R. The other [NGC 4283] is south following, pretty bright, small, about 6' distance." John Herschel made two observations and measured an accurate position.
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12 20 25.0 -11 40 00; Vir
V = 13.6; Size 1.1'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 35°
18" (5/8/04): faint, fairly small, elongated 3:2 SW-NE,
very small brighter core. Brighter
of a close pair with
Lewis Swift discovered NGC 4279 = Sw. 3-64, along with NGC
4280 and 4285, on 6 May 1886. His
description reads "eeF; vS; R; 1st of 3." There are only two galaxies near his positions for these
three objects and only his position for NGC 4285 = Sw. 3-66 lands directly on a
galaxy. His first two positions
are both to the south of
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12 20 31 -11 39 06; Vir
18" (5/8/04): this number may apply to a trio of mag 15 stars situated between NGC 4279 and NGC 4285. The two brighter stars were noted, although I was not looking for the fainter third star. This identification is uncertain and listed as nonexistent in RNGC.
Lewis Swift discovered NGC 4280 = Sw. 3-65, along with NGC 4279 and 4285, on 6 May 1886. There are only two galaxies here and either NGC 4279 or 4280 is nonexistent or refers to a faint star(s). Assuming NGC 4279 = PGC 39812 , then Swift's offsert to NGC 4280 falls close to a 45" string of 3 mag 14.5/15.5/16.5 stars. His description "eeeF; vS; R; 2nd of 3" is not helpful in pinning down the identification. So, this number is lost or might apply to one of more of these stars.
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NGC 4281 = UGC 7389 = MCG +01-32-012 = CGCG 042-034 = Holm 368b = WBL 397-008 = PGC 39801
12 20 21.5 +05 23 11; Vir
V = 11.3; Size 3.0'x1.5'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 88°
24" (4/28/14): bright, fairly large, elongated 2:1 E-W, 1.8'x0.9', sharply concentrated with an intensely bright core that increases to quasi-stellar nucleus. NGC 4268, 4273 and 4277 in a 10' string to the SW and NGC 4270 and 4266 lie to the NW.
17.5" (3/28/87): at 220x; fairly bright, moderately large, bright core, elongated 2:1 E-W. This galaxy is the last of 7 in a 15' circle and the brightest in the group along with NGC 4273 6.9' ESE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4281 = H. II-571 = H. II-573 = h1187 = h1194 on 17 Apr 1786 (sweep 553). He recorded "Four (II-568 to II-571), the time and number is that of the last [NGC 4281]. They are scattered about." There is nothing near his position, but 1° south is NGC 4281, the last of five galaxies in a 15' field (Herschel probably missed NGC 4277). He found the galaxy again 6 days later in sweep 556, though only noted it as "a nebula, but cloudy." His position was accurate on the second sweep so Caroline assumed it was a new object (catalogued as II-573). Both Herschel listings appeared in his second catalogue.
John Herschel made three observations: h1187 on 15 Mar 1830 (sweep 238) and h1194 on 27 Dec 1827 (sweep 117) and 19 Apr 1830 (sweep 251). His position for h1187 is also accurate, but his positions for h1194 on both sweeps 117 and 251 were about 0.8 minutes of RA too large. As a result he assumed h1194 was a "nova". On sweep 117 the same error in RA applied to h1189 and h1190. Due to the confusion, Eduard Schönfeld, Heinrich d'Arrest and Herman Schultz made additional observations of NGC 4281 and the other galaxies in the group, solving the mystery. Dreyer was able to sort things out pretty well in the NGC and his 1912 revision of William Herschel's catalogues. In the end, H. II. 571, II. 573, h1187 and h1194 all refer to NGC 4281.
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NGC 4282 = MCG +01-32-013 = CGCG 042-035 = WBL 397-009 = PGC 39809
12 20 24.3 +05 34 22; Vir
V = 13.9; Size 0.8'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 100°
24" (4/28/14): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated
~2:1 ~E-W, 0.7'x0.3', gradually increases to a slightly brighter core, brighter
along the major axis. On a line
between NGC 4270 11' SW and
17.5" (3/24/90): very faint, very small, slightly elongated E-W, low even surface brightness. A mag 13 star is 1.8' S of center. Located in the large NGC 4261 group with NGC 4287 6' NE and NGC 4270 10' SW.
Albert Marth discovered NGC 4282 = m 237, along with NGC
4249, 4252, 4266 and 4287 on 26 May 1864.
His position is 2' north of
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NGC 4283 = UGC 7390 = MCG +05-29-063 = CGCG 158-080 = Holm 369b = WBL 399-002 = PGC 39800
12 20 20.8 +29 18 39; Com
V = 12.1; Size 1.5'x1.5'; Surf Br = 12.9
17.5" (4/25/98): moderately bright, round, 1' diameter. Fairly well concentrated with a small, bright core and stellar nucleus. Second of three in trio with brighter NGC 4278 3.5' SW and NGC 4286 5' NE. Poor transparency due to smoke.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4283 = H. II-377 = H. II-323 = h1188, along with NGC 4278 and 4286, on 13 Mar 1785 (sweep 387). His description reads "Three, all in a row, but of unequal size and brightness. The most following [NGC 4286] vF." He found NGC 4283 again a month later (his most productive discovery night of 11 Apr 1), assumed it was new and recorded II-377 as "Two [with NGC 4283], the time is that of the brightest and preceding [NGC 4278], which is cB, pL, nearly R. The other [NGC 4283] is sf [error: should read nf], pB, S, about 6' distance." John Herschel made two observations and measured an accurate position.
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12 20 12.6 +58 05 34; UMa
V = 13.5; Size 2.5'x1.2'; Surf Br = 14.5; PA = 102°
17.5" (5/13/88): faint, small, bright core, elongated
NW-SE. Forms a right angle with
two mag 13 stars 1.3' S and 1.1' E of center. Forms a pair with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4284 = H. III-798, along with NGC 4290, on 17 Apr 1789 (sweep 923). He recorded "considerably faint, little elongated, irregular figure. The preceding of two [with NGC 4290].
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NGC 4285 = MCG -02-32-004 = PGC 39842
12 20 39.8 -11 38 31; Vir
V = 14.1; Size 0.9'x0.4'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 50°
18" (5/8/04): very faint, small, elongated ~3:2 SW-NE, 35"x20", weak concentration. Forms a pair with slightly brighter NGC 4279 4' SW. Between the galaxies are a couple of faint stars (possibly NGC 4280).
Lewis Swift discovered NGC 4285 = Sw. 3-66, along with NGC 4279 and 4280, on 6 May 1886 and recorded "eF; pS; R; 3rd of 3." There are only two galaxies here, but his position clearly establishes NGC 4285 = MCG -02-32-004 = PGC 39842. See NGC 4280.
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NGC 4286 = UGC 7398 = MCG +05-29-065 = CGCG 158-083 = IC 3181 = WBL 399-003 = PGC 39846
12 20 42.1 +29 20 45; Com
V = 13.1; Size 1.6'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 150°
17.5" (4/25/98): very faint, very low surface brightness. No details visible but appears as an elongated haze ~N-S, located just north of a mag 15.5 star. On a line with NGC 4283 5' SW and NGC 4278 8.5' SW. Transparency poor.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4286 = H. III-300, along with NGC 4283 and 4286, on 13 Mar 1785 (sweep 387). His description reads, "Three, all in a row, but of unequal size and brightness. The most following [NGC 4286] vF.
On 24 Apr 1849, Lord Rosse or observing assistant George Johnstone Stoney, noted "a third nebula about 8.5' nf [NGC 4278]." Assuming it was new, John Herschel (who missed this galaxy) assigned it GC 2863, although Dreyer realized the equivalence with NGC 4286 and combined the two GC designations in the NGC. Henrich d'Arrest measured an accurate micrometric position.
Max Wolf found this galaxy again on a Heidelberg plate on 23
Mar 1903 and reported it in his list IV-28 (later
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NGC 4287 = MCG +01-32-014 = CGCG 042-037 = PGC 39860
12 20 48.5 +05 38 23; Vir
V = 14.5; Size 1.1'x0.2'; PA = 75°
24" (4/28/14): faint to fairly faint, fairly small,
edge-on 4:1 or 5:1 WSW-ENE, 35"x8", fairly low even surface
brightness. A mag 14.3 star is
attached on the northwest side and detracts from viewing. NGC 4282 lies 7' SW and
17.5" (3/24/90): extremely faint, very small, slightly elongated E-W, low surface brightness. A mag 14.5 star on the west edge slightly hampers the view. NGC 4282 lies 6' SW.
Albert Marth discovered NGC 4287 = m 238, along with NGC
4249, 4252, 4266 and 4282 on 26 May 1864.
His position is 1' south of
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12 20 38.1 +46 17 31; CVn
V = 12.9; Size 2.1'x1.6'; Surf Br = 14.1; PA = 130°
17.5" (4/28/89): fairly faint, moderately large, oval
NNW-SSE, gradually brighter halo.
Located almost at the midpoint of a mag 13 star 3.3' NNW and a mag 13.5
star 3.7' SSE of center. Forms a
pair with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4288 = H. III-726 = h1191 on 10 Apr 1788 (sweep 830) and noted "eF, pS." John Herschel made 3 observations and reported on sweep 138 "pF; R; very gradually brighter middle; 60"."
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12 21 02.3 +03 43 20; Vir
V = 13.8; Size 4.3'x0.4'; Surf Br = 14.2; PA = 1°
48" (4/28/22): NGC 4289 is an unusual perfectly edge-on spiral with long whisker-thin extensions over 4' long N-S and a narrow boxy bulge. At 488x it appeared fairly bright, very large, razor-thin extensions ~3'x0.2', with a bright, very elongated core. A mag 8.4 star (HD 107473) is 3' ESE of center.
18" (5/8/04): very faint, thin edge-on 5:1 N-S,
1.0'x0.2', very weak concentration.
This delicate sliver required some care in first acquiring. A mag 8.4 star (
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4289 = T. 1-42 in 1877. His position and description (BD
+4°2606 follows by 12 sec of time) matches
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NGC 4290 = UGC 7402 = MCG +10-18-029 = CGCG 293-012 = Holm 373a = PGC 39859
12 20 47.5 +58 05 33; UMa
V = 11.8; Size 2.3'x1.6'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 90°
17.5" (5/13/88): fairly bright, moderately large, elongated WSW-ENE, bright core, faint stellar nucleus. Forms a pair with NGC 4284 4.6' W. A wide double star = M40 lies 15' E. Located 15' N of 70 Ursa Majoris (V = 5.6).
William Herschel discovered NGC 4290 = H. II-805 = h1193, along with NGC 4284, on 17 Apr 1789 (sweep 923). He recorded "pretty bright, pretty large, much brighter middle. The following of two [with NGC 4284]." John Herschel observed this object on a single sweep and noted "pB; L; R; gradually brighter in the middle; 60"."
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12 20 17.7 +75 22 15; Dra
V = 11.5; Size 1.9'x1.6'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 110°
13.1" (2/23/85): fairly bright, small, round, small
bright nucleus, possible stellar nucleus at 312x. A mag 14 star is at the west edge 25" from the
center. Form a pair with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4291 = H. I-275 = h1192, along with NGC 4319, on 10 Dec 1797 (sweep 1066). He noted "considerably bright, small, round." This was the first of 5 galaxies discovered in Draco while observing in the north, under the pole. The offset star was a new double, whose position was fixed two nights later in sweep 1068.
John Herschel made four observations. On sweep 349 he recorded "pretty faint; round; gradually brighter middle; 20" diameter; followed and almost surrounded by 3 stars 10m, one of which is double; has also a vS * south preceding dist 30"."
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12 21 16.4 +04 35 44; Vir
V = 12.2; Size 1.7'x1.1'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 7°
17.5" (3/28/87): fairly faint, small, bright core,
slightly elongated halo. Located
1.3' SSE of a mag 10 star. Forms a
close pair with
13.1" (2/23/85): fairly faint, small, slightly elongated ~N-S, brighter core. A mag 9 star is 1' NW.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4292 = h1196 on 7 Apr 1828 and logged "F; S; near a bright star; precedes M61 about half a field." A few nights later he logged "F; R; very gradually little brighter middle; has a star 70° np; 1' dist. Taken for H. I-139, but this nebula does not exist, or is identical with M61." The latter is the case.
On 1 Mar 1851, Bindon Stoney (Lord Rosse's assistant) recorded "bM and has a vF companion". While compiling the 1880 publication, Dreyer added the note "2' north by diagram." At this offset from NGC 4292 is NGC 4292A = PGC 213977, another pre-NGC discovery which should have recieved a NGC designation.
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12 21 13.0 +18 23 00; Com
V = 10.4; Size 5.6'x2.6'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 72°
17.5" (5/23/98): fairly bright, large, elongated 3:1 WSW-ENE, ~4.5'x1.5'. The core is more oval, ~1.2' diameter. The galaxy has an irregular surface brightness and there appears to be a dark band following the core. A mag 13.5 star is just off the following end 2.7' from center and a trio of mag 12-13 stars are off the NE end as well as another mag 13 star 2' N of center. Located 36' N of 11 Comae Berenices (V = 4.7).
William Herschel discovered NGC 4293 = H. V-5 = h1195 on 14 Mar 1784 (sweep 170) and recorded "L, E, r, 6 or 7' in length." John Herschel made two observations and logged (sweep 61) "F; vL; E; bM; 5' l, 1.5' br." Bindon Stoney, LdR's assistant on 10 Apr 1852, noted a "faint knot at end of the preceding branch."
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12 21 17.8 +11 30 37; Vir
V = 12.1; Size 3.2'x1.2'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 155°
17.5" (4/18/87): moderately bright, moderately large,
elongated 3:1 NNW-SSE, 2.0'x0.7', fairly weak concentration. A mag 14.5 star is at the north end
1.1' from center. Forms a pair
with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4294 = H. II-61 = h1197, along with NGC 4299, on 15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174). He described both as "Two [with NGC 4299] considerable, E, F nebula; their situation is in the same parallel; and they are near fixed pB stars." His RA was about a minute too large but the description fits. John Herschel's description on sweep 242 is interesting: "F; vmE; like a double neb composed of 2 R nebulae."
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12 21 09.8 +28 09 54; Com
V = 13.6; Size 0.6'x0.5'
18" (6/23/09): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly elongated, 30"x25", increases gradually to a very small brighter core. Blazar W Com is 6' NE.
17.5" (4/25/98): very faint, very small, round, 20" diameter, weak concentration. A mag 13 star lies 3.3' NNE. Poor transparency due to smoke.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4295 on 6 Apr 1864 with the
11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His single position is just off the east side of
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12 21 28.4 +06 39 12; Vir
V = 12.7; Size 1.3'x0.9'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 15°
17.5" (3/24/90): fairly faint, very small, bright core,
very faint elongated halo N-S mostly visible to the south of the core. Forms a pair with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4296 = H. III-92, along with NGC 4297, on 13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191). He recorded both as "vF, vS; and one still smaller and fainter [NGC 4297] suspected just by."
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NGC 4297 = MCG +01-32-018 = CGCG 042-041 NED1 = PGC 39940
12 21 27.4 +06 40 16; Vir
V = 14.2; Size 0.5'x0.2'; Surf Br = 11.5; PA = 171°
17.5" (3/24/90): extremely faint and small, round, required averted. Located 1.1' N of NGC 4296.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4297 = H. III-93, along with NGC 4296, on 13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191). He recorded both as "vF, vS; and one still smaller and fainter suspected [III-93 = NGC 4297] just by." The separation of this pair is only 1', which is unusually close for a Herschel discovery.
But NGC 4297 was not seen by Heinrich d'Arrest or Guillaume Bigourdan. And when Royal Frost missed it on a Harvard plate, he classified it as nonexistent (Annals of Harvard College Observatory, Vol 88, No. 1). The CGCG has a single entry and lists it as a double system.
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12 21 32.8 +14 36 24; Com
V = 11.3; Size 3.2'x1.8'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 140°
48" (4/7/13): at 610x; very bright, large, oval 2:1
NW-SE, 2.5'x1.5'. Contains a very
bright core, which increases to a small bright nucleus. The core is offset a bit to the NW
side. The halo extends further to
the SE side and a weakly defined spiral arm is evident in the outer halo on the
west side, extending to the SE end.
A mag 13.5 star is at the east side, 0.8' from the core. Forms a striking pair with
17.5" (5/23/87): fairly bright, moderately large, elongated NW-SE, broadly brighter center. A mag 13 star is at the east end 0.8' from center. Forms a close pair with edge-on NGC 4302 2' E.
13.1" (3/24/84): fairly faint, slightly elongated NW-SE. A mag 13 star is at the east end.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4298 = H. II-111 = h1198, along with NGC 4302, on 8 Apr 1784 (sweep 187) and recorded "Two resolvable nebula. The first [NGC 4298] R. The second [NGC 4302] E. About 2' from each other. John Herschel noted "F; L; E; very gradually brighter middle; a star follows; the p of 2."
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NGC 4299 = UGC 7414 = MCG +02-32-010 = CGCG 070-025 = Holm 376b = PGC 39968
12 21 40.8 +11 30 03; Vir
V = 12.5; Size 1.7'x1.6'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 26°
17.5" (4/18/87): moderately bright, moderately large, overall fairly diffuse with a broad concentration, slightly elongated. A group of mag 12-13 stars is SE. Forms a pair with NGC 4294 5.6' W.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4299 = H. II-62 = h1200, along with NGC 4294, on 15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174). He recorded them together as "Two [with NGC 4294] considerable, E, F nebula; their situation is in the same parallel; and they are near fixed pB stars." John Herschel made 3 observations and measured an accurate position.
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12 21 41.5 +05 23 05; Vir
V = 12.9; Size 1.5'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 42°
24" (4/28/14): moderately bright, elongated 5:2 SW-NE, 1.0'x0.4', fairly well concentrated with a bright, elongated core. At the southern vertex of an isosceles triangle with two mag 9.2 stars 8.4' NNE and 9.2' NW.
17.5" (3/28/87): fairly faint, elongated SW-NE, weak concentration. Located 20' E of NGC 4281 and 11' WNW of 17 Virginis (∑1636 = 6.6/9.4 at 21").
William Herschel discovered NGC 4300 = H. II-572 = h1201 on 17 Apr 1786 (sweep 553) and only noted "a nebula, [position] very badly taken." Despite Herschel's comment just previously in the sweep that "a slop occasioned by the same blundering person", his position is just off the southwest end of the galaxy.
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12 22 27.2 +04 33 58; Vir
V = 13.0; Size 1.5'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.6
17.5" (3/28/87): fairly faint, fairly small, almost round, fairly even surface brightness. Located 10' NE of M61. NGC 4292 lies 11' NW.
13.1" (2/23/85): faint, fairly small, diffuse, roundish.
13.1" (5/26/84): very faint, small, diffuse, slightly elongated, no concentration.
Here are my notes on
George Johnstone Stoney or his brother Bindon Blood Stoney
(Lord Rosse's assistants), discovered NGC 4301 on 21 Apr 1851. While observing the field of M61 he
noted, "Another neb 10' nf."
This could be interpreted as 10' NE of M61 or 10' NE of NGC 4292, but
Heinrich d'Arrest and Herman Schultz were unable to find NGC
4301 at the GC position. Because
of this, Dreyer assumed Stoney's object was 10' northeast of NGC 4292 (the
other object grouped together) and modified the position of NGC 4301 in the
NGC. As a result, UGC 7411
(located 12' NNE of NGC 4292) assumed to be new when it was found on plates
taken by Keeler with the Crossley reflector in 1898-1900 and catalogued in the
1908 list of new nebulae (Publ Lick Obs, Vol VIII). UGC 7411 was misidentified as NGC 4301 in the MCG, PGC, RC3,
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NGC 4302 = UGC 7418 = MCG +03-32-009 = CGCG 099-027 = Holm 377b = PGC 39974
12 21 42.3 +14 35 59; Com
V = 11.6; Size 5.5'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 178°
48" (4/7/13): at 610x; beautiful, thin edge-on stretching at least 8:1 N-S, ~5.0'x0.5'. Contains a brighter, elongated, mottled core. A very thin dust lane extends along the major axis! The core is slightly brighter on the east side of the dust lane. The northern tip extends beyond a mag 14.2 star off the NW end. A mag 14.3 star is just west of the southern tip. Forms a superb pair with NGC 4298 just 2' W.
17.5" (5/23/87): fairly faint, large edge-on 7:1 N-S, 4.5'x0.6', low surface brightness, weak concentration. A mag 14 star is off the north edge 2.0' from center. Forms a close pair with NGC 4298 2.4' W.
13.1" (3/24/84): faint edge-on streak N-S close following NGC 4298.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4302 = H. II-112 = h1199, along with NGC 4298, on 8 Apr 1784 (sweep 187) and recorded "Two resolvable nebula. The first, round [NGC 4298], the second elongated [NGC 4302] . About 2' from each other."
On 26 Apr 1832 (sweep 421), John Herschel noted "L; vmE nearly in the meridian [N-S]; the following of 2."
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12 21 54.9 +04 28 25; Vir
V = 9.7; Size 6.5'x5.8'; Surf Br = 13.4
48" (4/5/13) and 5/1/19) at 375x and 488x, the visible structure was similar to photographic detail! A bright bar extends north-south and is sharply concentrated with a very small, round, intense nucleus. A bright arm is attached right at the north side of the bar and sweeps counterclockwise 180° to the south end, along the east side. A brighter region was visible in the arm east of the nucleus, which include HII regions NGC 4303:[HK83] #35/39/41/45/49, from the Hodge-Kennicutt "Atlas of H II regions in 125 galaxies". At this location, the arm has a sharp turn [63°] and angles towards the SW. The arm dims rapidly on the south end, but I was able to follow it much further SW in the outer halo, where it passes just north of a mag 14.0 star [2.4' SW of center].
The western arm is attached at the southern end of the bar and sweeps north on the west side. A bright, elongated patch is on the southern end of this arm, which includes [HK83] #155, ~45" SSW of the nucleus. The arm extends inside a mag 14 star in the west side of the halo [1.2' WSW of center] and then sharply dims but extends towards #242, a nearly detached faint knot 1.2' WNW of center.
A partial outer arm, not attached to the core, was easily visible on the north side, angling southwest to northeast. At the NE end of this short bright arm is the HII knot [HK83] #91, a very bright, 15" knot, 1.2' NNE of center. The arm dims suddenly on the northeast end but a diffuse extension continues to wrap counterclockwise to the southeast at the edge of the eastern halo.
24" (5/20/20 and 5/24/20): viewed SN 2020jfo (Type II), discovered on May 6th 1.1' W and 0.5' N of the center of the galaxy. This is the 8th SN discovered in M61 since 1926, the most of any Messier. It appeared very close in brightness to a mag 14.2 star that is 1.2' W of center and collinear with another mag 14 star 2.4' SW of center.
M61 appeared strongly concentrated with a bright elongated core or bar oriented N-S that increased to an intense, very small nucleus. Three arms were easily visible. A short but well defined arm angled SW-NE on the north side (outside the eastern arm). It ended at a relatively bright HII knot [HK83] #91, which was well defined and noticed immediately. The eastern arm, which emerged from the north side of the bar, was very well defined and extended east of the core, then headed south and angled towards the southwest. The western arm began on the south or southeast side of the bar and rotated counterclockwise towards to the west and bent in the northwest direction. It passed inside a 14th mag star [1.1' W of center]. A subtle brightening or knot, [HK83] #155, was seen along this arm 40" S of center (collinear with the northern knot and the center).
18" (5/12/07): spiral structure was easily visible. One arm is attached at the north end and sweeps towards the northeast and then hooks to the south along the east side. A bright knot ([HK83] #91) is within the arm at the northeast end. A second broader arm is attached at the south end and sweeps towards the southwest and then hooks towards the north on the west side. The central region contains a bright, stellar nucleus.
13.1" (5/27/84): very bright, large, bright stellar nucleus. Two spiral arms were faintly visible; one arm is attached south of the nucleus and winds towards the west and then north. A slightly brighter arm is attached north of the nucleus and winds along the east side towards the south. In the field with NGC 4292 11' NW and NGC 4301 10' NE.
11x80mm (5/27/84): easy in finder.
Italian astronomer Barnaba Oriani discovered M61 = NGC 4303 = H. I-139 = h1202 on 5 May 1779 with a 3.6-inch refractor at the Brera Observatory in Milano. He discovered it while following the Comet of 1779 and described it as "Very pale and looking exactly like the comet." Messier independently found M61 the same night, though initially mistook it for the comet, finally recognizing it as a nebula on 11 May.
William Herschel found M61 on 17 Apr 1786 (sweep 553). He noted "very bright". He observed it again on 30 Apr (sweep 558) and noted "extremely bright, very bright nucleus, resolvble, 6 or 7' diameter." Herschel didn't realize it was M61 and it was included in his second catalogue as H. I. 139. John Herschel observed M61 on 3 consecutive sweeps in 1828, describing it on 10 April as "very faintly bicentral. The two nuclei 90" distance in position angle 45 to 50° north-following." This comment was the source of the GC and NGC description "bi-nuclear". The second nucleus is very likely the bright knot on the northern spiral arm. Sir John equated M61 and his father's I. 139 in the Slough Catalogue.
Bindon Blood Stoney and/or his brother George Johnstone discovered spiral structure on 1 Mar 1851 and noted "spiral, 2 knots, centre bright. There is another neb. 10' nf." A sketch made of M61 on 14 Apr 1852 was included in the 1861 publication, though misidentified as h1196 [NGC 4292]. The two knots clearly included in the sketch are [HK83] #91 and [HK83] #155, mentioned in my 24-inch observation. The neb 10' nf probably refers to NGC 4301 = NGC 4303A = UGC 7439. See that number.
M61 has hosted 8 supernovae since 1926 (six of these since 1961), making M61 the current record holder among Messier galaxies. The first (SN 1926A) was found by Max Wolf and Karl Reinmuth at the Heidelberg Observatory.
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12 22 12.7 -33 29 04; Hya
V = 11.6; Size 2.6'x2.5'; Surf Br = 13.5
18" (5/28/06): very faint, fairly large, round, 2' diameter, broad weak concentration. Appears as a diffuse glow of low surface brightness though seems mottled or one or more very faint stars is superimposed. Located 6.9' NW of mag 8.2 SAO 203407.
On the DSS, this galaxy is a face-on barred spiral similar
to
John Herschel discovered NGC 4304 = h3387 on 28 Apr 1834 and logged "vF; pL; R; very gradually very little brighter middle; 90"; r."
NGC 4304 was first photographed by DeLisle Stewart at Harvard's Arequipa Station between 1898 and 1901 and noted as a "looks lie a ring nebula." A photograph taken with the 30-inch reflector at the Helwan Observatory in Egypt between 1912-14 revealed a "S-Shaped spiral".
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NGC 4305 = UGC 7432 = MCG +02-32-013 = CGCG 070-031 = Holm 381a = PGC 40030
12 22 03.6 +12 44 27; Vir
V = 12.6; Size 2.2'x1.2'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 32°
24" (5/29/14): moderately bright, moderately large, oval 5:3 SW-NE, 1.0'x0.6'. Contains a brighter, elongated core. Brighter of a pair with NGC 4306 2.8' N.
17.5" (4/25/87): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated SSW-NNE, diffuse arms, weak concentration. Forms a pair with NGC 4306 2.8' N. NGC 4267 lies 33' W.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4305 = h1203 on 2 May 1829 and simply noted "vF; R." His position is just 45" south of center, though he missed nearby NGC 4306.
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NGC 4306 = UGC 7433 = MCG +02-32-014 = CGCG 070-032 = Holm 381b = PGC 40032
12 22 04.1 +12 47 15; Vir
V = 13.2; Size 1.6'x1.3'; PA = 140°
24" (5/29/14): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly elongated NW-SE, 40"x32", weak concentration. Fainter of a pair with NGC 4305 2.8' S.
17.5" (4/25/87): faint, small, slightly elongated NW-SE, diffuse, no concentration. Forms a pair with NGC 4305 2.8' S.
George Johnstone Stoney, LdR's assistant, discovered NGC 4306 on 13 Apr 1849, while viewing the central region of the Virgo cluster. He labeled the galaxy Beta on the diagram and recorded "Alpha [NGC 4305] and Beta [NGC 4306] nearly in merdian [N-S], both F, Alpha the larger." Henrich d'Arrest independently discovered NGC 4306 on 16 Apr 1865 and measured an accurate position. d'Arrest is credited with the discovery in the NGC as no positions or offsets were later determined.
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12 22 05.6 +09 02 38; Vir
V = 12.0; Size 3.6'x0.8'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 24°
17.5" (3/24/90): moderately bright, large, edge-on
SSW-NNE, broad moderate concentration. Forms a pair with
Christian Peters discovered NGC 4307 around 1881 with the 13.5-inch refractor at the Hamilton College Observatory. He noted "pL, not vF" and his position was 2.5' too far south. Wilhelm Tempel found NGC 4307 on 17 Mar 1882 and mentioined it in the narrative part of his 7th discovery paper.
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12 21 56.8 +30 04 27; Com
V = 13.4; Size 0.8'x0.7'; Surf Br = 12.8
17.5" (4/25/98): faint, small, round, 30"
diameter, very weak concentration.
Located 13' NW of
Truman Safford discovered NGC 4308 = Sf. 107 = T. 5-16 on 11 Jun 1868 with the 18.5-inch Clark refractor at the Dearborn Observatory. The discovery was not published until 1887, too late to be credited in the NGC. Wilhelm Tempel independently discovered the galaxy on 17 Feb 1882, recorded it as new in his 5th discovery paper. Tempel was credited with the discovery in the main NGC listing.
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12 22 12.4 +07 08 39; Vir
V = 12.7; Size 1.9'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 85°
17.5" (3/24/90): faint, elongated E-W, diffuse,
gradually increases to a small bright core. A mag 13 star is 2.9' E. Located 20' W of the
Auguste Voigt discovered NGC 4309 on 27 Apr 1865. His unpublished logbook position is 4' to the SSW and he logged it (#39 in a list 102 objects observed) as a "Nova?" Due to his uncertainty, NGC 4309 wasn't included in his final list of 10 "Novae". None of his Voigt's discoveries at the Marseilles Observatory were published at the time. Christian Peters rediscovered NGC 4309 around 1881 with the 13.5-inch refractor at the Hamilton College Observatory in New York and measured an accurate position. The discovery was not published in his two lists in Copernicus 1881 and 1882, so it must have been communicated directly to Dreyer.
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12 22 26.3 +29 12 31; Com
V = 12.2; Size 2.2'x1.2'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 165°
17.5" (5/23/98): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1 NW-SE, 1.2'x0.6', weak concentration. A wide pair of mag 12 stars [1.3' separation] lies 4' S. The nearer star has a mag 14 companion at 24".
17.5" (4/25/98): fairly faint, elongated 2:1 NW-SE, 1.4'x0.7', broad concentration. The trio of NGC 4278, NGC 4283 and NGC 4286 lies ~30' NW. Observation affected by hazy skies.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4310 = H. II-378 = h1205 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and recorded "F, cL, lE." There is only a single galaxy here, although on sweep 68, John Herschel called it "vB. The np of 2 [with h1206 = NGC 4611]."
Heinrich d'Arrest made 3 accurate measurements of the
positions, with a 4th exactly 1.0 min of time too large. Dreyer assumed it was new and
catalogued it as
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12 22 26 +29 12 24; Com
= Not found, Corwin.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4311 = h1206 on 19 Apr 1827 and recorded "F; the sf of two [with NGC 4310]." There is only a single galaxy here, so it is not clear what Herschel was referring to. Curiously, his position is a very close match with NGC 4310. Harold Corwin was unsuccessful in searching for other pairs that JH might have misidentified. UGC, RNGC and MCG label the single galaxy as NGC 4310 = NGC 4311.
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12 22 31.4 +15 32 16; Com
V = 11.7; Size 4.6'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 170°
17.5" (5/23/87): moderately bright and large, very
elongated N-S, 2.5'x0.6', brighter the along major axis. A pair of mag 12.5/13 stars at 21"
separation lies 2.5' ESE. Located
18' SSW of
William Herschel discovered NGC 4312 = H. II-628 = h1209 on
14 Jan 1787 (sweep 691) and logged "pB, cL, E." Caroline's reduced position is 6 sec of
RA east of
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12 22 38.6 +11 48 04; Vir
V = 11.6; Size 4.0'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 143°
24" (5/29/14): fairly bright, fairly large, very elongated 7:2 NW-SE, 2.1'x0.6', bright, elongated core increases to a faint stellar nucleus, mottled surface. The northwest extension seems slightly brighter and longer and in addition is slightly tilted with respect to the major axis of the core.
17.5" (4/18/87): moderately bright, moderately large, very elongated NW-SE, very small bright core. Located 22' NE of the NGC 4294/NGC 4299 pair in the same low power field.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4313 = H. II-63 = h1207 on 15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174) and noted "E, resembling the former two [NGC 4294 and 4299]. His position on this sweep is 1.0 tmin too large. A similar error was made on several nebulae discovered on that night including NGCs 3810, 4067, 4294, 4313, 4352, 4371, and 4429. John Herschel made two observations, recording on 11 Apr 1823 (only his 3rd registered sweep), "eF; E 45° np, resolved in middle." His position is accurate.
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NGC 4314 = UGC 7443 = MCG +05-29-075 = CGCG 158-093 = PGC 40097
12 22 32.0 +29 53 44; Com
V = 10.6; Size 4.2'x3.7'; Surf Br = 13.4
17.5" (4/25/98): fairly bright, fairly large, elongated ~3:1 NNW-SSE, ~3'x1' [prominent central bar]. The halo fades at the tips and rises fairly abruptly to an oval core. A mag 13 star is at the northwest tip and a mag 14/15 star is embedded on the southeast side. The observation was hampered by poor transparency and the faint outer halo of this barred spiral was not seen.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4314 = H. I-76 = h1204 = Sf.
20 on 13 Mar 1785 (sweep 387) and recorded "cB, L, E." His position matches
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12 22 39.5 +09 17 10; Vir
= *, Corwin. "Not found", Carlson.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4315, along with NGC 4316, on 17 Mar 1882. He mentioned a fainter nebula to the south 1.5' and 2 sec of RA west. There is nothing at this offset, except a mag 15 star which is 2.8' south and 3 sec of RA west or perhaps a mag 14 star 1.6' south and 2.5 sec of RA east. Tempel apparently confused one of these stars as being nebulous.
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NGC 4316 = UGC 7447 = MCG +02-32-017 = CGCG 070-035 = PGC 40119
12 22 42.3 +09 19 56; Vir
V = 12.9; Size 2.5'x0.5'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 113°
17.5" (3/24/90): fairly faint, fairly small, very elongated WNW-ESE, weak concentration. A double star is off the WNW end with components 13.2/13.5 at 19". NGC 4307 is 21' SW.
Édouard Stephan discovered NGC 4316 = St. 13-68 = T. 5-17 on 5 Apr 1878. His notebook position was less than less than 2' S of center. His published position (list 13, #68) was reduced on 1 Apr 1884 and mentions the galaxy is elongated WNW-ESE.
Wilhelm Tempel rediscovered NGC 4316, along with NGC 4315,
on 17 Mar 1882. He reported it in
his 5th discovery list and noted the 20" pair of stars off the northwest
end so the identification with
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12 22 36 +31 02; Com
= Not found, Corwin. = *, Reinmuth and Carlson.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4317 = H. II-324 on 13 Mar 1785 (sweep 387) and logged "F, S." There is nothing at his position and Corwin was not able to find a likely candidate.
Karl Renimuth identifies NGC 4317 with a mag 13.7 star and this is repeated by Dorothy Carlson. But Corwin feels II-324 probably does not refer to a star as the description would more likely be vS or eS. So, he calls it "lost".
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12 22 43.3 +08 11 54; Vir
V = 13.3; Size 0.7'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.1; PA = 65°
17.5" (3/24/90): fairly faint, very small, slightly
elongated SW-NE, bright core.
Located 4.4' S of mag 8.8
John Herschel discovered NGC 4318 = h1208 on 18 Jan 1828 and
noted "eF; a star 8m 5' dist, on meridian to north." His position is within 30" of the
center of
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NGC 4319 = NGC 4345 = UGC 7429 = MCG +03-09-025 = CGCG 352-029 = LGG 284-005 = PGC 39981
12 21 43.9 +75 19 20; Dra
V = 11.9; Size 3.0'x2.3'; Surf Br = 13.8; PA = 160°
13.1" (2/23/85): fairly faint, small, bright core, stellar nucleus. The quasar Markarian 205 (controversial quasar with an apparent discordant redshift) appears as a faint mag 14.5 stellar object 0.7' south of center. Forms a pair with NGC 4291 6' NW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4319 = H. I-276 = h1210, along with NGC 4291, on 10 Dec 1797 (sweep 1066). He recorded "considerably bright, considerably large, much brighter middle, irregular figure." John Herschel made three observations and recorded (sweep 413) "pretty bright; pretty large; bright middle. Follows [NGC 4291]."
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12 22 57.8 +10 32 55; Vir
V = 13.8; Size 1.0'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 170°
17.5" (3/24/90): very faint, very small, round, bright
core. Forms a pair with
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4320 on 15 Apr 1865 with
the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His position, measured on 4 nights, matches
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12 22 55.0 +15 49 21; Com
V = 9.3; Size 7.4'x6.3'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 30°
82" (5/4/19, McDonald Observatory): at 400x; this superb spiral nearly filled the 10' eyepiece field and displayed two main high contrast, very thin and beautiful spiral arms. They wrapped towards the center, which was sharply concentrated with an extremely bright nucleus.
48" (4/18/15): stunning view of this gorgeous spiral at 375x and 488x. M100 was sharply concentrated with an intensely bright circular nucleus. Two prominent, high contrast arms (fairly narrow) each rotated ~270° and could be clearly traced to within 1' of the center. The south and north outer tips of the arms are between 5.5'-6' apart with the overall size ~6'x5'.
One arm begins off the WNW side of the core with a bright mottled section angling nearly north-south for ~25". This section contains multiple HII sites NGC 4321:[HK83]220/223/229/230 from Hodge and Kennicutt's 1983 "An Atlas of H II regions in 125 galaxies". The arm curls clockwise around the south side. A small (~8" dia.) HII knot (#160/171/172) is within this arm, 1.0' S of center. Just to the east [1.5' SE of center] is a brighter, mottled section that contains a close pair [18" separation] of compact HII knots (#110 and #69/87). The surface brightness of the arm abruptly drops as it shoots due north on the east side of the halo for ~3'. The arm dims further as it curves west on the northeast side of the outer halo and ends just southeast of mag 15 star situated 2.9' NNW of center.
The second arm begins ~1' SE of center as a thicker, much brighter region. The Hodge-Kennicutt Atlas catalogues numerous HII designations in this region, but none stood out individually. The arm sharply narrows and rotates clockwise around the north side of the core towards the west. It passes just south of two mag 15.5 stars, where there is a slightly brighter mottled section containing HII regions #252/253. The arm dims significantly as it heads south on the west side of the halo. Finally, it weakens further and spreads out at the end on the southwest side of the galaxy [2.6' from center].
18" (5/15/10): very bright, large, ~4.0-4.5' diameter, sharply concentrated with a very bright round core. Spiral structure was evident at 220x with a spiral arm attached on the southwest side of the core region. This arm sweeps east on the south side, heading in the direction of a mag 14 star just off the southeast end of the galaxy, but bending north. On the north side off of the core, a portion of the inner spiral arm is visible oriented E-W and extending to the northwest of the core region.
17.5" (5/23/87): bright, very large, almost round,
well-defined bright core surrounded by a large, fainter halo. Two faint galaxies
Pierre Méchain discovered M100 = NGC 4321 = h1211, along
with M98 and M99, on 15 Mar 1781 and Messier verified it a month later. William Herschel described "a vL
nebula of about 10' in diameter, with a small bright cluster of supposed stars
in the middle. It is followed at
the distance of 6 or 8' by another distinct F, S, R, r nebula [
Lord Rosse discovered spiral structure in M100 on 9 Mar 1850 (or earlier) and included M100 in his list of "Spiral or curvilinear" nebulae in the 1850 PT paper. William Lassell published two sketches of M100 using his 48-inch on Malta on 24 and 26 Apr 1862. The second one is an excellent rendering of the spiral arms, which both wrap about 1 1/2 revolutions around the core. Dreyer's comment "(L): 2-branched spiral", is based on this sketch.
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12 22 42.0 +15 54 13; Com
24" (5/22/17): this number *possibly* applies to a 13th
magnitude star 5.7' NW of the center of M100 and 4.8' due west of NGC 4323
(
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4322, along with NGC 4323 and
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NGC 4323 = MCG +03-32-016 = CGCG 099-031 = Holm 387f = WBL 401-002 = PGC 40171
12 23 01.6 +15 54 20; Com
V = 14.7; Size 1.1'x0.8'
24" (5/22/17): at 375x; very faint, fairly small, roundish, ~0.4' diameter, very low surface brightness with no structure. Could often hold with averted but required concentration to pick up. Located 5.3' NNE of the center of M100. A mag 13 star is 4.8' due W. This galaxy was marginal in Carter Scholz's 16", which makes me question if Wilhelm Tempel would have picked it up in an 11" refractor.
18" (5/15/10): this faint galaxy is located just 5.2' NNE of the center of the face-on spiral M100. At 220x it appeared very faint, fairly small, ~0.5'x0.4' (difficult to determine the orientation), very low surface brightness with no central brightening. This galaxy is the fainter of two companions of M100 with NGC 4328 6' E of center.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4323, along with NGC 4322 and NGC 4327, in 1882, during an observation of M100. He mentions "on my drawing are three other very faint nebula in the vicinity, two north and close to M100 and the third south of [NGC 4328]." But there is only a single galaxy north of M100, namely CGCG 099-031 = PGC 40171. RNGC and MCG label this galaxy as NGC 4322 = NGC 4333 but Harold Corwin argues that NGC 4322 is probably a star 4.8' west of the galaxy, which implies only NGC 4323 should be used for the galaxy (placing the numbers in order of RA). See Corwin's identification notes.
In 1908 this galaxy was reported as a new "nebula" based on photographs taken by Keeler and Perrine in 1898-1900 and catalogued (#423) in the 1908 Publications of Lick Observatory, Vol VIII.
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12 23 06.2 +05 15 01; Vir
V = 11.6; Size 2.8'x1.2'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 53°
17.5" (3/28/87): moderately bright, small bright core, elongated WSW-ENE, fainter extensions. Located 9' ESE of double star 17 Virginis (∑1636 = 6.6/9.4 at 21").
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4324 on 4 Mar 1862 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His position (measured on 4 nights) is accurate. Eduard Schönfeld independently found the galaxy less than a month later on 1 Apr 1862 with a 6-inch refractor at the Mannheim Observatory.
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NGC 4325 = NGC 4368? = MCG +02-32-019 = CGCG 070-037 = PGC 40183
12 23 06.6 +10 37 16; Vir
V = 13.3; Size 1.0'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 5°
17.5" (3/24/90): faint, small, irregularly round, weak concentration. Forms a pair with NGC 4320 4.9' SSW.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4325 on 15 Apr 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. He made 4 observations and noted the mag 14.5 star (he called it mag 16) that follows by 7.6 seconds of time.
WH's III-38 = NGC 4368 is probably another observation, though this identification is somewhat uncertain as his position is 1.5 minutes of RA further east. See that number.
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12 23 11.6 +06 04 19; Vir
V = 13.3; Size 1.5'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 145°
16" LX200 (4/14/07): fairly faint, fairly small,
elongated 4:3, 0.6'x0.45', small bright core. Bracketed by a mag 10.5 star 3' N and a mag 11.5 star 2'
S. Located 5.8' W of
17.5" (3/28/87): fairly faint, small, round, bright core. First of three and forms a right angle with NGC 4333 3.3' SE and NGC 4339 5.7' E. A mag 11 star is 3.0' N. Located within the NGC 4339 group.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4326 = H. II-141 = h1213, along with NGCs 4333 and 4339, on 13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191). He recorded "Three [with NGC 4333 and 4339], the last [NGC 4339] is the largest." On 25 Apr 1830 (sweep 254), John Herschel wrote, "vF; S; R; bM; 10"; the first of 3 in a triangle."
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12 23 07.5 +15 44 11; Com
= not found, Gottlieb and Carlson. =*, Corwin.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4327, along with NGC 4322 and
4323, in 1882, during an observation of M100. In the notes section of paper V (AN 2439) Tempel commented,
"There are three other, very subtle nebulae in the vicinity [of M100], two
to the north, near to M100, and the third to the south of
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NGC 4328 = MCG +03-32-019 = CGCG 099-034 = Holm 387d = WBL 401-003 = PGC 40209
12 23 20.0 +15 49 13; Com
V = 13.0; Size 1.3'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 90°
18" (5/15/10): faint, fairly small, very diffuse with just a weak concentration, ~0.8' diameter, no distinct core or zones. Located just 6' due east of the center of M100 and the brighter of two companions in the field with NGC 4323.
18" (4/5/03): very faint, fairly small, slightly elongated ~E-W, 0.8'x0.6', very low surface brightness (although catalogued surface brightness is 13.1), very weak concentration. A mag 14.5 star lies 1.4' NE. Located 6.0' E of M100.
17.5" (5/23/87): extremely faint, small, round. A mag 14.5 star is 1.4' NE of center. Located 6' due east of M100!
William Herschel discovered NGC 4328 = H. II-84 on 21 Mar 1784 (sweep 182) and noted "It [M100] is followed at the distance of 6 or 8' by another distinct F, S, R, r nebula which is nearly in the same parallel with the great one." The NGC RA is 9 seconds too small, but the identification is certain. Nevertheless, it was found again on plates taken with the Crossley reflector in 1898-1900, and catalogued as a new nebula (#465 of 744) in the 1908 Publications of Lick Observatory, Vol VIII.
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12 23 20.7 -12 33 31; Crv
V = 11.5; Size 1.3'x0.9'; Surf Br = 11.5; PA = 45°
17.5" (5/19/01): fairly faint, small, slightly
elongated SW-NE, moderate surface brightness, 25" diameter. Seems fainter than listed blue
magnitude of 12.5.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4329 = h1214 on 9 Mar 1828 and
recorded (single observation) "F; sB; R; bM to nucleus. His position is
1.4' north of
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12 23 16.6 +11 22 07; Vir
V = 12.4; Size 4.5'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 59°
17.5" (4/18/87): faint, fairly large, edge-on SW-NE,
even surface brightness.
George Johnstone Stoney or his brother Bindon Blood Stoney discovered NGC 4330 on 14 Apr 1852. During an observation of NGC 4294 and 4299 with the 72", "another vF and thin ray about 30' following." John Herschel catalogued this object as GC 2909 ("R. nova"). Heinrich d'Arrest independently found this galaxy on 15 Apr 1865 with the 11" refractor at Copenhagen and measured an accurate position (3 nights). Dreyer catalogued this observation as GC 5639 with the note ""Probably = [GC] 2909." The two GC entries were combined in the NGC.
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12 22 35.9 +76 10 21; Dra
V = 14.1; Size 2.2'x0.4'; Surf Br = 13.9; PA = 2°
18" (3/5/05): extremely faint, moderately large, edge-on 5:1 N-S. A mag 14-14.5 star is at the north tip and the galaxy appears as a ghostly dagger hanging to the south.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4331 = H. III-942 = h1220 on
12 Dec 1797 (sweep 1068). He noted "extremely faint, elongated near the
meridian [N-S]. Verified with
320x." Caroline's reduced
position is 1.8' SE of
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NGC 4332 = UGC 7453 = MCG +11-15-048 = CGCG 315-033 = PGC 40133
12 22 46.8 +65 50 37; Dra
V = 12.2; Size 2.1'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 130°
17.5" (3/20/93): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 3:2 NW-SE, weak concentration. A mag 11.5 star is 2.1' ENE of center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4332 = H. II-847 = h1216 on 20 Mar 1790 (sweep 954) and logged "pB; S; lE." John Herschel recorded (single observation) 'F; R; very gradually brighter middle; 20"." and measured an accurate position.
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NGC 4333 = MCG +01-32-034 = CGCG 042-065 = PGC 40217
12 23 22.2 +06 02 26; Vir
V = 13.6; Size 0.9'x0.7'; Surf Br = 12.9
16" LX200 (4/14/07): fairly faint, small, round, faint stellar nucleus, 20" diameter. Located 4' SW of NGC 4339 in a trio with NGC 4326 3.3' NW.
17.5" (3/28/87): fairly faint, small, round, weak concentration. Forms a pair with NGC 4339 4' NE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4333 = H. II-142 = h1215, along with NGC 4326 and 4329, on 13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191). On 25 Apr 1830 (sweep 254), John Herschel logged "F; pS; R; bM; 15"; the second of 3 in a triangle."
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12 23 24.0 +07 28 23; Vir
V = 13.0; Size 2.3'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.8; PA = 135°
17.5" (3/24/90): faint, very small, small bright core,
faint extensions NW-SE. A mag 11.5
star is just 0.7' SSE of center.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4334 = h1218 on 24 Apr 1830. His single observation reads "pF; R; S; close to a star [on the south side]" and his position is very accurate.
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12 23 01.9 +58 26 40; UMa
V = 12.4; Size 1.9'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 145°
17.5" (5/13/88): first of four and brightest in the group. Moderately bright, fairly small, slightly elongated, bright core.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4335 = H. II-806 = h1217 on 17 Apr 1789 (sweep 923) and simply noted "pretty bright". John Herschel made two observations, recording on 1 May 1831 (sweep 345), "pretty bright; small; elongated; gradually brighter middle; good observation of place."
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12 23 29.8 +19 25 36; Com
V = 12.5; Size 2.0'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 162°
17.5" (5/23/98): fairly faint, elongated 4:3 NNW-SSE (PA 160°) in the direction of a mag 10 star 3.5' SSE, 60"x45". Weak concentration to center but the surface brightness appears irregular.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4336 = H. II-406 = h1219 on 27 Apr 1785 (sweep 403) and recorded "pF, pL, mbM. It either has a small one almost joined to it to the north, or else the light of it is a little brighter in that place, but not nearly so bright as the other part." No such structure is apparent on the DSS. John Herschel measured a fairly accurate position on 23 Mar 1827 (sweep 61).
Royal Frost found the galaxy on 7 May 1904 at Arequipa on a Bruce 24-inch plate (taken on the night of 9 May 1904) and reported as number 884 in Harvard Annals 60. His position is 2' north of NGC 4336. So, NGC 4336 = IC 3254. See Harold Corwin's IC identification notes for the full story.
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12 24 02.3 -58 07 12; Cru
V = 8.9; Size 4'
13.1" (2/20/04 - Costa Rica): at 105x, ~15 stars are arranged in a striking 4.5' diameter partial oval for ~270 degrees and open on the west side. A few stars are situated both in the interior and outside of this three-fourth completed ring. In the center of the loop are a few mag 13-14 stars and a fairly bright background glow from a dense group of unresolved stars in the core of the cluster. A gorgeous, equal mag double star Brs 8 = 7.6/7.9 at 5" is located 6' E. The cluster is located midway between Delta and Gamma Crucis along one side of the Southern Cross. This group may be an asterism an not a physical cluster.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4337 = h3388 on 1 Apr 1834 and reported "a p rich cl; not much compressed in the middle; stars 12...14m, in curved branches. A fine double star follows [Brs 8]." His position is just west of center of this cluster.
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NGC 4338 = NGC 4310 = UGC 7440 = MCG +05-29-074 = CGCG 158-092 = PGC 40205
12 22 26.3 +29 12 31; Com
See observing notes for NGC 4310. Here are my notes on
24" (5/30/16): at 225x; extremely faint, thin edge-on ~5:1 N-S, very low surface brightness, very slightly brighter elongated core, ~45"x9". Only visible part of the time, though pops clearly and can hold for a few seconds.
Heinrich d'Arrest found NGC 4338 on 19 May 1863 and described "vF, E, cometary, quite difficult to see because of dusk. The place has not yet been verified." There is nothing at his position, but exactly 1.0 min of time west is NGC 4310, discovered by WH. d'Arrest measured NGC 4310 on 3 other nights, but not the one he recorded NGC 4338. Harold Corwin equates NGC 4338 = NGC 4310.
RNGC, RC3, SIMBAD and secondary sources such as WikiSky, Uranometria 2000. Atlas and Megastar misidentify IC 3247 as NGC 4338. IC 3247 is located 20' south of d'Arrest's position. Reinmuth also questioned if NGC 4338 = IC 3247 but Malcolm Thomson feels this galaxy is too faint and would not have been visible in d'Arrest's 11-inch refractor in twilight -- I agree.
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NGC 4339 = UGC 7461 = MCG +01-32-036 = CGCG 042-068 = LGG 289-026 = PGC 40240
12 23 35.0 +06 04 54; Vir
V = 11.3; Size 2.4'x2.3'; Surf Br = 13.2
16" LX200 (4/14/07): fairly bright, moderately large, round, 1' diameter, bright core increases evenly to center. A mag 11 star lies 1.5' S of center. Brightest of three with NGC 4326 and NGC 4333. This Virgo cluster member harbors an active galactic nucleus.
17.5" (3/28/87): fairly bright, fairly small, round, small very bright core. Forms a trio with NGC 4333 4' SW and NGC 4326 6' WSW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4339 = H. II-143 = h1222,
along with NGC 4326 and 4333, on 13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191). Immediately after viewing this trio, he
discovered another trio -
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12 23 35.2 +16 43 21; Com
V = 11.2; Size 3.5'x2.8'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 102°
17.5" (5/23/87): moderately bright, almost round,
fairly small, small well defined core.
Forms a pair with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4340 = H. II-85 = h1212, along with NGC 4350, on 21 Mar 1784 (sweep 182). He described both as "Two nebula, the following [NGC 4350] is the brightest, both S and the last pB." Heinrich d'Arrest measured an accurate position in April 1864 (credited in the NGC), as well as Édouard Stephan on 30 Mar 1886.
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NGC 4341 = IC 3260 = UGC 7472 = MCG +01-32-042 = CGCG 042-076 = PGC 40280
12 23 53.5 +07 06 25; Vir
V = 13.2; Size 1.6'x0.5'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 96°
14.5" (4/12/21): at 226x; fainter and lower surface
brightness than
17.5" (3/28/87): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated
~E-W, even surface brightness.
Member of the NGC 4343 group and midway between
William Herschel discovered NGC 4341 = H. III-95, and with NGC 4342 and NGC 4343, on 13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191). He recorded "Three, all extremely faint and very small, round nebula." His single position is between NGC 4343 and 4342. H. III-95 = UGC 7472 is the faintest of the three brightest galaxies (out of five) that Herschel likely viewed. See NGC 4342 for more.
Bigourdan observed the group on 23 Apr 1895 and measured the
position of this galaxy (
Due to the ambiguity of the identification of NGC 4341, the CGCG and MCG label this galaxy IC 3260. UGC and RNGC use both designations. See Harold Corwin's identification notes for the full story.
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NGC 4342 = IC 3256 = UGC 7466 = MCG +01-32-039 = CGCG 042-071 = PGC 40252
12 23 39.1 +07 03 14; Vir
V = 12.5; Size 1.3'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.1; PA = 168°
14.5" (4/12/21): at 226x; between fairly faint and moderately bright, fairly small, very elongated 7:2 NNW-SSE, ~40"x12", high surface brightness slash! Contains a very bright, nearly stellar nucleus. Larger (but lower surface brightness) NGC 4343 is 6' S.
17.5" (3/28/87): moderately bright, very small,
elongated NNW-SSE, bright core, stellar nucleus. NGC 4342 = IC 3256 has the highest surface brightness of the
members in the NGC 4343 group. NGC
4343 is 6.0' S, NGC 4341 = IC 3260 4.8' NE,
William Herschel discovered NGC 4342 = H. III-96, along with NGC 4341 and 4343, on 13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191). He recorded the trio as "Three, all extremely faint and very small, round nebula." His single position is between NGC 4343 and 4342. There are 5 galaxies in this group and as a result there's been considerable confusion on the correct identifications. Assuming Herschel observed the three brightest galaxies, Harold Corwin suggests the identifications NGC 4341 = IC 3260 = UGC 7472, NGC 4342 = IC 3256 = UGC 7466 and NGC 4343 = UGC 7465, though the CGCG (Herzog) argues the NGC designations should be dropped and the unambiguous IC designations used exclusively.
Bigourdan found this galaxy again on 23 Apr 1895 and his B. 291 (later IC 3256) matches this galaxy and the CGCG and MCG use the IC designation. The identifications are discussed in CGCG Vol 5, the RC 2 notes, Webb Society Quarterly Journal articles in Jan 1986 and Jan 1990, Herzog's 1967 paper "On the Identification of Five Galaxies in the Virgo Cluster" (1967PASP...79..627H), as well as Harold Corwin's identification notes!
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NGC 4343 = UGC 7465 = MCG +01-32-038 = CGCG 042-070 = PGC 40251
12 23 38.8 +06 57 15; Vir
V = 12.1; Size 2.5'x0.7'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 133°
14.5" (4/12/21): at 226x; quite easy, very thin edge-on ~5:1 NW-SE, ~1.25'x0.25', small slightly brighter core. Furthest south in a small group of galaxies SW of NGC 4365. NGC 4342 is 6' N.
17.5" (3/28/87): moderately bright, moderately large, brighter core, elongated NW-SE. Brightest member of a group of five along with NGC 4342 = IC 3256 6.0' N. Nearby are IC 3259 14' NNE, IC 3267 8' NE and NGC 4341 = IC 3260 10' NNE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4343 = H. III-94 = h1223, along with NGC 4341 and 4342, on 13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191). He recorded the trio as"Three [along with III-95 = NGC 4341 and III-96 = NGC 4342], all eF and vS, R nebula." His single position is between NGC 4343 and 4342. See NGC 4342 for identification discussion. This trio was discovered immediately after the NGC 4326/4333/4339 trio and immediatlely before the NGC 4365/4366/4370 trio!
John Herschel catalogued only a single nebula in the group
that he identified as III-94: "pB; E; or has a F neb on the s f
side." His position matches
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12 23 37.5 +17 32 28; Com
V = 12.3; Size 1.7'x1.6'; Surf Br = 13.3
17.5" (5/23/98): faint, small, round, 30" diameter. Appears as a diffuse glow with weak concentration forming an isosceles triangle with two mag 13 and 14 stars 2.0' SE and 2.0' NE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4344 = H. III-31 = h1224 on 14 Mar 1784 (sweep 170) and noted "eF. It forms a triangle with 2 small stars." John Herschel logged "F; not vS; R; very gradually little brighter middle; 25"." and measured an accurate position.
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12 21 43.9 +75 19 20; Dra
See observing notes for NGC 4319.
Gerhard Lohse found NGC 4345 in 1886 with the 15.5-inch refractor at Wigglesworth's observatory near Scarborough, England. There is nothing at his position, but 1.0 min of RA west is NGC 4319 = H I-276. So, likely NGC 4345 = NGC 4319 with a 1 tmin error in RA. Dorothy Carlson identifies NGC 4345 as a star near Lohse's position, but since the description mentions "pL" this is very unlikely.
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12 23 27.9 +46 59 38; CVn
V = 11.1; Size 3.3'x1.3'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 99°
13.1" (4/12/86): fairly bright, very elongated 3:1 E-W, rises sharply to a small very bright core, stellar nucleus highly suspected. Located roughly 50' SE of M106.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4346 = H. I-210 = h1225 on 1
Apr 1788 (sweep 823) and recorded "cB, S, BN with irregular chevelure, lE
near the parallel".
Caroline's reduction was 8' north of
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12 23 54 -03 14; Vir
= *?, Gottlieb and Corwin. = NGC 4348??, Corwin. = Not found, Sulentic.
Christian Peters discovered NGC 4347 around 1881 with the
13.5-inch refractor at the Hamilton College Observatory. The only objects close to his position
are faint stars. Perhaps
coincidentally, 13' south of his position is
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NGC 4348 = MCG +00-32-003 = CGCG 014-023 = PGC 40284
12 23 53.9 -03 26 36; Vir
V = 12.5; Size 3.2'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 40°
17.5" (3/24/90): moderately bright, fairly small, edge-on SW-NE, increases to a brighter core. A mag 14 star is located 1.2' W of center and a brighter mag 12 star lies 3.2' S.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4348 = H. II-625 = h1226 on
29 Dec 1786 (sweep 674) and recorded "F, E from sp to nf, about 2'
long." His position is off
the east side of
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12 24 06 -61 52 12; Cru
V = 7.4; Size 16'
13.1" (2/20/04 - Costa Rica): at 105x, ~150 stars are
resolved in a 15' field. This cluster
is rich and uniform in magnitudes except for a single mag 8.4 star (
10x30mm Canon IS (3/27/19 - Tasmania): fairly faint, large glow, appears oval or elongated. No resolution except for a star at the edge.
James Dunlop discovered NGC 4349 = D 292 = h3389 on 30 Apr 1826. Based on 4 observations he wrote, "a pretty cluster of extremely small stars, resembling a pretty large faint nebula, about 6' or 7' diameter: the compression is very gradual to the centre; a pretty bright star is in the following side of the cluster, round figure."
John Herschel observed the cluster on three sweeps. On 14 Mar 1834 (sweep 432) he logged "chief star 10m of a fine rich cluster which fills field." Two weeks later (sweep 434) he noted "a large loose cluster of small stars 12..14th mag; irregularly round; not very rich; little compressed in the middle; diam. 10'." His final sweep three years later (sweep 778) he recorded a "cluster class VI. Very large, very bright, A star about 8..9 mag taken but the brightest part of the cluster is about 4' N.p. Fills field; not much compressed in the middle; stars 12..13th mag; This cluster was found by Mr Maclear in this sweep made with him, not being aware at the time of its having been seen in Sweep 432."
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NGC 4350 = UGC 7473 = MCG +03-32-023 = CGCG 099-038 = Holm 391a = LGG 289-021 = PGC 40295
12 23 57.8 +16 41 36; Com
V = 11.0; Size 3.0'x1.4'; Surf Br = 12.5; PA = 28°
17.5" (5/23/87): fairly bright, edge-on 4:1 SSW-NNE, fairly small, very small bright core. Forms a pair with NGC 4340 5.6' WNW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4350 = H. II-86 = h1221, along with NGC 4340, on 21 Mar 1784 (sweep 182). He described both as "Two nebula, the following [NGC 4350] is the brightest, both S and the last pB." Heinrich d'Arrest measured an accurate position in 1864 (credited in the NGC).
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12 24 01.6 +12 12 16; Vir
V = 12.6; Size 2.0'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 80°
17.5" (4/18/87): fairly faint, diffuse, fairly even
surface brightness with only a slight broad concentration, slightly elongated
~E-W.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4351 on 19 May 1863 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. He measured the position on 5 different nights and estimated the size as 40"-45" in diameter.
Lewis Swift independently found the galaxy on 17 Apr 1887
and reported it as new in list VI-42.
His position is nearly identical to d'Arrest's, so it's surprising that
Dreyer recatalogued it as
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12 24 05.0 +11 13 05; Vir
V = 12.6; Size 2.1'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 102°
17.5" (4/18/87): fairly faint, small, oval ~E-W, small brighter core. NGC 4330 lies 14' NW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4352 = H. II-64 = h1227 on 15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174) and logged "F, vS." His RA was 1 min too large (roughly the same error was made on this sweep with several others objects). John Herschel measured an accurate RA and logged "vF; S; lE.", though he used his father's erroneous RA in the GC. Heinrich d'Arrest independently found the nebula on 23 Mar 1865, measured an accurate RA again and Dreyer catalogued it again as GC 5642. Bigourdan noted the equivalence and Dreyer combined the two GC and GCS entries (2929 and 5642) into NGC 4352.
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NGC 4353 = IC 3266 = MCG +01-32-043 = CGCG 042-077 = PGC 40303
12 24 00.2 +07 47 05; Vir
V = 13.6; Size 1.1'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 67°
17.5" (3/24/90): faint, oval SW-NE. A mag 13 star is 1.2' NNW.
Christian Peters discovered NGC 4353 around 1881 with the 13.5-inch refractor at the Hamilton College Observatory. His position in his Copernicus table (1881) is 0.1 minute of RA too large and 2' too far north.
Arnold Schwassmann found the galaxy again on 20 Nov 1899
using a Heidelberg plate taken with the 6" astrograph and assumed Sn. 49
was new. In addition his Sn. 48
(later
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NGC 4354 = NGC 4351 = UGC 7476 = MCG +02-32-024 = CGCG 070-045 = PGC 40306
12 24 01.6 +12 12 16; Vir
See observing notes for NGC 4351.
Lewis Swift found NGC 4354 = Sw. 6-42 on 17 Apr 1887 and described as "eeF; pL; in vacancy; v diff." His position is 1' from NGC 4351 = UGC 7476 (discovered by d'Arrest on 19 May 1863). It's surprising that Dreyer didn't equate the two discoveries. Dorothy Carlson states NGC 4354 = NGC 4351. See Corwin's notes for more.
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12 26 54.6 -00 52 40; Vir
V = 13.1; Size 1.4'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 59°
See observing notes for
David Todd rediscovered NGC 4355 = Todd 17 on 5 Feb 1878
with the 26" refractor at the U.S. Naval Observatory during his search for
a trans-Neptunian planet. This is
one of the 8 galaxies in his list that Dreyer credited to Todd. His rough RA was 4.0 minutes too small
but his field sketch and offsets match
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12 24 14.9 +08 32 16; Vir
V = 13.3; Size 2.8'x0.5'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 40°
17.5" (3/24/90): faint, edge-on SW-NE, low surface brightness. A mag 13 star is involved at the east edge of the core.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4356 = H. III-481 on 28 Dec
1785 (sweep 498) and simply noted "vF". Caroline's reduction is at the southwest tip of
UGC, CGCG and MCG label this galaxy as IC 3273 and ignore the NGC designation.
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12 23 58.9 +48 46 47; CVn
V = 12.4; Size 3.6'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.9; PA = 77°
17.5" (4/28/89): fairly faint, moderately large,
elongated 5:2 WSW-ENE, increases to a small brighter core. Located 10' ESE of mag 7.7
Guillaume Bigourdan discovered NGC 4357 = Big. 52 on 8 Mar 1886. His position matches UGC 7478. This galaxy was discovered earlier by WH on 9 Feb 1788 (II-743 = NGC 4381) but his position was 66 tsec too far east. So, NGC 4357 = NGC 4381.
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12 24 02.1 +58 23 07; UMa
V = 13.4; Size 1.3'x1.2'; Surf Br = 13.7
17.5" (5/13/88): faint, small, round, small bright
core. Brightest of a triple group
with stellar
This galaxy described above is identified as NGC 4364 in all modern catalogues.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4358 = H. III-799 = h1230 on
17 Apr 1789 (sweep 923) and logged "very faint, very small." His re-reduced position is just 11
seconds of RA west of
John Herschel, Bigourdan and d'Arrest only found two
galaxies (h1230 and h1231) with his first position matching H. III-799 = UGC
7479 and his second position clearly referring to
Corwin concludes only the two brighter galaxies should receive NGC designations (and WH was mistaken on the third nebula he reported). In which case, NGC 4358 = UGC 7479 and NGC 4362 = NGC 4364 = CGCG 293-018 = PGC 40350. This leaves the southwest component of UGC 7479 without a NGC designation. See Corwin's notes for the complete story.
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12 24 11.7 +31 31 20; Com
V = 12.7; Size 3.5'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 108°
17.5" (4/25/98): very faint, elongated 3:1 WNW-ESE,
appears as large as 3'x1' at times, low surface brightness with weak central
brightening, fades at tips.
Located 34' NW of
William Herschel discovered NGC 4359 = H. III-648 = h1229 on 20 Mar 1787 (sweep 722) and logged "vF, E, about 1' length in the direction of the parallel." John Herschel made a single observation, noting "F; pmE; nearly in parallel; very little brighter middle; 25"."
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12 24 21.7 +09 17 34; Vir
V = 12.3; Size 1.4'x1.2'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 145°
17.5" (3/24/90): fairly faint, very small, slightly
elongated, small bright core.
Located 1.3' SE of a mag 10 star.
Forms a pair with
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4360 = T. 1-43 = T. 5-18 = St.
13-69 on 22 Mar 1878. His
micrometric position in his 5th list (+4.87 sec of RA and -47" dec from HD
107953) matches
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12 24 30.8 -18 47 05; Crv
V = 11.0; Size 93"x37"
48" (5/3/19): at 488x; fascinating bright blue planetary with a very bright mag 13 central star. Unfiltered, the unusual feature are two opposite "handles" or thick arcs that are attached just outside the central region on the WNW and ESE sides. Adding a NPB filter, two arms or loops lit up on the SW and NE sides. These loops appeared similar to spiral arms attached to the main body and rotated counterclockwise!
48" (2/20/12 and 5/14/12): the unusual structure in this planetary shocked me at 488x as previous views in my 17.5" and 18" had only showed a hint of detail. The two main components are large bulbous lobes or wings with an irregular surface brightness that jut out of the central region in a WNW and ESE direction, with the WNW lobe slightly brighter. More surprising were two arms and loops, similar to spiral arms in a galaxy, that extend out to the NE and SW and curve clockwise. The arm to the southwest is very thin where it emerges from the central portion, so it appeared partially detached! The arm on the NE side clearly bends south but was not as sharply defined. Between the lobes (WNW and ESE) and arms (SW and NE) were darker gaps or regions creating a unique, basically symmetric shape that is elongated SW-NE (arms are longer), ~1.8'x1.4'. At the center is a very bright mag 13 central star. A fainter, more roundish halo envelops the brighter components.
17.5" (5/15/99): 100x easily reveals the bright central star surrounded by a moderately high surface brightness halo ~1' in size. At 220x, the central star appears 13th magnitude and the halo gradually brightens towards the center. With averted vision, the halo increases to roughly 90"x60", extended SW-NE, with an ill-defined edge. I had the strong impression of an extension or hook on the southwest end of the PN, which was confirmed on the DSS image (a similar extension is also on the NE end).
13.1" (5/14/83): moderately bright, fairly large, slightly elongated. The mag 13 central star is fairly easy at 165x.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4361 = H. I-65 = h1231 on 7
Feb 1785 (sweep 368). His
description was "very bright, pretty large, much brighter in the
middle. The central brightness not
round but as if it had two nucleuses pretty closely joined; the chevelure
[halo] irregularly round."
The comment about the "central brightness" likely applies to
the 13th mag central star. The same night he discovered
John Herschel wrote, "vB, L, R, very suddenly much brighter middle to nucl = *11, 90" diameter. R[esolved] with power 320, and is no doubt a globular cluster; fades away to nothing. So, JH was convinced it was a globular. Surprisingly it was misclassified as a galaxy in de Vaucoleurs' first "Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies" (RC1)!
In 1868, Lieutenant John Herschel, son of John Herschel, reported NGC 4361 displayed an emission line spectrum (3 seen, 4th suspected) in an early spectroscopic investigation of southern nebulae while he was stationed in Bangalore, India.
Based on Crossley photographs at Lick, Curtis described NGC 4361 as "central star about mag 10; this is surrounded by an irregular oval mass whose brighter parts are about 44"x39" in pa 103°. From this central portion two arms (spiral whorls?) go out in pa 20° and portions of a very faint ring 81" can just be made out." (1918PLicO..13...55C). Early photographs were taken with the 30-inch Reynolds reflector between 1912-14 at the Helwan Observatory near Cairo. The director Harold Knox-Shaw also described a "Round nebula 1' diameter from which proceed spiral arms."
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NGC 4362 = NGC 4364? = MCG +10-18-039 = CGCG 293-018 = PGC 40350
12 24 11.3 +58 21 38; UMa
V = 14.3; Size 0.7'x0.3'; Surf Br = 12.6
17.5" (5/13/88): very faint, small, slightly elongated, even surface brightness. A mag 13.5 star is 0.8' S. Located 1.9' SE of NGC 4364. Possible identification mix-up.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4362 = H. III-800 = h1233 on 17 Apr 1789 (sweep 923) and recorded "Two [with III-801 = NGC 4364], both cF, vS, R." His position is 3 sec of RA following and 1' north of III-799 = NGC 4358. But there is only a single galaxy (CGCG 293-018 = PGC 40350), which is 9 seconds of RA following and 1.5' south of NGC 4358. So, there was clearly some confusion with the orientation and/or description. John Herschel reported "eF, the last of 2 [with h2914 = NGC 4358]."
Notes on the identifications of NGC 4358, 4362 and 4364 are under NGC 4358.
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12 23 28.4 +74 57 08; Dra
V = 13.5; Size 1.4'x1.4'; Surf Br = 14.1
18" (3/5/05): very faint, fairly small, round, very low surface brightness. Appears as a hazy disc with with no evident concentration. Located 23' SE of NGC 4319 and Markarian 205.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4363 = H. III-938 on 10 Dec 1797 (sweep 1066). He noted "excessively faint, pretty large, irregular figure." A new double star (position not known until later) was used as the offset star. Dreyer mentions an error in Herschel's reduction of the position though Caroline's position in her revised sweep record is less than 1' from the center.
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NGC 4364 = NGC 4362? = MCG +10-18-039 = CGCG 293-018 = PGC 40350
12 24 11.3 +58 21 38; UMa
See observing notes for NGC 4362. Uncertain identification.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4364 = H. III-801, along with NGC 4362, on 17 Apr 1789 (sweep 923). He recorded "Two [with III-800 = NGC 4362], both considerably faint, very small, round." There is only a single galaxy 2' SE of H. III-799 = NGC 4358, so Herschel's observation is clearly in error. Dreyer suggested that perhaps "Two" should be interpreted as "Two with III-799", as there are only two galaxies that were likely seen.
See discussion under NGC 4358 and Corwin's notes for the identifications of NGC 4358, 4362 and 4364. CGCG 293-018 is labeled NGC 4364 in all modern catalogues.
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NGC 4365 = UGC 7488 = MCG +01-32-048 = CGCG 042-083 = PGC 40375
12 24 28.3 +07 19 03; Vir
V = 9.6; Size 6.9'x5.0'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 40°
14.5" (4/10/21): quite bright, large, oval 3:2 SW-NE, ~3'x2', strong concentration with a very bright core and an intense well defined nucleus.
17.5" (3/28/87): very bright, large, elongated SW-NE,
bright core, very small or stellar nucleus. The NGC 4343 group is close SW and
William Herschel discovered NGC 4365 = H. I-30 = h1232,
along with
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NGC 4366 = MCG +01-32-050 = CGCG 042-087 = PGC 40421
12 24 47.0 +07 21 11; Vir
V = 13.9; Size 0.9'x0.6'; PA = 51°
17.5" (3/28/87): very faint, small, diffuse, even surface brightness. Located 5' NE of NGC 4365.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4366 = H. III-97, along with NGC 4365 and NGC 4370 on 13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191). He recorded "Two unequal nebula [the other is II-144 = NGC 4370]; one of them [III-97 = NGC 4366] extremely faint."
Dreyer notes that III-97 was observed one only this sweep
but nearby H. II-144 = NGC 4370 was reobserved on 28 Dec 1785. It was also not seen by John Herschel,
Heinrich d'Arrest, or Samuel Hunter with the 72". So, Dreyer suggested NGC 4366 = NGC
4370 and this was repeated by Dorothy Carlson in her 1940 list of NGC
errata. But 5' NE of NGC 4365 is
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12 24 35.1 +12 10 56; Vir
= **, Corwin. = Not found, Dreyer.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4367 on 19 Apr 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen and also measured 3 nights later. There is nothing at his position except a mag 15 star with a mag 17.5 companion at 13" separation (likely too faint to have been seen by d'Arrest). On the second observation, he mentions this object follows NGC 4351 by 35 seconds of time, so the identification with this star is nearly certain.
Royal Frost reported NGC 4367 was not found on a 4-hour Bruce plate (Annals of Harvard College Observatory, Vol 88, No. 1). Karl Reimuth equates NGC 4367 with IC 3311, neglecting the difference of 0.9 tmin in RA.
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12 23 06.6 +10 37 16; Vir
See observing notes for NGC 4325.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4368 = H. III-38 on 15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174) and noted "vF, vS." There is nothing at his position and Bigourdan was unsuccessful in locating NGC 4368, and neither was Frost photographically (Harvard College Observatory, Vol 88, No 1, Virgo-Coma survey). Dreyer notes in the 1912 "Scientific Papers of William Herschel" that the RA is possibly 1 tmin too great. Several nebulae discovered by WH that night (including NGCs 3810, 4067, 4294, 4313, 4352, 4371, and 4429) have comparable errors. So, it's reasonable that NGC 4368 is a duplicate of NGC 4325 (located 1.5 min of RA west of WH's position). See Corwin's identification notes for more.
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12 24 36.2 +39 22 58; CVn
V = 11.7; Size 2.1'x2.0'; Surf Br = 13.1
13.1" (4/12/86): moderately bright, fairly small, round, bright core with a distinct stellar nucleus.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4369 = H. I-166 = h1234 on 17 Mar 1787 (sweep 714) and noted "vB, S, R." John Herschel made two observations, calling it "pB; R; suddenly much brighter middle almost to a *."
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NGC 4370 = NGC 4366: = UGC 7492 = MCG +01-32-051 = CGCG 042-089 = PGC 40439
12 24 54.9 +07 26 42; Vir
V = 12.6; Size 1.5'x0.8'; Surf Br = 12.5; PA = 83°
14.5" (4/10/21): at 226x; fairly faint, slightly elongated E-W, ~40" diameter, weakly concentrated, irregular surface brightness? An equilateral triangle (sides ~2.5') of mag 12/12.5/13.5 stars is ~3' NE. NGC 4370 is located 10' NE of NGC 4365.
17.5" (3/28/87): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly elongated ~E-W, weak concentration. NGC 4365 lies 10.1' SW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4370 = H. II-144 = h1236, along with NGC 4365 and 4366, on 13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191). He recorded "Two unequal nebula; one of them [III-97 = NGC 4366] eF." His derived RA is 14 seconds too small.
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12 24 55.4 +11 42 15; Vir
V = 10.8; Size 4.0'x2.2'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 95°
17.5" (4/18/87): bright, small, sharp concentration with a very small very bright core, stellar nucleus, diffuse outer halo elongated E-W.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4371 = H. I-22 = h1235 on 15
Mar 1784 (sweep 174) and noted "pB, not vL." There is nothing at his position, but
45 seconds of RA west is
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12 25 45.4 -72 39 32; Mus
V = 7.5; Size 18.6'; Surf Br = 1.2
24" (4/12/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): at 260x, NGC 4372 is a highly-resolved, low-concentration class globular. A mag 6.6 star just 5.5' NW of center was a bit distracting but scores of stars were resolved over the 4' core, appearing to criss-cross the center in numerous lanes. The outer halo was very large, nearly 15' in diameter, and resolved into a couple of hundred stars. Except for the brighter and denser core, this globular appeared similar to a very large, fully resolved open cluster.
18" (7/6/05 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): at
171x, this large, bright globular was an impressive object and beautifully
resolved into 150-200 stars mag 13 and fainter, within a 13'-14' diameter. The unresolved background glow was
relatively faint for such a well-resolved globular. The large 4' core was only slightly brighter and there was
no nucleus (class 12 concentration), although a close pair of brighter mag 12.5
stars is near the center. Scores
of stars appeared linked in chains and loops, particularly in the outer halo,
which is quite irregular and ragged.
Mag 6.6
18" (7/7/02 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): at 228x, this large, loose globular was well-resolved into ~100 stars mag 12-15 with a 12' diameter. The roundish core is ~4' in size with many faint stars sprinkled across the core. The halo is elongated and irregular in shape. A starless dark lane appears to wind into the cluster towards the core from the NW side angling roughly NW-SE (later verified on the DSS). A mag 6.8 star lies 5' NW of the core and interferes with viewing! Located 44' SW of mag 3.8 Gamma Muscae.
10x30mm Canon IS (3/27/19 - Tasmania): faint, low surface brightness glow with no core. Attached to the south of a mag 6.6 star that is close to the end of the "Dark Doodad".
James Dunlop discovered NGC 4372 = D 67 = h3390 on 30 Apr 1826, with additional observations on 9 May and 4 Jun. His lengthy description (mostly from 4 Jun) reads "a star of the 6th magnitude, with a beautiful well-defined milky ray proceeding from it south following; the ray is conical, and the star appears in the point of the cone, and the broad or south following extremity is circular, or rounded off. The ray is about 7' in length, and nearly 2' in breadth at the broadest part, near the southern extremity. With the sweeping power this appears like a star with a very faint milky ray south following, the ray gradually spreading in breadth from the star, and rounded off at the broader end. But with a higher power it is not a star with a ray, but a very faint nebula, and the star is not involved or connected with it: I should call it a very faint nebula of a long oval shape, the smaller end towards the star; this is easily resolvable into extremely minute points or stars, but I cannot discover the slightest indications of attraction or condensation towards any part of it. I certainly had not the least suspicion of this object being resolvable when I discovered it with the sweeping power, nor even when I examined it a second time; it is a beautiful object, of a uniform faint light." Dunlop's position is 24' too far WNW (a fairly large error), but the mag 6.6 star near the NW edge clinches the identification. His sketch is shown in Fig. 2 of his catalogue.
John Herschel described it on 1 Apr 1835 as "a globular cluster, very faint; large; very gradually brighter in the middle; 6' diameter; resolved into stars of 15th magnitude; rich in stars; a delicate and faint object; has a star 45 N.p., distance 5' from centre. Almost perfectly insulated in a very large space almost entirely devoid of stars, being the smaller and southern lacuna below the great 'coal sack'."
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12 25 17.8 -39 45 35; Cen
V = 10.9; Size 3.4'x2.5'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 43°
18" (3/28/09): fairly bright and large, elongated 3:2 SSW-NNE, 1.5'x1.0'. Contains a large bright center that increases to a small, bright core. A number of stars surround the galaxy.
NGC 4373 is the brightest in a subgroup of at least 7
galaxies on the northwest side of the Centaurus Cluster (
John Herschel discovered NGC 4373 = h3391 on 8 Jun 1834 and logged "pB; S; R; pretty gradually very much brighter in the middle." His position is accurate. Joseph Turner sketched the galaxy on 16 Apr 1877 (p. 136 of his logbook) with the 48" Melbourne Telescope and also discovered IC 3290, though he never announced the discovery and Lewis Swift, who rediscovered it in 1898, was credited in the IC.
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12 25 03.8 +12 53 13; Vir
V = 9.1; Size 6.5'x5.6'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 135°
24" (4/28/14): extremely bright, large, slightly elongated, ~4'x3.5', sharply concentrated with a very intense core that increases gradually to a nonstellar nucleus. The large halo gradually fades out. A mag 14.5 star is superimposed on the SW side of the halo, 1.2' from center.
18" (6/12/10): at 175x, very bright, fairly large, slightly elongated, ~2.8'x2.4' NW-SE. The halo gradually brightens from the edge and then suddenly increases dramatically to a very bright 45" core that increases to a sharp stellar nucleus. A faint star is just off the SW edge, 1.3' from center. At 280x the halo appears slightly mottled.
17.5" (4/25/87): very bright, moderately large, almost round, very bright core, very small bright nucleus, halo gradually fades into background sky so there is no sharp edge. Nearly an identical twin of M86 17' ENE but rounder.
13.1" (5/14/83): very bright, very bright core. Located in the core of the Virgo cluster.
Charles Messier is credited with the discovery of M84 = NGC
4374 = h1237, along with M86 amd
William Herschel only recorded it on 17 Apr 1784 (sweep 199) and he simply noted "B. Is No. 84 of the Connoissance des Temps." John Herschel also recorded it only a single sweep, calling it "vB; R; pretty suddenly brighter middle; 60"; r."
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12 25 00.4 +28 33 31; Com
V = 12.8; Size 1.4'x1.2'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 5°
17.5" (4/13/02): faint, fairly small, elongated 3:2
SSW-NNE, 0.8'x0.6'. A mag 14.5
star lies 1.2' NE of center.
Located 30' NW of a mag 4.3
William Herschel discovered NGC 4375 = H. II-379 = h1238 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and noted "F, S." John Herschel made two observations and logged (sweep 66) "F; R: has a small star 35° nf, 90" dist."
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12 25 18.2 +05 44 29; Vir
V = 13.4; Size 1.4'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 157°
16" LX200 (4/14/07): fairly faint, moderately large, elongated 2:1 NNW-SSE, 1.0'x0.5', broad, weak concentration with no noticeable core.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4376 = H. II-530 on 2 Feb
1786 (sweep 521) and noted "F, S." Caroline's reduction is 2' southwest of
The RNGC misidentifies
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12 25 12.4 +14 45 44; Com
V = 11.9; Size 1.7'x1.4'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 177°
17.5" (5/23/87): moderately bright, fairly small, almost round or slightly elongated N-S, small very bright core, stellar nucleus.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4377 = H. I-12 = h1239 on 19 Feb 1784 (sweep 149) and recorded "pB, but not vL; I saw it only through a very strong haziness and only a single moment." John Herschel made the single observation "B; S; very suddenly much brighter middle" and measured an accurate position.
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NGC 4378 = UGC 7497 = MCG +01-32-052 = CGCG 042-092 = PGC 40490
12 25 18.1 +04 55 30; Vir
V = 11.7; Size 2.9'x2.7'; Surf Br = 13.8; PA = 167°
17.5" (3/28/87): fairly bright, fairly small, very
bright core, very slightly elongated.
Forms an obtuse angle with mag 9 stars
William Herschel discovered NGC 4378 = H. I-123 = h1228 on 2 Feb 1786 (sweep 521) and noted "faint, small." Caroline's reduction is at the south edge of the halo. John Herschel made the single observation: "bright; visible in strong twilight; has a * 8-9 mag 20° sf dist 3'.", but his recorded RA was 1 minute too small (the error was repeated in the General Catalogue). August Voigt found it at the Marseilles Observatory in 1865 and questioned if it was new. Heinrich d'Arrest measured an accurate position (single observation) and noted the RA error in the GC.
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12 25 14.7 +15 36 27; Com
V = 11.7; Size 1.9'x1.6'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 105°
17.5" (5/23/87): moderately bright, small, round,
strong bright core.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4379 = H. II-87 = h1240 on
21 Mar 1784 (sweep 182) and noted "S, resolvable, brightest in the
middle." There is nothing at
his position, though
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12 25 22.1 +10 00 59; Vir
V = 11.7; Size 3.5'x1.9'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 153°
17.5" (4/18/87): moderately bright, fairly large, fairly diffuse but gradually increases to a very small brighter core. A mag 14 star is off the south end 2.4' from center.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4380 = h1241 on 10 Mar 1826 and logged "vF; pL; R; little brighter in the middle." In the IC 2 Notes section, Dreyer mentions that Frost was unable to identify this galaxy on a Harvard plate of 4 hours exposure, although it was included in Adelaide Ames' 1930 "A Catalogue of 2778 Nebulae, including the Coma-Virgo Group", based on plates taken with the Bruce astrograph at Arequipa.
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12 23 58.9 +48 46 47; CVn
See observing notes for NGC 4357.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4381 = H. II-743 on 9 Mar 1788 (sweep 816) and logged "F, S." There is nothing at his position, but 70 sec of RA west is NGC 4357 = UGC 7478 and the equivalence was suggested by Dreyer in his 1912 revision of WH's catalogues. NGC 4357 was found again by Bigourdan (II-52) on 8 Mar 1886 and placed accurately. NGC 4381 should be the primary designation by historical precedence.
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12 25 24.0 +18 11 28; Com
V = 9.1; Size 7.1'x5.5'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 5°
14.5" (4/12/21): at 158x and 226x; very bright, very
large, elongated ~3:2 N-S, between 3' to 3.5' in length. Strongly concentrated with an extremely
bright core that increases to a virtually stellar peak. A mag 13 star is superimposed ~1' NNE
of center and a mag 10.4 star is 3' SE.
Forms a pair with
24" (7/14/20): observed supernova SN 2020nlb (Type Ia
), discovered on 25 Jun 2020 on the north side of
17.5" (5/23/87): very bright, moderately large, small very bright core. A mag 13 star is superimposed near the NNE edge and a mag 10 star is off the SE side 2.7' from center. Forms a pair with NGC 4394 7.6' ENE.
Pierre Méchain discovered M85 = NGC 4382 = h1242 on 4 Mar 1781. William Herschel made an observation on 14 Mar 1784 (sweep 170) and recorded "Two resolvable nebulae; the preceding is the largest and with 157 seems to have another small nebula joining to it [NGC 4394], but with 240 it appears to be a star." John Herschel recorded on 23 Mar 1827 (sweep 61), "vB; R; bM; 2' diam; has a * 80° np dist 30" from edge."
Based on a photograph taken with the Crossley reflector, Heber Curtis called it a "Very bright oval, 4'x2'; very slight traces of spiral structure."
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12 25 25.4 +16 28 12; Com
V = 12.1; Size 1.9'x1.0'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 28°
17.5" (5/23/87): moderately bright, very small, bright stellar nucleus, small faint extensions SW-NE. A mag 12 star is 1.8' SW of center.
Eduard Schönfeld discovered NGC 4383 on 23 May 1862 with a 6" Steinheil refractor at the Mannheim Observatory. He described it as 15" diameter, with a more stellar center, almost like a star 11-12 mag with some nebulosity (1862 "Beobachtungen von Nebelflecken und Sternhaufen"). John Herschel missed the discovery, so it wasn't included in his 1864 General Catalogue but Dreyer added it to the Supplement (GC 5644). Engelhardt measured an accurate micrometric position.
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12 25 12.0 +54 30 22; UMa
V = 13.0; Size 1.3'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 90°
18" (3/30/05): moderately bright, fairly small,
irregularly round, 0.8'x0.7'.
Fairly well concentrated to a small, brighter core and a quasi-stellar
nucleus with direct vision.
Located 11' SW of mag 7.5
William Herschel discovered NGC 4384 = H. III-879 = h1243 on
2 Apr 1791 (sweep 1001) and logged "cF, S, iF." His position is 1' north of
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12 25 42.8 +00 34 21; Vir
V = 12.5; Size 2.2'x1.4'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 82°
17.5" (3/24/90): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated
E-W, small bright core. Located 4'
N of mag 9
Albert Marth discovered NGC 4385 = m 239 on 22 Mar 1865 and
noted "vF, vS, alm stell."
His position is 1' south of
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NGC 4386 = UGC 7491 = MCG +13-09-027 = CGCG 352-033 = LGG 284-006 = PGC 40378
12 24 28.3 +75 31 44; Dra
V = 11.7; Size 2.5'x1.3'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 135°
18" (3/5/05): fairly bright, moderately large, elongated 3:2 NW-SE. Contains a small bright core which increases to the center, surrounded by an oval halo 1.2'x0.8'. Third in an impressive trio with NGC 4291 and NGC 4319.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4386 = H. I-277 = h1247 on 10 Dec 1797 (sweep 1066). He recorded "consderably bright, considerably large, much brighter middle." John Herschel made two observations and logged (sweep 348) "pretty bright; little extended; pretty suddenly much brighter middle; 25" diameter." His position is accurate.
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NGC 4387 = UGC 7517 = MCG +02-32-039 = CGCG 070-065 = PGC 40562
12 25 41.7 +12 48 38; Vir
V = 12.1; Size 1.8'x1.1'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 140°
24" (4/28/14): moderately bright, fairly small,
elongated 5:4 NNW-SSE, 25"x20", gradually increases to a stellar
nucleus. A mag 13.5 star is 1.5'
NNW and a mag 15.5 star is 50" S of center. At the center of M84, M86 and
17.5" (4/25/87): moderately bright, very small, slightly elongated NW-SE, brighter core. A mag 13.5 star is 1.4' NNW. This member of the Virgo cluster is located in the center of the triangle formed by M84, M86 and NGC 4388 with NGC 4388 9' S, M84 10' NW and M86 11' NE.
13.1" (5/14/83): fairly faint, slightly elongated N-S. A faint star is close north.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4387 = H. II-167 = h1250, along with NGC 4388, 4413 and 4425, on 17 Apr 1784 (sweep 199) and recorded "Two nebulae [NGC 4388 and 4387]. The most southern [NGC 4388] extended." His position is between the two galaxies. Heinrich d'Arrest measured an accurate position on 4 different nights (#255 in AN 1537).
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NGC 4388 = UGC 7520 = MCG +02-32-041 = CGCG 070-068 = Holm 403c = PGC 40581
12 25 46.7 +12 39 41; Vir
V = 11.0; Size 5.6'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 92°
24" (4/28/14): fairly bright, large, edge-on 4:1 E-W, well concentrated with a mottled, very bright core. Fairly sharp light cutoff on the south side (dust lane) of the core. Faint, stellar knots are at the west and east ends of the core.
17.5" (4/25/87): moderately bright, edge-on streak E-W,
fairly large, brighter core, thin extensions. A faint mag 14.5 star lies 1.3' NE of center. Located 16' SE of M84 in the core of
the Virgo cluster. On a line
between
13.1" (5/14/83): fairly bright, very elongated E-W.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4388 = H. II-168 = h1244, along with NGC 4387, 4413 and 4425, on 17 Apr 1784 (sweep 199) and recorded "Two nebulae [NGC 4388 and 4387]. The most southern [NGC 4388] extended." His position is between the two galaxies. John Herschel noted "vF; E; the p of 2 [with NGC 4413], dist about 30s in RA." He didn't realize this was the same as his father's II-168, so listed it as a "nova" and included separate listings in the GC for II-168 and h1244. Dreyer combined the listings in the NGC.
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12 25 35.4 +45 41 03; CVn
V = 11.7; Size 2.1'x1.4'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 105°
13.1" (3/17/86): moderately bright, moderately large, elongated 5:2 WNW-ESE, brighter along the major axis (central bar). A mag 13.5 star is off the SE edge 1.1' from center and a mag 12.5 star lies 2.1' NNW. Similar view on 4/12/86.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4389 = H. II-749 = h1245 on 10 Apr 1788 (sweep 830) and recorded "pB, S, iF." John Herschel made 3 observations, noting on sweep 255 "F; vL; E; very gradually little brighter middle; 2' l, 1.5' br."
On 30 Mar 1856, R.J. Mitchell (Lord Rosse's assistant) logged, "pB, E, Nucl, a bright streak runs through the nucleus, growing broader at the preceding end, on either side of this I suspect dark spaces and outside them again faint nebulosity, especially to south side of the nucleus." His sketch was included in LdR's 1861 publication (Plate 27, Fig. 22).
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12 25 50.7 +10 27 33; Vir
V = 12.6; Size 1.7'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 95°
17.5" (4/20/87): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly elongated E-W, diffuse, even or almost even surface brightness. Located 26' NNE of NGC 4380.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4390 = H. III-39 on 15 Mar
1784 (sweep 174) and noted "vF; near some bright stars." His re-reduced position is 5' northeast
of
Schwassmann "rediscovered" this galaxy on a Heidelberg plate in 1900 and it was catalogued again as Sn. 155 (later IC 3320). Apparently he was unaware of the NGC identification (a number of his objects have NGC designations) and Dreyer missed the equivalence.
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12 25 18.8 +64 56 00; Dra
V = 12.9; Size 1.1'x1.1'; Surf Br = 12.9
17.5" (4/15/93): fairly faint, small, round, bright
core, stellar nucleus. A fairly
bright triple star is 2' WSW consisting of three mag 10.5-12 stars with
separations 34", 50" and 68".
William Herschel discovered NGC 4391 = H. III-852 = h1248 on 20 Mar 1790 (sweep 954) and logged "vF, stellar, north following a small triangle of B stars." John Herschel made two observations, first recording on sweep 411 "pB; S; bM; 12". Near a pB triple star." His position is accurate.
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12 25 18.8 +45 50 51; CVn
V = 13.7; Size 0.7'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.6
13.1" (3/17/86): fairly faint, small, elongated, bright core. Located 10' NNW of NGC 4389.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4392 = H. III-729 = h1249 on
27 Apr 1788 (sweep 833) and noted "vF, S." Caroline's reduction is within 1' of
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12 25 51.6 +27 33 43; Com
V = 12.1; Size 3.2'x3.0'; Surf Br = 14.4; PA = 0°
18" (5/30/03): faint, large, diffuse glow,
approximately 2.5'x2.0' in diameter, extended N-S, very low surface brightness
with just a broad, weak concentration.
A neat string of 6 mag 11-12.5 stars running NNW-SSE passes 6'-7'
W. Located 19' NNW of mag 4.9 14
Comae Berenices.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4393 = H. III-361 = h1246 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and noted "vF, vL." John Herschel called it "F; irreg fig; has a line of bright stars preceding."
Harold Corwin notes that
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NGC 4394 = UGC 7523 = MCG +03-32-035 = CGCG 099-047 = Holm 397b = PGC 40614
12 25 55.6 +18 12 50; Com
V = 10.9; Size 3.6'x3.2'; Surf Br = 13.4
14.5" (4/12/21): at 158x and 226x; moderately bright and large, oval ~4:3 N-S. Contains a much brighter round core with subtle extensions NW-SE (bar). The core increases to a nearly stellar nucleus. Located 7.7' ENE of M85.
17.5" (5/23/87): moderately bright, fairly small, brighter core, slightly elongated NNW-SSE. Forms a pair with M85 7.6' W.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4394 = H. II-55 = h1251 on 14 Mar 1784 (sweep 170). His description reads, "Two resolvable nebula. The preceding [M85] is the largest and with 157 seems to have another small nebula joining to it, but with 240 it appears to be a star." He only measured a single position (matching M85). John Herschel made two observations and his mean position was accurate.
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12 25 48.9 +33 32 51; CVn
V = 10.2; Size 13.2'x11.0'; Surf Br = 15.4; PA = 147°
17.5" (5/15/99): Several bright HII regions dominate
this chaotic galaxy. At 100x, the large low surface brightness glow is clearly
clumpy with a couple of faint knots evident on the east side of the haze. At
220x, the galaxy's glow is more difficult to view and several nonstellar knots
and a couple of very faint superimposed stars are more prominent. The brightest
HII region is
17.5" (4/28/89): faint, very large, extremely low surface brightness, must use low magnification to view. Three knots are involved (one of these observed "knots" may be the core) within a very diffuse glow. The brightest knot (NGC 4401) is at the SE end about 2' SE of center with NGC 4400 close SSW of NGC 4401. A mag 14.5 star is at the north end. Also see description for NGC 4399.
13.1" (4/12/86): at 62x appears very large, diffuse, slightly elongated glow, broad very weak concentration.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4395 = H. V-29.1 = h1252 on 2 Jan 1786 (sweep 508). He recorded "eF, vL, very little brighter middle, resolvable, about 10' long and 8 or 9' broad." John Herschel made two observations, logging on 29 Apr 1827, "two nebulae running into one another; both eF, vL, the f rather the brighter. Place that of the preceding." Dreyer catalogued the two components as NGC 4395 = V 29.1 and NGC 4401 = V 29.2. On a second observation, JH wrote "vL; extremely ill defined, may perhaps be 10' l, 3' br; pretty suddenly little brighter middle to an irregular centre. On closer inspection bicentral; pos of the nuclei 30° np; dist 2'."
This galaxy was viewed on three occasions at Birr Castle by Bindon Stoney, who recorded "a cluster of nebulae found" on 13 Apr 1850 and "there are 4 nebulae. The 3 f ones seem to be inv in a mass of F neby." Based on these observations, Dreyer included two additional entries: NGC 4399 and NGC 4400. The sketch of these condensations match up well with my own observations with a 17.5" and can be identified on the POSS.
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NGC 4396 = UGC 7526 = MCG +03-32-034 = CGCG 099-049 = Holm 400a = PGC 40622
12 25 58.9 +15 40 19; Com
V = 12.6; Size 3.3'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 125°
17.5" (5/23/87): faint, fairly small, edge-on NW-SE,
even surface brightness. A mag 14
star is at the NW end [probably
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4396 on 20 Apr 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen and measured the position on 2 nights. He also observed NGC 4379 and was uncertain which was H. II-87 (likely NGC 4379, see that number).
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12 25 58.1 +18 18 04; Com
= ***, Carlson.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4397 = T. 1-44 and placed "5 sec following, 6 arcmin north of II 55 [NGC 4394]". Very close to this offset is a triple star, including a 4"-5" close pair, with the third component at 18". Dorothy Carlson also identifies NGC 4397 as this triple star.
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12 26 07.5 +10 41 10; Vir
= *14.5, Reinmuith and Corwin. = *, Carlson.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4398 on 19 Apr 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His single position corresponds with a mag 13.8 star and his description of two mag 11/13 stars (closer to mag 10/11.5) that precede by 11.6 sec and 16.35 sec of time is a perfect match. d'Arrest was uncertain if his object was the same as WH's III-39, and noted the descrepancy in declination. Neither Bigourdan (visually) nor Frost (on photographic plate) found NGC 4398, but Karl Reinmuth identified it as a mag 14.5 star using a Heidelberg plate.
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12 25 42.8 +33 30 57; CVn
17.5" (5/15/99): faintest of three HII knots observed in NGC 4395. Appeared extremely faint and small, 10"-15" in size and situated 2.3' SW of the ill-defined core on a line with a mag 14.5 star to the NE of the core. Required averted vision to confirm.
George Johnstone Stoney, Lord Rosse's assistant, discovered NGC 4399, along with NGC 4400, on 13 Apr 1850, while observing NGC 4395. On 14 Apr 1855, R.J. Mitchell noted "there are 4 nebulae. The 3 following ones seem to be involved in a mass of faint nebulosity. A sketch shows 4 "nebulae" along with a couple of stars. One of these (furthest north on the sketch) is the core of NGC 4395 and the other three (NGC 4399, NGC 4400 and NGC 4401) are HII knots in the galaxy. John Herschel recorded NGC 4401, the brightest of the knots.
Francis Pease assigned NGC 4399 to the knot identified here as NGC 4400 in his 1920 paper on nebulae photographed with the Mt Wilson 60-inch. Corwin lists the position for NGC 4399 as 12 25 42.8 +33 30 57, which is just following a mag 15 star. RNGC classifies the number as nonexistent with the description "Part of NGC 4395."
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12 25 55.9 +33 30 54; CVn
17.5" (5/15/99): very small HII knot in NGC 4395 situated 0.9' SSW of brighter NGC 4401. Shows up well at 220x, although only 15" in size and no other details.
17.5" (4/28/89): one of a pair of knots in the SE end of galaxy NGC 4395. The smaller and fainter of the pair (probably NGC 4400) is very faint, fairly small and is close SSW of NGC 4401.
George Johnstone Stoney, Lord Rosse's assistant, discovered NGC 4400, along with NGC 4399, on 13 Apr 1850. See notes on NGC 4399.
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12 25 57.5 +33 31 42; CVn
17.5" (5/15/99): this number refers to the brightest HII region in NGC 4395, located ~2' SE of the ill-defined core. Fairly easy at 220x (the galaxy loses its identity at this power!), appearing as an irregular 25" knot. Off the south side is a second fainter knot (NGC 4400).
17.5" (4/28/89): brightest of three knots in the galaxy NGC 4395 along with NGC 4399 and NGC 4400. Appears fairly faint and fairly small. Forms a close pair with knot NGC 4400 just SSW.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4401 = h1252 on 29 Apr 1827, while observing NGC 4395 (discovered by WH). He described "Two nebulae running into one another; both eF, vL, the following rather the brighter." JH's description most likely applies to the core of NGC 4395 and the brightest of the HII knots in this galaxy. Two additional knots (NGC 4399 and NGC 4400) were sketched at Birr Castle.
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12 26 07.7 +13 06 48; Vir
V = 11.8; Size 3.9'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 90°
24" (4/28/14): moderately bright, fairly large, very elongated 7:2 E-W, 2.1'x0.6'. Very mottled, patchy appearance implying a dusty equatorial plane and HII regions, though individual knots were not resolved. M86 is 10' N.
17.5" (4/25/87): fairly faint, fairly large, very elongated 3:1 E-W, fairly even surface brightness. Located 10' N of M86 in core of the Virgo cluster.
13.1" (5/14/83): faint, fairly large, even surface brightness.
George Johnstone Stoney, Lord Rosse's assistant, discovered NGC 4402 = Au 30 on 13 Apr 1849 and labeled it Eta on the diagram of the central core of the Virgo cluster. He also noted "Eta hollow in the middle [dust lane], probably a ring seen obliquely, faint star north of its middle, seen best with the single lens."
Arthur von Auwers independently discovered NGC 4402 on 5 Mar 1862 with the 6.2-inch Fraunhofer heliometer at the Königsberg Observatory and recorded "faint, gradually brighter in the middle, much elongated in the parallel [east-west], 3' long and 1.5' broad." Auwers was credited with the discovery in the GC and NGC since the position wasn't determined (or an offset from a known object) at Birr Castle.
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12 26 12.8 -07 41 05; Vir
V = 13.0; Size 2.0'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 30°
17.5" (5/19/01): NGC 4403 is the preceding and fainter
member of close pair with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4403 = H. III-75, along with NGC 4404, 5 on 20 Mar 1789 (sweep 913). He recorded the pair together as "Two, both very faint, very small, elongated, within 1 1/2' of each other." Neither galaxy was observed by John Herschel.
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NGC 4404 = MCG -01-32-009 = Holm 402b = PGC 40666
12 26 16.2 -07 40 51; Vir
V = 11.2; Size 1.5'x1.2'; Surf Br = 11.7
17.5" (5/19/01): this is the following member of a close pair with NGC 4404 just 0.9' SW. Moderately bright, round, fairly small, 0.8'x0.6' SW-NE. Contains a sharp, brighter core. Although smaller than NGC 4403 this galaxy is the brighter of the pair with a higher surface brightness.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4404 = H. III-756, along with NGC 4403, on 20 Mar 1789 (sweep 913). He recorded the pair together as "Two, both very faint, very small, elongated, within 1 1/2' of each other." His single position is less than 1' from NGC 4404.
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12 26 07.1 +16 10 52; Com
V = 12.0; Size 1.8'x1.1'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 20°
17.5" (5/23/87): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly
elongated N-S.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4405 = H. II-88 = h1254 on
21 Mar 1784 (sweep 182) and noted "S, resolvable, brightest in the
middle." Caroline's reduced
position is 11 sec of RA east of
Stephane Javelle independently discovered this galaxy on 19 May 1893 with the 30-inch refractor at the Nice Observatory, measured an accurate position and included it in his second discovery list, #748 (later IC 788). Javelle's offset point directly to this galaxy. So, NGC 4405 = IC 788. See Harold Corwin's identification notes.
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12 26 11.7 +12 56 46; Vir
V = 8.9; Size 8.9'x5.8'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 130°
24" (4/28/14): at 260x appeared extremely bright, very large, oval 3:2 NW-SE, 4.5'x3.0'. Sharply concentrated with a very intensely bright core that increases down to the center. The halo increases in size with averted and gradually fades out at the periphery. Brightest galaxy in the central core of the Virgo cluster.
18" (6/12/10): at 175x appears very bright, very large, elongated 4:3 or 5:3 NW-SE, ~4.3'x3.0'. The outer halo gradually brightens then dramatically increases to a very intense 45" core that increases down to a stellar nucleus. The nucleus is fairly well defined as a 20" brighter inner zone. A mag 14.6 star is at the ENE edge of the halo, 2.0' from center. Brighter of a 17' pair with M84 in the core of the Virgo cluster.
17.5" (4/25/87): very bright, fairly large, slightly elongated 4:3 NW-SE, 4'x3', intense core, substellar nucleus, large diffuse halo. One of the two brightest galaxies in the core of the Virgo cluster along with M84 17' W. NGC 4402 lies 10' N.
13.1" (5/14/83): very bright, larger and more elongated than M84.
Charles Messier is credited with the discovery of M86 = NGC 4406 = h1253, along with M84 and M87, on 18 Mar 1781. He described a "Nebula without star, in Virgo, on the parallel and very near to the nebula above, No. 84: their appearances are the same, & both appear together in the same field of the telescope." But Wolfgang Steinicke recently found (email Oct '16) that Johann Gottfried Koehler made an earlier discovery on 5 May 1779.
William Herschel only recorded M86 on 17 Apr 1784 (sweep 199) and he simply noted "Bright. Is No. 74 of the Connoissance des Temps." John Herschel observed M87 on 13 Mar 1826 (sweep 22) and logged "vB; R; gradually brighter in the middle to nearly a star". In the Slough catalogue he claimed M86 as a "Nova" (new discovery), probably due to the poor positions of his father.
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12 26 32.2 +12 36 39; Vir
See observing notes for NGC 4413.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4407 = h1255 on 4 May 1829 and simply noted "the following of 2" with h1244 = NGC 4388. There is nothing at his approximate position, but the description for NGC 4388 mentions the second nebula follows by roughly 30 sec in RA. NGC 4413 follows by 47 sec in RA and is the only reasonable candidate nearby. This identification was suggested by Frost, based on Harvard plates and Harold Corwin concurs NGC 4407 = NGC 4413. See Corwin's notes for more.
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NGC 4408 = CGCG 158-107 = PGC 40668
12 26 17.2 +27 52 16; Com
V = 13.9; Size 0.8'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 30°
18" (5/30/03): faint, small, elongated 4:3, 0.4'x0.25', brighter along the major axis. There appears to be a faint star at the SE edge. Located 19' NNE of NGC 4393.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4408 on 21 Apr 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His single position is accurate.
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12 26 58.5 +02 29 39; Vir
See observing notes for
William Herschel found NGC 4409 = H. III-17 on 23 Feb 1784 (sweep 158) and noted "vF, pS, it seems to be resolveable." There is nothing at his position, but 25 seconds of RA east is NGC 4420, which Herschel had discovered just a month earlier and catalogued as H. II-23.
John Herschel suggested the equivalenceof III-17 and II-23. As William's positions in his early sweeps were prone to errors and there are no other nearby candidates, the equivalence is nearly certain.
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12 26 28.9 +09 01 11; Vir
V = 12.8; Size 1.3'x0.8'; PA = 110°
24" (6/4/16): at 225x; NGC 4410 is a merged,
interacting pair at 20" separation in a common halo.
17.5" (3/24/90): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated
E-W, weak concentration. This
double system (NGC 4410A and 4410B) was not resolved. NGC 4410A is the brightest in a quartet with IC 790 1.9' NE
and CGCG 070-079 4' ENE (not seen).
John Herschel discovered NGC 4410 = h1256 on 18 Jan 1828 and recorded "eF; vL; R; gradually brighter in the middle; 2.5' diameter." His RA was 7 seconds too small.
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12 26 30.0 +08 52 20; Vir
V = 12.7; Size 2.0'x1.9'; Surf Br = 14.1
24" (6/4/16): at 225x; faint or fairly faint, moderately large, round, low surface brightness, ~1.2' diameter. The view is confused by a superimposed mag 13.5 star, slightly west of center. A diffuse but uneven glow encompasses the star, with the very weak core just east of the star. The halo has a very low surface brightness and it was difficult to estimate the diameter.
Forms a pair with (similar) low surface brightness
17.5" (3/24/90): very faint, round, fairly small, very diffuse glow. Unusual appearance as a mag 13 star is superimposed on the core and the galaxy appears as a low surface brightness halo surrounds this star. Forms a close pair with NGC 4411B 4' ENE.
Christian Peters discovered NGC 4411 around 1881 with the
13.5-inch refractor at Hamilton College Observatory. His position matches
When Bigourdan observed the field, he found B. 298, which was described as "very large and diffuse, about 2.5' dia, slbM. Could be NGC 4411 with an error of 17 sec in RA." In the IC 2 notes Dreyer mentions this is probably the same as NGC 4411, but B. 298 refers to NGC 4411B = UGC 7546, situated 4.5' east-northeast. Because of Dreyer's error, this galaxy did not receive an IC designation. See Corwin's notes for more on the story.
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12 26 36.1 +03 57 52; Vir
V = 12.4; Size 1.4'x1.3'; Surf Br = 12.8
17.5" (2/28/87): fairly faint, moderately large, slightly elongated N-S, weak concentration at center to a small brighter core.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4412 = H. II-34 = h1257 on
23 Feb 1784 (sweep 158) and noted "vF, pS. Seems to be resolveable and resembles the former [NGC 4409 =
NGC 4420]." His position is
30 sec of RA east of
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NGC 4413 = NGC 4407 = UGC 7538 = MCG +02-32-049 = CGCG 070-076 = PGC 40705
12 26 32.2 +12 36 39; Vir
V = 12.3; Size 2.3'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 60°
24" (4/28/14): moderately bright, fairly small, elongated 3:2 SW-NE, 0.9'x0.6'. Unusual appearance with a brighter bar and a small, bright rounder nucleus. The bar and halo are not aligned along the same axis.
17.5" (4/25/87): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly
elongated SW-NE, slightly brighter along major axis. A mag 12 star is off the north edge 1.4' from center and a
mag 11 star is 2.9' N. Located 12'
ESE of NGC 4388 in the core of Virgo cluster with
13.1" (5/7/83 and 5/14/83): faint, small, slightly elongated, diffuse.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4413 = H. II-169 = h1259,
along with NGC 4387, 4388 and 4425, on 17 Apr 1784 (sweep 199). He noted "S. It may be taken into the field with
other [NGC 4387 and 4388].
Caroline's reduced position is 17 seconds of RA east of
On 11 Apr 1825 (early sweep 3), John Herschel recorded, "eF; gradually brighter in the middle; has 2 stars, n and n p." His position is 2.8' too far south, although the description clearly applies. Four years later he recorded it again as h1255 = NGC 4407 and simply noted "the following of 2 [with NGC 4388]. His position was marked as very uncertain or approximate but was noted as ~30 seconds following NGC 4388 (the actual RA difference is 47 sec). So, NGC 4413 = NGC 4407, with NGC 4413 the primary designation.
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NGC 4414 = UGC 7539 = MCG +05-29-085 = CGCG 158-108 = PGC 40692
12 26 27.0 +31 13 23; Com
V = 10.1; Size 3.6'x2.0'; Surf Br = 12.1; PA = 155°
17.5" (4/25/98): bright, elongated NNW-SSE, ~3'x2'. Sharp concentration with a prominent rounder core which increases to a stellar nucleus. There appears to be a sharper light cutoff along the preceding edge and an hint of spiral structure in the outer halo. Observation hampered by hazy skies.
8": fairly bright, elongated NW-SE, small bright nucleus.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4414 = H. I-77 = h1258 on 13 Mar 1785 (sweep 387) and recorded "vB, L, E, broadly [concentrated] to a mbM." John Herschel made two observations and logged (sweep 342) "vB; L; pmE; first gradually brighter and then very small & very much brighter middle to a nucleus = 11m; 3' l, 90" br."
Spiral structure was not described at Birr Castle, though on 12 Apr 1849, LdR or assistant George Stoney recorded "uncertain whether double nucleus or nucleus and star; neby decidely darker in middle, following the nucleus and rather brighter outside this." The 7 Mar 1856 observation by R.J. Mitchell also mentions "Has a double nucl or a nucl and a star which are excentric, being nearer the sp side; light uneven and patchy. I suspect especially a darkness north of the main nucleus."
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12 26 40.5 +08 26 08; Vir
V = 12.1; Size 1.3'x1.2'; Surf Br = 12.5; PA = 0°
17.5" (3/24/90): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly elongated N-S, weak concentration. A mag 13.5 star is 2.4' NNW of center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4415 = H. III-482 on 28 Dec 1785 (sweep 498) and simply noted "eF". His position (Caroline's reduction) is just 3 sec of RA too small.
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12 26 46.7 +07 55 08; Vir
V = 12.4; Size 1.7'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.3
17.5" (4/21/90): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly
elongated, gradually increases to small bright core. Located 4' NE of mag 8
John Herschel discovered NGC 4416 = h1260 on 27 Dec 1827 (sweep 117) and recorded "vF; L; R; 60"; has a * 7m, 5' sp." His position and description matches this galaxy.
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12 26 50.6 +09 35 03; Vir
V = 11.1; Size 3.4'x1.3'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 49°
17.5" (4/18/87): bright, moderately large, elongated
lens-shape SW-NE, bright bulging core containing a bright stellar nucleus.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4417 = H. II-155 on 15 Apr
1784 (sweep 194) and logged "F, pL, lE and lb towards the preceding side,
r." Caroline's reduction is
3' northeast of
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NGC 4418 = NGC 4355 = UGC 7545 = MCG +00-32-012 = CGCG 014-039 = PGC 40762
12 26 54.6 -00 52 40; Vir
V = 13.1; Size 1.4'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 59°
17.5" (3/24/90): fairly faint, small, oval SW-NE, broad concentration. A mag 15 star is just off the SW end 0.9' from center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4418 = H. III-492 = h1261 on
1 Jan 1786 (sweep 507) and recorded "vF, mE, cL, r." His position is 3' south of UGC 7545 =
David Todd independently discovered this galaxy on 5 Feb 1878 and recorded it as object #17 in his search for a trans-Neptunian planet. Todd's rough RA is 4.0 tmin too far west but his field sketch and offsets to nearby stars clearly match this galaxy.
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12 26 56.3 +15 02 51; Com
V = 11.2; Size 3.3'x1.1'; Surf Br = 12.4; PA = 133°
17.5" (5/23/87): fairly bright, moderately large, very elongated 3:1 NW-SE, 2.4'x0.8', bright core, stellar nucleus.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4419 = H. II-113 = h1262 on 8 Apr 1784 (sweep 187) and noted "E, resolvable." John Herschel called this galaxy "B; E; np to sf; suddenly brighter in the middle" and measured an accurate position.
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NGC 4420 = NGC 4409 = UGC 7549 = MCG +01-32-064 = CGCG 042-106 = PGC 40775
12 26 58.5 +02 29 39; Vir
V = 12.1; Size 2.0'x1.0'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 8°
17.5" (3/24/90): moderately bright, moderately large, very elongated N-S, almost even surface brightness, nuclear bulge.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4420 = H. II-23 = h1263 on 24 Jan 1784 (sweep 119) and logged "F, E." His position is 30 seconds of RA too far east and 5' S (positions in his early sweeps often have larger errors). He observed the galaxy again a month later, and catalogued it as III-17 (later NGC 4409), assuming it was new.
John Herschel measured an accurate position and suspected it was a duplicate observation. As the positions in his early sweeps were prone to errors, it is nearly certain that NGC 4420 = NGC 4409.
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12 27 02.6 +15 27 41; Com
V = 11.6; Size 2.7'x2.0'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 20°
17.5" (5/19/01): moderately bright, fairly small,
slightly elongated N-S. The 1.5'
diameter halo is punctuated by a 30" prominent core. Located 2.4' SE of mag 9.5
William Herschel discovered NGC 4421 = H. II-89 = h1264 on
21 Mar 1784 (sweep 182) and noted "S, resolvable, brightest in the middle,
near a bright star." There is
nothing at Caroline's reduced position but 10' northwest (similar error as NGC 4379) is
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12 27 12.1 -05 49 52; Vir
V = 13.8; Size 1.3'x1.3'; Surf Br = 14.4
18" (5/8/04): fairly faint, fairly small, round, 0.8' diameter. Symmetric appearance as this round galaxy increases steadily to a small brighter core and stellar nucleus.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4422 = H. III-114 = h1265 on 25 Apr 1784 (sweep 207) and recorded "Two very small stars with nebulosity. 240 rather confirmed it, but there is too much moonlight to see it perfectly. It makes a vS nebula." On a later sweep (706) he logged "vF, vS, stellar" and measured an accurate position.
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12 27 08.9 +05 52 47; Vir
V = 13.5; Size 2.3'x0.4'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 18°
17.5" (4/21/90): faint, moderately large, very
elongated 4:1 SSW-NNE, low even surface brightness.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4423 = H. II-145 = h1266 on 13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191) and noted "extremely faint, elongated." His RA is 28 seconds too large. Interestingly, just prior he recorded NGC 4430 (about 23' N) and when the telescope was moved south he picked up NGC 4423. Then the direction changed back to the north and he logged NGC 4430 a second time!
On 17 Apr 1830 (sweep 250), John Herschel described this galaxy as "vF; vS; E". His position was accurate.
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NGC 4424 = UGC 7561 = MCG +02-32-058 = CGCG 070-090 = LGG 288-008 = PGC 40809
12 27 11.7 +09 25 13; Vir
V = 11.7; Size 3.6'x1.8'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 95°
48" (3/1/19): at 488x; very bright, fairly large,
elongated ~5:2 E-W, ~2.5'x1', asymmetric appearance. Contains a larger bright elongated core that appears
brightest on the east end (possibly a HII region). The brighter central part extends further to the west than
to the east of center. The outer
halo has a low surface brightness and dims out gradually, so there was no
distinct edge. A 16th mag star is
off the south side [35" from center].
17.5" (4/18/87): fairly bright, moderately large, elongated E-W, bright core. NGC 4417 is at the edge of the 220x field 11' NNW.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4424 on 27 Feb 1865 with
the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His position, measured on 4 nights, matches
Max Wolf discovered SN 1895A in 1925 on a plate taken on 16
Mar 1895 and reported as a variable star (assigned VW Vir) or a nova. This supernova and 1895B (Z Cen) in NGC
5253 are the oldest known extragalactic supernovae after S And in
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NGC 4425 = UGC 7562 = MCG +02-32-059 = CGCG 070-091 = Holm 403e = LGG 286-003 = PGC 40816
12 27 13.4 +12 44 05; Vir
V = 11.8; Size 3.0'x1.0'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 27°
24" (4/28/14): fairly bright, moderately large, very elongated 7:2 SSW-NNE, ~1.4'x0.4', small bright core. A mag 13.8 star is 1.2' W of center and a mag 15.3 is 1.3' SE.
17.5" (4/25/87): moderately bright, fairly small, elongated 5:2 SW-NE, small brighter core. A mag 13.5 star is 1.2' W and a mag 11 star 4.4' ENE of center. Located in the core of the Virgo cluster with NGC 4413 12.7' SW.
13.1" (5/14/83): fairly faint, very elongated, weak concentration. A mag 13.5 star is 1' W and a mag 11 star to the east.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4425 = H. II-170 = h1267, along with NGC 4387, 4388 and 4413, on 17 Apr 1784 (sweep 199). He simply noted "F" and his position is ~18 sec of RA too far east (similar offsets with the others nearby). John Herschel recorded "pB; S; R; bM" and measured an accurate position (on a second sweep).
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12 27 10.5 +27 50 17; Com
= **, Corwin and Dreyer
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4426 on 21 Apr 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. At his position is a 14" pair of mag 14.5/15 stars. Interestingly, Bigourdan independently found this pair again 21 years later and also thought it was mixed with some nebulosity. Both measured nearly identical positions and Dreyer realized the equivalence NGC 4426 = NGC 4427 = **, after compiling the NGC.
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12 27 10.5 +27 50 17; Com
= **, Corwin and Dreyer
Guillaume Bigourdan found NGC 4427 = Big. 53 on 22 Apr 1886 and described "vF, 2 or 3 stars mixed with nebulosity." At his position is pair of stars separated by ~14". The same pair was discovered earlier by Heinrich d'Arrest on 21 Apr 1865 and both positions are nearly identical in the NGC. Dreyer must have realized the equivalence before publication of the NGC, as he added the note "These are evidently identical (note added in press)."
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12 27 28.3 -08 10 04; Vir
V = 12.6; Size 1.9'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 75°
17.5" (2/28/87): moderately bright, moderately large,
elongated ~E-W, broad concentration.
Forms a pair with
John Herschel discovered NGC 4428 = h1269 on 16 Mar 1828 and
logged "pL; vF; very ill defined." His position is close off the south side of
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12 27 26.4 +11 06 29; Vir
V = 10.0; Size 5.6'x2.6'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 99°
17.5" (4/18/87): very bright, fairly large, very bright
core, stellar nucleus, faint extensions E-W. Located 2.0' SSW of a mag 9.5 star. Mag 9.2
William Herschel discovered NGC 4429 = H. II-65 = h1271 on
15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174) and logged "pB, not vS." His position is 40 sec of RA east of
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NGC 4430 = UGC 7566 = MCG +01-32-067 = CGCG 042-111 = Holm 406a = LGG 289-033 = PGC 40851
12 27 26.2 +06 15 45; Vir
V = 12.0; Size 2.3'x2.0'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 80°
17.5" (4/21/90): fairly faint, fairly large, diffuse,
elongated 3:2 E-W. There is a
sharp light cut-off on the east end.
The surface brightness is asymmetric with the brightest portion offset
to the east of center with a more extensive faint halo towards the north and
west. Forms a close pair with NGC
4432 2.5' SE. Located 8' N of mag
7.9
William Herschel discovered NGC 4430 = H. II-146 = h1270 on 13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191) and logged "Faint, pretty large. I suspect this to be the same nebula with the last but one which was observed when the telescope went down and this while it up, however I am not sure of it. The difference of 0.4 minutes in time and 3' in polar distance is not sufficient to determine this point as they were both taken in a hurry." Apparently he was correct, He recorded NGC 4430 less than 30 seconds earlier in the sweep, moved south and picked up NGC 4423, then head back north and saw logged NGC 4430.
John Herschel observed this galaxy on 24 Apr 1830 (sweep 253): "vF; L; R; gradually brighter in the middle; 90"." Both missed nearby NGC 4432, which was discovered by Albert Marth.
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12 27 27.4 +12 17 24; Vir
V = 12.9; Size 1.7'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 177°
24" (5/29/14): fairly faint to moderately bright fairly
small, elongated 3:2 N-S, 40"x25", broad concentration with a
slightly brighter core. A mag 14.4
star is 1.2' E. First of three
with fainter
13.1" (5/14/83): faint, very diffuse, slightly elongated. This galaxy is slightly brighter and larger than NGC 4436 4.0' ENE. NGC 4440 lies 6.5' E.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4431 = H. II-171 = h1268 on 17 Apr 1784 (sweep 199) and recorded "Three F nebulae; the two first vS [NGC 4431 and 4436], the third [NGC 4440] S." His single position is roughly 30 sec of RA too large, but the identifications are certain. John Herschel noted "vF; oval gradually brighter in the middle; 50"."
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NGC 4432 = UGC 7570 = MCG +01-32-068 = CGCG 042-114 = Holm 406b = PGC 40875
12 27 33.0 +06 14 00; Vir
V = 14.7; Size 0.9'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.9
17.5" (4/21/90): extremely faint, very small, slightly elongated N-S. A mag 15 star is 0.7' NW of center. Forms a close pair with NGC 4430 2.5' NW.
Albert Marth discovered NGC 4432 = m 240 on 22 Mar 1865 with Lassell's 48-inch on Malta and noted "2* in a F nebulosity." His position matches NGC 4432 = UGC 7570, just 2.5' southeast of NGC 4430, though the brighter galaxy is not mentioned.
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NGC 4433 = MCG -01-32-013 = Holm 407a = PGC 40894
12 27 38.7 -08 16 45; Vir
V = 12.7; Size 2.2'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 5°
17.5" (2/28/87): moderately bright, moderately large, elongated ~N-S, broad concentration. Bracketed by two mag 14 stars at the north edge and 1.0' SW of center. Forms a pair with NGC 4428 7' N.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4433 = h1273 on 16 Mar 1828 and
noted "not vF; pL; lE; very ill-defined." His position is at the south edge of
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NGC 4434 = UGC 7571 = MCG +01-32-069 = CGCG 042-115 = LGG 292-014 = PGC 40886
12 27 36.6 +08 09 15; Vir
V = 12.2; Size 1.4'x1.4'; Surf Br = 12.9
17.5" (4/21/90): moderately bright, small, round, small
very bright core dominates small round halo, sharp stellar nucleus. Located 35' WNW of M49. NGC 4416 lies 20' SW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4434 = H. II-497 on 28 Dec 1785 (sweep 498) and noted "pF, vS." Heinrich d'Arrest measured an accurate micrometric position on two nights (used in the NGC).
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12 27 40.5 +13 04 44; Vir
V = 10.8; Size 2.8'x2.0'; Surf Br = 12.5; PA = 13°
24" (4/28/14): very bright, moderately large, oval 3:2 N-S, ~1.5'x1.0', sharply concentrated with an intensely bright core that increases to the center. Forms a prominent pair ("The Eyes") with NGC 4438 4.4' SSE.
18" (6/12/10): at 175x appears bright, moderately large oval, elongated at least 2:1 SSW-NNE, 1.6'x0.8'. Sharply concentrated with a very bright, 20"x10" core and stellar nucleus. This galaxy is the NW member of the "Eyes" with highly disrupted NGC 4438 4.3' SSE.
17.5" (4/25/87): bright, fairly small, oval SSW-NNE, bright core, stellar nucleus. Forms a striking pair called the "Eyes" with slightly fainter NGC 4438 4.5' SSE. Located 20' E of M86 in the central core of the Virgo cluster.
13.1" (5/14/83): bright, prominent small bright core.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4435 = H. I-28.1 = h1274,
along with NGC 4438, on 17 Apr 1784 (sweep 199). He recorded them together as "two bright, considerably
large nebula. One is 86 of the Connois des Temps." His position matches the pair NGC
4435/4438, but Caroline assume one of the pair was M86. The same mistake was made a week
earlier, though it that case his positions fall close to
John Herschel repeated this error in the Slough catalogue, but in the General Catalogue he split the pair into h1274 = I-28.1 (later NGC 4435) and h1275 = I-28.2 (later NGC 4438).
NGC 4435 and 4438 was nicknamed "The Eyes" by Leyland S. Copeland (first author of the Deep Sky Wonders column) in a February 1955 article titled "Adventures in the Virgo Cloud."; the likeness to a pair of eyes is emphasized by the fact that NGC 4435 and 4438 are both elongated in a SSW-NNE direction.
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NGC 4436 = UGC 7573 = MCG +02-32-066 = CGCG 070-096 = Holm 408a = LGG 289-010 = WBL 409-002 = PGC 40903
12 27 41.2 +12 18 57; Vir
V = 13.2; Size 1.5'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 116°
24" (5/29/14): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 3:2 WNW-ESE, 30"x20", weak concentration. A mag 12.5 star is off the NW side, 0.9' from center. Faintest of three with NGC 4440 3.4' ESE and NGC 4431 3.8' SW.
13.1" (5/14/83): very faint, diffuse, low even surface brightness. A mag 11.5 star is just off the NW edge 1.0' from center. Forms a pair with NGC 4440 3' SE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4436 = H. II-172 = h1272 on 17 Apr 1784 (sweep 199) and recorded "Three faint nebulae; the two first vS [NGC 4431 and 4436], the third [NGC 4440] S." His single position is roughly 30 sec of RA too large, but the identifications are certain. John Herschel noted "vF; gradually brighter in the middle; 40"."
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12 32 45.6 +00 06 59; Vir
See observing notes for
John Herschel found NGC 4437 = h1277 on 14 Apr 1828 and recorded "F; vmE; pos 15° nf to sp; a long ray; it is south preceding a * 10m. The place is that of the star." There is nothing near his position, but 5 min of RA east is NGC 4517 and his description is a perfect match with this galaxy. Karl Reinmuth may have first suggested the equivalence in his 1926 photographic Heidelberg survey "Die Herschel Nebel". Various sources (including the RNGC) mistakenly equate NGC 4437 with NGC 4417, instead of NGC 4517.
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NGC 4438 = Arp 120 NED2 = VV 188 = UGC 7574 = MCG +02-32-065 = CGCG 070-097 = Holm 409a = PGC 40914 = The Eyes
12 27 45.5 +13 00 32; Vir
V = 10.2; Size 8.5'x3.2'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 27°
24" (4/28/14 and 5/29/14): very bright, very large, very elongated 5:2 or 3:1 SSW-NNE, 3.0'x1.0'. Contains a large, bright elongated core that increases to a very small, very bright nucleus. With averted vision, the tidal tails are visible as much fainter irregular extensions (with an uneven surface brightness) that significantly increase the total diameter. The SW "plume" is not aligned with the major axis of the galaxy and angles further towards the west.
18" (6/12/10): bright, large, elongated 5:2 SSW-NNE, 2.4'x1.0'. Contains a bright, elongated core that increases to a small, very brighter, rounder nucleus. The outer halo appears warped with very faint extensions that increase the overall size to nearly 5'x1.5'. The SW tidal arm is more noticeable and appears to bend or curve to the southwest (counterclockwise). The NNE tail is extremely faint and slightly offset to the axis of the core. This highly disrupted galaxy forms an excellent pair with NGC 4435 4.3' NNW along Markarian's Chain.
17.5" (4/25/87): bright, elongated 5:2 SSW-NNE, small bright core. Forms a striking pair with NGC 4435 4.5' NNW. The core is not as large or bright as NGC 4435. Located in the center of the Virgo cluster 23' E of M86.
13.1" (5/14/83): bright, bright core, larger but more diffuse than NGC 4435.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4438 = H. I-28.2 = h1275, along with NGC 4435, on 17 Apr 1784 (sweep 199). He noted "two bright, considerably large nebula." His single position matches the pair NGC 4435 and 4438. See NGC 4435 for more on the confusion with the identifications.
John Herschel made 3 observations and recorded (sweep 242) "pretty bright; large; little extended; 60" [diameter]."
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12 28 26 -60 06 12; Cru
V = 8.4; Size 4'
13.1" (2/20/04 - Costa Rica): at 105x, 20 stars mag 10-13 are arranged in a perfect semi-circle (180 degree arc) open towards the west, with the endpoints directly N-S. A string of three collinear stars, oriented WNW-ESE, sits right in the middle of the semicircle! A wide bright double (HJ 4524 = 8/9.5 at 30") situated less than 5' NW is aligned directly with the center of the cluster! Situated in the middle of the Southern Cross, 55' ENE of mag 3.6 Epsilon Crucis.
James Dunlop discovered NGC 4439 = D 300 = h3392 on 30 Apr 1826. His summary description (based on 4 observations) reads "a triangular group of very small stars, about 3' long, resembling faint nebulae. A star of the 9th magnitude near the north following extremity [the bright star is NW of the cluster]." His published position was 7' too far E.
John Herschel observed the cluster on 31 Mar 1834 (sweep 434) and noted "Cluster taken for Dunlop 300; a semi-elliptic group of stars 11..12th mag, diameter 2'."
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NGC 4440 = UGC 7581 = MCG +02-32-067 = CGCG 070-099 = Holm 408b = LGG 292-007 = WBL 409-003 = PGC 40927
12 27 53.6 +12 17 36; Vir
V = 11.7; Size 1.9'x1.5'; Surf Br = 12.7
24" (5/29/14): fairly bright, fairly small, slightly
elongated, 0.8'x0.6'. Sharply
concentrated with a small, very bright core containing a bright stellar
nucleus. Brightest in trio with
NGC 4436 3.4' NW and NGC 4431 6.4' W.
Nearly at the midpoint of mag 9.2
13.1" (5/14/83): fairly faint, small, small bright core, diffuse fainter halo. Third of three with NGC 4436 3.2' NW and NGC 4431 6.5' W.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4440 = H. II-173 = h1276 on 17 Apr 1784 (sweep 199) and recorded "Three faint nebulae; the two first vS [NGC 4431 and 4436], the third [NGC 4440] S." His single position is roughly 30 sec of RA too large, but the identifications are certain. John Herschel noted "B; R; bM; 50"; resolvable."
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NGC 4441 = UGC 7572 = MCG +11-15-056 = CGCG 315-039 = PGC 40836
12 27 20.3 +64 48 06; Dra
V = 12.7; Size 3.2'x2.5'; Surf Br = 14.8
17.5" (4/15/93): fairly faint, fairly small, round, broad concentration, faint stellar nucleus. NGC 4391 lies 14' NW. NGC 4441 is thought to be an advanced galactic merger with optical tidal tails and two shells.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4441 = H. II-848 = h1278 = h1291 on 20 Mar 1790 (sweep 954) and logged "F, bM, iF, stellar." John Herschel recorded h1278 "pF; R; very gradually brighter middle; 25"." and measured an accurate position. The next night he viewed this galaxy again, but placed h1291 1 min of RA too far east and was unsure if it was new. The various designations were combined in the NGC.
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12 28 03.8 +09 48 13; Vir
V = 10.4; Size 4.6'x1.8'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 87°
17.5" (4/18/87): bright, moderately large, elongated 2:1 WSW-ENE, bright core, stellar nucleus. Two mag 14.5 star are at the east end and just south of the core 1.5' E and 0.9' SSW of center. Located in the core of the Virgo cluster with NGC 4417/NGC 4424 pair roughly 30' SW.
14.5" (7/7/21): viewed supernova SN 2021 qvv discovered on 23 Jun '21. The observation was challenging as the SN is only 14" W of center. At 226x, it appeared as a dim mag 14.5 "star" at the W edge of the core.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4442 = H. II-156 = h1279 on
15 Apr 1784 (sweep 194) and logged "F, pL, lE, r." Caroline's reduction is 28 sec of RA
east of
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12 29 03.0 +13 11 02; Vir
See observing notes for
George Johnstone Stoney, Lord Rosse's assistant, discovered NGC 4443 on 13 Apr 1840 while observing the central region of the Virgo cluster. He simply noted "F, S" and labeled it "Kappa" on the diagram of the field. No positions were measured, but the sketch places this object close to the NGC 4458/4461 pair.
Frost reported that NGC 4443 was not found in the Virgo-Coma survey (Harvard College Observatory, Vol 88, No 1) and Reinmuth also reported a negative result. Harold Corwin suggests NGC 4443 may be a duplicate discovery of NGC 4461 (despite missing fainter NGC 4458), and I agree. See Corwin's notes for story.
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12 28 36.4 -43 15 43; Cen
V = 12.3; Size 2.5'x2.3'; Surf Br = 14.0
14" (4/2/16 - Coonabarabran, 160x): fairly faint, moderately large, round, ~1.4' diameter, weak concentration with a very small brighter nucleus. A mag 13.2 star is just off the NE edge [1.0' from center]. NGC 4444 forms the northeast vertex of a triangle with a mag 8 star 4.8' ENE and a mag 10 star 4.6' S. In addition two mag 9.6 stars are 7' SW and 8' SSW!
John Herschel discovered NGC 4444 = h3393 on 15 Mar 1836 and recorded "eF; L; R; very gradually brighter middle; 3' diam." His single position is very accurate.
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12 28 16.0 +09 26 11; Vir
V = 12.8; Size 2.6'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 106°
17.5" (4/18/87): fairly faint but pretty edge-on
WNW-ESE, moderately large, weak concentration.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4445 on 24 Apr 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His position, measured on 2 nights that he also observed NGC 4424, is accurate.
Lewis Swift probably found this galaxy again on 6 May 1888
and reported it as new in this 8th list, #63 (later
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12 28 06.8 +13 54 43; Com
V = 13.9; Size 1.1'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 82°
24" (5/29/14): faint, very small, slightly elongated
E-W, 0.5'x0.4', low even surface brightness. Fainter of a pair(lower surface brightness) with
18" (4/5/03): very faint, very small, elongated 3:2
E-W, 0.6'x0.4'. Forms a similar
pair with NGC 4447 1.6' ESE. Two
mag 12.5/13 stars are 2' and 3' N of the pair. Located 7' WSW of a mag 9.6 star and 13' WSW of
Lewis Swift discovered NGC 4446 = Sw. 6-43, along with NGC
4447 close southeast, on 17 Apr 1887 and recorded "eeF; pS; R; ee
difficult; Double; triplicity suspected; 2 = mag stars range with it n and s;
[NGC 4459] in field following."
His position is 10 sec of RA following and 1' north of
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NGC 4447 = MCG +02-32-073 = PGC 40979
12 28 12.5 +13 53 57; Com
V = 14.0; Size 0.9'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 117°
24" (5/29/14): faint to fairly faint, small, round, 25" diameter, weak concentration. Forms a pair with NGC 4446 1.6' WNW. Located 12' WSW of NGC 4459.
18" (4/5/03): very faint, very small, round, 0.4'. Slightly smaller of a close pair with NGC 4446 1.6' WNW. In a galaxy-rich area 12.5' WSW of NGC 4459 and 6' SW of a mag 9.6 star.
Lewis Swift discovered NGC 4447 = Sw. 6-44, along with NGC
4446 close northwest, on 17 Apr 1887 and recorded "eeF; pS; R; ee
difficult." His position is 7
sec of RA following and 2' north of
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12 28 15.4 +28 37 13; Com
V = 11.1; Size 3.9'x1.4'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 94°
18" (4/5/03): bright, large, elongated 5:2 ~E-W, 2.8'x1.2'. Sharply concentrated with a very bright, well-defined 35"x25" oval core. Located 27' NE of mag 4.3 15 Gamma Comae Berenices.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4448 = H. I-91 = h1280 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396). His description reads, "vB, E in the direction of the parallel [east-west]. It has a B, pL nucleus sending forth a ray to each side." John Herschel made 4 observations, describing it on sweep 343 "B; L; mE exactly in parallel; suddenly much brighter middle."
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12 28 11.2 +44 05 36; CVn
V = 9.6; Size 6.2'x4.4'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 45°
48" (2/20/12, 3/1/19, 5/1/19): NGC 4449 is a boxy-shaped Magellanic-type Irregular containing several bright, giant HII regions that are sites of active star formation. The galaxy has been intensively studied as one of the strongest galaxy-wide starbursts in the nearby universe. The overall surface brightness of the galaxy was unusually high at 375x. The very bright central region is elongated SW-NE, irregular in surface brightness and contains a small, intense "nucleus". This object is identified in SIMBAD as [GHG2001] 1 and described as a 10 Myr old super star cluster in the 2001 study by Gelatt et al, "The Star Clusters in the Irregular Galaxy NGC 4449".
To the southwest is a fairly large, bright patch that mimics a second core. This region is catalogued as #27/28/30 in Hodge-Kennicutt's 1983 "Atlas of HII regions in 125 galaxies" [HK83]. Several additional patches are on the north end of the galaxy. The largest and brightest is #15, a high surface brightness irregular glow at the north end of the galaxy, 20"x12", with a mottled surface and a stellar knot (#11) at the north tip. Roughly 35" SW is #25, a moderately bright roundish knot of ~12" diameter. 20" W is #31, a fairly faint, small HII knot, less than 10" in diameter. At the northeast tip of the galaxy is #2, nearly 1' SE of #15. It appeared as a moderately bright knot, ~15"-20" in size. A small knot (#16) was noted on the southeast side of the galaxy. A faint 12" knot is nearly detached at the SW end of galaxy (#6 in the 1969 "Kinematic study of ionized hydrogen in NGC 4449"). Very low surface brightness haze extends west off the SW end. A mag 14 star is superimposed [44" ENE of the nucleus].
On 5/1/19, I had the strong impression of an extremely low surface brightness glow nearly 10' SE of the galaxy (and 2.4' W of LEDA 2233323). This is the location of a tidal star stream, discovered in 2011.
18" (5/14/07): very mottled, irregular appearance, elongated ~2:1 SW-NE, ~5'x2.5'. The core is quite splotchy in appearance with a couple of bright knots; the most prominent is attached to the southwest of the core. The main body is roughly rectangular with an extension at the northwest "corner" that ends with a bright knot or knots ([HK83] #15). Another extension or knot ([HK83] #2) is off the northeast corner. A mag 13 star lies 2.4' E of the core and 1 or 2 additional very faint stars or knots are superimposed in the central region.
18" (5/8/04): fascinating view of this "Magellanic" system at 323x! The galaxy is very irregular in appearance and surface brightness with a large, bright, elongated core oriented SW-NE. The core appears offset to the south side of the galaxy.
Several knots (giant HII regions) are visible outside the core. The brightest is a well-defined obvious patch on the north edge of the galaxy, 1.5' from the center. This object is #15 in Hodge-Kennicutt's 1983 "Atlas of HII regions in 125 galaxies" ([HK83]) and it is nearly comparable in surface brightness to the core. Roughly 1' SE is #2, a smaller, faint knot that is collinear with #15 and a mag 13.5 star 2.4' E of the core. #25, a third difficult knot, can sometimes be glimpsed about 40" SW of #15. Finally, attached on the south end of the core is a larger, bright knot, although initially I thought this was just part of the core.
13.1" (4/12/86): very bright, very large, elongated SW-NE, bright core, stellar nucleus. A knot is involved at the north end and the galaxy generally appears brighter to the north of the core. A star is superimposed close east of the core.
8": bright, moderately large, elongated, bright core.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4449 = H. I-213 = h1281 on 27 Apr 1788 (sweep 833) and recorded "very brilliant, cL, E from sp to nf, difficulty r, seems to have 3 or 4 B nuclei." His sketch (fig. 5) at the end of 1811 PT paper (reproduced in Stenicke's book) shows 4 bright round condensations (HII knots) within the glow, though one of these may be the nucleus. He gave M106 as an illustration of "Nebulae which are brighter in more the one place." According to Wolfgang Steinicke, Caroline Herschel independently discovered NGC 4449 on 8 Jul 1793 with the "large sweeper" (9.6" reflector). Initially she thought it might be a comet but additional observations showed it remained stationary. William did not record a sweep that night, so she was on her own.
On sweep 150 in May 1828, John Herschel recorded "B; L; gradually brighter in the middle; E in pos 75° nf to sp, a fine cluster; well resolved; I see several of the stars; 3' l, 2' br." On 12 Apr 1830 (sweep 248 and last of 4 observations), he wrote "vF; vL; vmE; it is either a double nebula or the nf end is bifid. If double the companion is F; R; bM; nearly north 1.5' or 2'. A fine object." So, clearly WH and JH resolved several HII regions in this galaxy. Lord Rosse or assistant Johnston Stoney noted on 17 Mar 1849, "3 nuclei or 2 nuclei and star, and faint neb outlying."
Based on photographs taken with the 60-inch reflector at Mt Wilson, Francis Pease (1917) described NGC 4449 as "..an irregular nebulous mass in which many nebulous stars [HII regions] are distributed unevenly. The greater part of the nebula is roughly rectangular, about 4.5'x2.5', p.a. = 40°, there being an assemblage of some dozen nebulous stars W of the SW corner. On the original negative there are 230 nebulous stars or patches...Two-thirds of them are in the N half. The nebulosity proper is weak toward the edge, gradually increases inward, and culminates along a central ridge, where it is as strong as the stars themselves. A number of dark irregular rifts appear here and there in it."
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12 28 29.6 +17 05 06; Com
V = 10.1; Size 5.2'x3.9'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 175°
17.5" (5/23/87): bright, fairly large, elongated 2:1
N-S, 4'x2', diffuse halo, increases suddenly to a high surface brightness
core. Located 3.9' NE of mag 8.9
William Herschel discovered NGC 4450 = H. II-56 = H. II-90 = h1282 on 14 Mar 1784 (sweep 170). He described II-56 as "A resolvable nebula of an irreg shape of about 2 or 3' diam. It is near a pB star." He found it again a week later on sweep 182: "pL, resolvable, bright middle". The nebula was noted as the same one observed in sweep 170. But his next entry (II-90) was placed 1.0 min following and there is only one galaxy here, so he must have recorded NGC 4450 a second time (perhaps due to a change in sweep direction?). John Herschel made 8 observations, apparently looking for a second nebula, but found only one and combed the two H-designations in the GC.
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NGC 4451 = UGC 7600 = MCG +02-32-079 = PGC 41050
12 28 40.5 +09 15 33; Vir
V = 12.5; Size 1.5'x1.0'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 162°
17.5" (4/18/87): fairly faint, fairly small, oval NNW-SSE, weak concentration. A mag 13 star is 1.5' S of center. NGC 4445 lies 12' NW.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4451 on 19 Mar 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. He measured the position on 4 nights and noted the mag 13 star, measured at 83" south.
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12 28 43.3 +11 45 18; Vir
V = 12.0; Size 2.8'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.4; PA = 32°
17.5" (4/18/87): moderately bright, fairly small, thin
pretty edge-on SW-NE, brighter core.
Located 8' SE of mag 7.7
William Herschel discovered NGC 4452 = H. I-23 on 15 Mar
1784 (sweep 174) and recorded a "B, S, much E nebula, or bright
dash." Caroline's reduced
position is 10 sec of RA east of
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12 28 46.7 +06 30 42; Vir
V = 15.3; Size 0.6'x0.3'; Surf Br = 12.2; PA = 157°
17.5" (4/21/90): very faint, extremely small, round. Unusual appearance with mag 14 star nvolved near the south edge and also an extremely faint 16th magnitude star or companion superimposed. NGC 4430/NGC 4432 lie 25' SW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4453 = H. II-26 = h1283? on 28 Jan 1784 (the only nebula discovered on sweep 131). He recorded "pretty bright, not very small. It is not cometic. The brightest part of it lies towards the following side. I suppose it to be resolveable." Dreyer noted this sweep was problematic ("unsatisfactory") with possible confusion with the offset star. There is no object at Herschel's position and it was not found visually by Bigourdan or photographically by Wolf. Dreyer suggested that if Herschel made an error of 20' in PD, then H. II-26 might be identical to H. II-146 (NGC 4430).
John Herschel, though, found h1283 = PGC 41072, which he incorrectly assumed was H. II-26. This extremely faint galaxy is 44 seconds of RA following WH's position. Harold Corwin argues that H. II-26 cannot be h1283 due to the significant difference in description (H. II-26 was described as "pretty bright"). He concludes "I'm leaning toward adopting NGC 4430 as H. II 26, though with considerable uncertainty."
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12 28 51.0 -01 56 27; Vir
V = 11.9; Size 2.0'x1.7'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 100°
17.5" (3/24/90): fairly faint, moderately large, slightly elongated, the large diffuse halo has a gradual concentration down to a small bright core.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4454 = H. II-180 = h1284 on 22 Apr 1784 (sweep 204) and recorded "pB, L, R, er, near some stars." On 6 Jan 1785 (sweep 353) he noted "F, pL, lE." John Herschel made a single observation: "F; R; gradually brighter in the middle; 20"; a stellar point 18m in the centre; 2 B stars precede, distant."
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12 28 44.1 +22 49 21; Com
V = 12.3; Size 2.8'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 16°
14.5" (4/13/23): at 158x; moderately bright, fairly large, elongated ~3:1 SSW-NNE, ~2' in length, tips taper a bit, broad concentration but no distinct core or nucleus. At 226x contains a brighter bulging core.
18" (4/5/03): moderately bright, fairly large, very elongated 7:2 SSW-NNE, 2.5'x0.7', broad concentration, bulging core, fades at the tips of the extensions. A wide pair of mag 11 stars are 3' and 4' N.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4455 = H. II-355 = h1285 on 10
Apr 1785 (sweep 394) and recorded "pF, L, broadly elongated." Caroline's reduction is 25 sec of RA
following
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12 27 52.4 -30 05 52; Hya
V = 13.3; Size 1.2'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 150°
16" LX200 (4/14/07): very faint, very small, round,
15" diameter. A mag 13-13.5
star is attached on the west side, 22" from the center. Located 5.1' E of mag 8.2
John Herschel discovered NGC 4456 = h3394 on 30 Mar 1835
(sweep 564) and recorded "eeF; vS; attached to a * 13m. (no doubt of the nebulous character of
the object)." There is
nothing at this position, but 1.2 min of RA west is
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12 28 59.0 +03 34 14; Vir
V = 10.9; Size 2.7'x2.3'; Surf Br = 12.7
24" (7/14/20): observed supernova SN 2020nvb (Type Ia ), discovered on 1 Jul 2020 near the center of NGC 4457 (8" N, 3" W). It appeared as a fairly prominent 12.5 mag "star" and stood out easily despite being superposed on the core.
17.5" (2/28/87): bright, small, almost round, very bright core. A mag 13 star lies 2.6' W of center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4457 = H. II-35 = h1286 on 23 Feb 1784 (sweep 158) and recorded "pB; mbM than towards the ends." John Herschel made three observations, logging on sweep 143, "B; R; pretty suddenly brighter middle; 30"."
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NGC 4458 = UGC 7610 = MCG +02-32-082 = Holm 411b = PGC 41095
12 28 57.6 +13 14 31; Vir
V = 12.1; Size 1.7'x1.6'; Surf Br = 13.2
24" (4/28/14): fairly bright, moderately large, round, 1.0' diameter, well concentrated with a bright core that increases to a stellar nucleus. A mag 11 star is 2' ENE. Fainter of a pair with NGC 4461 3.7' SSE.
18" (6/12/10): at 175x and 280x appeared fairly faint, moderately large, round, 0.9' diameter. Contains a small, bright core that increases to a stellar nucleus. A mag 11 star lies 2.2' ENE of center. Fainter of a pair with NGC 4461 3.7' SE.
17.5" (4/25/87): moderately bright, fairly small, round, 1.0' diameter, small bright core, faint stellar nucleus. A mag 11.5 star lies 2.1' E. Forms a pair with NGC 4461 3.7' SSE. Located in the core of the Virgo cluster.
13.1" (5/14/83): faint, small, almost round, small faint nucleus. A mag 11 star is close east.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4458 = H. II-121 = h1287, along with NGC 4461, on 8 Apr 1784 and recorded (sweep 187) "Two resolvable nebula at 4 or 5' distance." He assumed one of these was M86, so only one new discovery number was added. The derived position was ~5' W of NGC 4458 and 4461, so this is the most likely pair. Four nights later he swept the field again (sweep 189) and recorded "Two [NGC 4461 and 4458]. Both pF, S, bM." His single position on this sweep was 22 seconds of RA following NGC 4458 and the identification is unambiguous. The on the 17th (sweep 199), he recorded "two bright, considerably large nebula" and assumed they were pair from sweep 187 (one being M86), but his position matches NGC 4435 and NGC 4438!
John Herschel logged "pB; R; pretty suddenly brighter middle; the p of 2 [with NGC 4461] and measured an accurate position.
******************************
NGC 4459 = UGC 7614 = MCG +02-32-083 = PGC 41104
12 29 00.0 +13 58 43; Com
V = 10.4; Size 3.5'x2.7'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 110°
24" (5/29/14): very bright, moderately large, slightly
elongated 5:4 ~E-W, ~1.5'x1.2', sharply concentrated with a small intensely
bright core, stellar nucleus, appears mottled near the core. The halo increases in size with
averted. Mag 8.7
17.5" (4/25/87): bright, fairly small, slightly
elongated ~E-W, bright intense compact core, stellar nucleus. Located 2.2' NW of mag 8.1 SAO
100121.
13.1" (5/14/83): fairly bright, small, slightly elongated, small bright nucleus.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4459 = H. I-161 = h1288 on 14 Jan 1787 (sweep 691) and recorded "vB, pL, iR." John Herschel logged (sweep 23) "pB; R; bM; r; has a *8m 2' dist; 45° sf."
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12 28 45.6 +44 51 52; CVn
V = 11.3; Size 4.0'x1.2'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 40°
13.1" (4/12/86): moderately bright, pretty edge-on 4:1 SW-NE, moderately large, brighter core. A pretty double star STF 1645 = 7.5/8.1 at 10" is in the field 8.5' SW. Member of the CVn II Group (brightest member M106).
William Herschel discovered NGC 4460 = H. I-212 = H. II-750 = h1289 on 10 Apr 1788 (sweep 830). He noted for I-212 "considerably bright, pretty large, elongated." His position is poor -- Caroline's reduction placed it 8.6' too far NW (all the preceding objects in the sweep are too far north). He found it again 17 days later (sweep 833) and logged II-750 as "pretty faint, pretty large, elongated SW-NE." His position was just 2' NE of center. So this galaxy appeared twice in his 2nd catalogue. John Herschel realized the equivalence and combined the two H-designations in the General Catalogue (GC).
******************************
NGC 4461 = NGC 4443? = UGC 7613 = MCG +02-32-084 = Holm 411a = PGC 41111
12 29 03.0 +13 11 02; Vir
V = 11.2; Size 3.5'x1.4'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 9°
24" (4/28/14): bright, fairly large, elongated 5:2 N-S, 2.0'x0.8', sharply concentrated with a very bright core that gradually increases towards the center. A mag 11 star lies 4' NNE. Forms a pair with NGC 4458 3.7' NNW.
18" (6/12/10): bright, fairly large, elongated nearly 3:1 N-S, 2.0'x0.7', extending nearly on a line with a mag 11 star 4' NNE. Sharply concentrated with a small, intense core that increases to a very bright, stellar nucleus. Brighter of a pair with NGC 4458 3.7' NW.
17.5" (4/25/87): fairly bright, fairly small, elongated 5:2 ~N-S, very small bright core possibly stellar. Form a pair with NGC 4458 3.7' NW. The striking NGC 4435/NGC 4438 pair lies 21' SW. Located in core of the Virgo cluster.
13.1" (5/14/83): fairly small, elongated N-S, small bright core. Forms a close pair with NGC 4458.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4461 = H. II-122 = H. II-174 = h1290, along with NGC 4458, on 8 Apr 1784, (sweep 187). He simply noted, "Two resolvable nebula at 4 or 5' dist." He assumed one of the nebulae was M86, so only added one new discovery number. On 12 April he swept the field again and recorded "Two [NGC 4461 and 4458]. Both pF, S, bM." His single position on this sweep was 22 seconds of RA following NGC 4458. On 17 April he swept through the field a third time and logged NGC 4461 again as H. II-174 (apparently not measuring NGC 4458). NGC 4443 may be a duplicate observation. See that number.
John Herschel made an early observation of NGC 4461 on 10 Apr 1825 (sweep 2), while working on his observing technique. Six years later (sweep 338) he recorded, "pB; R; pretty suddenly brighter middle; the f of 2 [with NGC 4458] and measured an accurate position. See notes for NGC 4458.
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12 29 21.2 -23 10 01; Crv
V = 11.9; Size 3.2'x1.2'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 124°
13.1" (3/17/86): fairly faint, very elongated 3:1 streak WNW-ESE. Contains a bright core with fainter extensions.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4462 = H. III-764 = h3396 on 26 Mar 1789 (sweep 918) and recorded "cF, R, pS, stellar." John Herschel made two observations from the Cape of Good Hope and logged (sweep 690) "pB; E; suddenly brighter middle; pos of elongation 130° [NW-SE]."
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12 29 55 -64 47 24; Mus
V = 7.2; Size 5'
24" (4/11/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): at
260x this is a fairly small but fairly rich group with two bright mag 8.5 stars
(
10x30mm Canon IS (3/27/19 - Tasmania): faint, small, round. A couple of close brighter stars were resolved near the center. Located on a line with Acrux and two other stars.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4463 = h3395 on 2 May 1835 and noted "cl VIII. class; poor; scattered. The northern of 2 stars 8m taken." His single position is good.
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12 29 21.3 +08 09 23; Vir
V = 12.5; Size 1.1'x0.8'; Surf Br = 12.2; PA = 0°
17.5" (4/18/87): moderately bright but very small, irregularly round, high surface brightness, small bright core, possible stellar nucleus. M49 is at the edge of the 220x field 11.5' SE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4464 = H. III-483 = h1292 on
28 Dec 1785 (sweep 498) and simply noted "vF". John Herschel made the single
observation "pB; vS; pretty gradually brighter middle; R;
10"." Julius Schmidt
found the galaxy again in June 1861, along with
******************************
12 29 23.5 +08 01 34; Vir
V = 14.6; Size 0.2'x0.2'; Surf Br = 11.0; PA = 108°
48" (5/15/12): At 488x appeared fairly faint, small,
slightly elongated WNW-ESE, 20"x15", weak concentration. A mag 16.8 star is just off the NE side
[12" from center]. This is
one of several faint galaxies outside the halo of M49 (situated 5.9' WNW of
center) with brighter
Guillaume Bigourdan discovered NGC 4465 = Big. 54 on 31 Mar 1886. The NGC position is just 3 sec of RA too large, although it was not found by Arnold Schwassmann on a Heidelberg plate (probably appeared stellar).
******************************
12 29 30.6 +07 41 47; Vir
V = 13.5; Size 1.3'x0.4'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 101°
17.5" (4/18/87): faint, fairly small, very elongated ~E-W. Located 7.8' SSW of NGC 4470 and 18' SSW of M49.
Bindon Blood Stoney, Lord Rosse's assistant, discovered NGC 4466 on 26 Feb 1851. While observing the M49 field he noted "a 3rd about 12' south of 2nd [NGC 4470] is elongated." The actual separation between NGC 4470 and NGC 4466 is 8', but there are no other possible candidates. In the General Catalogue, John Herschel added three numbers for what he assumed were three new objects found at Birr Castle, although only a single very rough position was given. Heinrich d'Arrest independently discovered this galaxy on 24 Apr 1865 and measured an accurate position. Dreyer assumed it was new, adding it as GC(S) 5653. The two GC designations were combined in the NGC, though, and d'Arrest was credited with the discovery.
Wolfgang Steinicke attributes William Herschel with the discovery of NGC 4466 on 28 Dec 1787 (sweep 498, H. II-18). On this sweep he logged two "nebulae" to the south of M49. One is H. II-498, which applies to NGC 4470 (discovered earlier on 23 Jan 1784). The second object is probably NGC 4466, although the north polar distance is again poor - only 2' S of NGC 4470.
******************************
NGC 4467 = MCG +01-32-080 = CGCG 042-130 = Holm 413c = LGG 289-078 = PGC 41169
12 29 30.2 +07 59 34; Vir
V = 14.3; Size 0.6'x0.5'
48" (5/15/12): moderately bright, small, slightly elongated, 24"x20", small bright core. A mag 12.8 star is 35" W. Located 5.2' W of the center of M49. NGC 4465 lies 2.6' NW.
17.5" (4/18/87): very faint, very small, almost round. Located 6' W of M49! A mag 12.5 star is just off the west edge 34" from the center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4467, along with NGC 4470, on 23 Jan 1784 (early sweep 105, discovery #44). He logged, "Nebula. Preceding [M49], and not far from its parallel is a nebulous star or small nebula." In fact, a star is very close to the galaxy. He added "South of and at rectangles to the great Nebula [M49] and the small star near it, is a nebula incomparably more faint. My field takes them both in together." His position was very uncertain and only roughly found (off by 3°). In fact, he initially thought the bright nebula was M61, though he realized his error a month later. His description, though, applies to M49, NGC 4467 and NGC 4470, which form a right triangle, although the sighting of NGC 4467 was uncertain. On 28 Dec 1785, Herschel observed H. II 18, which he assumed was identical to #44, but the second observation probably refers to NGC 4466. As a result, WH's observation of NGC 4467 wasn't assigned an H-designation.
Otto Struve independently discovered NGC 4467 on 28 Apr 1851
with the 15-inch Merz refractor at the Pulkovo Observatory while observing
M49. He wrote, "Near this
last star [preceding M49 by 17 seconds of time] , there is still another
smaller nebula at a distance of 2 to 3 seconds, located on the straight line joining
the star with the main nebula."
Struve is credited with the discovery in the NGC. d'Arrest measured an accurate position
(3 nights) and credited Struve with the discovery. The
******************************
NGC 4468 = UGC 7628 = MCG +02-32-090 = PGC 41171
12 29 30.9 +14 02 56; Com
V = 12.8; Size 1.4'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 73°
17.5" (4/25/87): faintest of three with NGC 4474 5.5' ENE and NGC 4459 8.7' SW. Faint, fairly small, slightly elongated ~E-W, small weak concentration.
13.1" (5/14/83): faint, small, diffuse, slightly elongated, no noticeable concentration.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4468 = H. II-630 on 14 Jan 1787 (sweep 691) and simply noted "cL". His position was well off - 5' too far south and 14 seconds of RA too small, but it was observed in the sweep between NGC 4459 and NGC 4474, and this is the only galaxy between these two. Heinrich d'Arrest measured an accurate position at Copenhagen as well as Rudolph Spitaler in 1891 at the Vienna Observatory.
******************************
12 29 28.0 +08 45 00; Vir
V = 11.2; Size 3.8'x1.3'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 89°
17.5" (4/18/87): fairly bright, elongated 5:2 E-W, fairly large, 3.0'x1.2', faint stellar nucleus.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4469 = H. II-157 = St. 13-70 on 15 Apr 1784 (sweep 194) and recorded "F, pL, mE, r." His position was 4.5' too far N. Édouard Stephan found NGC 4469 on 5 Apr 1878. He measured an accurate position on 28 Apr 1884 and included it in his 13th discovery paper (#70). But he added a footnote that it was identical to H. II 157 = GC 3019 [NGC 4469], though Herschel's position was off by 5' in polar distance.
******************************
NGC 4470 = NGC 4610 = UGC 7627 = MCG +01-32-082 = CGCG 042-132 = PGC 41189
12 29 37.9 +07 49 25; Vir
V = 12.1; Size 1.3'x0.9'; Surf Br = 12.2; PA = 0°
17.5" (4/18/87): moderately bright, fairly small, oval N-S, pretty even surface brightness. Located 14' SSW of M49.
William Herschel found NGC 4470 = H. II-498 = h1293 on 28
Dec 1785 (sweep 498). He described
it as "F, pL", and recorded a fairly accurate position. The original discovery, though, was
made on 23 Jan 1784 (problematic
sweep 105). He recorded H. II-19
(later
John Herschel made two observations, though his descriptions are so disparate ("B[right]" on sweep 117 and "vF" on sweep 251), they may refer to NGC 4470 and NGC 4466, respectively! Julius Schmidt made an independent discovery on 29 Jun 1861 (announced in AN 1513 (1866)), but Heinrich d'Arrest noted the earlier discovery and measured an accurate position over several nights.
In the NGC, Dreyer incorrectly equated H. II-18 with H. II-498 = NGC 4470 and assigned H. II-19 the number NGC 4610. But in the 1912 "Scientific Papers of William Herschel", Dreyer correctly sorted out the identifications based on Herschel's description and his sketch. He correctly concluded that H. II-19 (= NGC 4610) was identical to H. II-498 (= NGC 4470).
******************************
12 29 42.0 +07 53 45; Vir
V = 13.9
48" (5/15/12): this number applies to one of two 14th magnitude stars at 1' separation oriented NNW-SSE, situated ~6' SSW of M49. VCC 1203, a fairly faint galaxy (too faint to have been seen by Schmidt), lies 1.5' NW of the NNW star.
Julius Schmidt discovered NGC 4471 on 29 Jun 1861 near M49 with the 6.2" refractor at the Athens Observatory. He also found NGC 4470, 4492 and 4464, which had all been discovered earlier by WH. There is nothing at his position in AN 1513 (1866) except a 14th magnitude star and neither Heinrich d'Arrest nor Guillaume Bigourdan could recover Schmidt's object.
Karl Reinmuth refers to a possible candidate as "vS, R, = neb *13.5; eF vs iR neb np 1.7', *13.5 ssf 1.0'." His description applies to a faint star at 12 29 40.6 +07 54 40. Dorothy Carlson, in her 1940 paper on Corrections to the NGC, identified NGC 4471 as a star (from Ames in Harvard College Observatory, Vol 88, No 1 (Virgo-Coma survey) and this is repeated in the RNGC. Corwin identifies NGC 4471 with one of two 14th magnitude stars near the NGC position. SIMBAD (and others) misidentify VCC 1203 = PGC 41185 as NGC 4471.
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12 29 46.8 +08 00 01; Vir
V = 8.4; Size 10.2'x8.3'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 155°
48" (5/15/12): at 488x, M49 appeared extremely bright and large, slightly elongated N-S, ~6'x5', fades gradually so the outer extent may be larger. Well concentrated with an intense core that is sharply concentrated with a brilliant nucleus. A mag 12 star is superimposed 45" E of center. A number of galaxies (see below) surround the halo, including NGC 4467 4' W and NGC 4465 5.9' WNW. A mag 13 star is 4.6' W of center (close to NGC 4467).
VCC 1199, 4.5' NW of center, appeared faint, very small, round, 10" diameter.
VCC 1203, 4.6' SSW of center, is fairly faint, fairly small, round, 12" diameter, slightly brighter core. VCC 1203 is misidentified as NGC 4471 in SIMBAD. The NGC number probably applies to one of the two faint stars ~2' SE.
17.5" (4/18/87): very bright, fairly large, sharp concentration to a compact very bright nucleus, large halo slightly elongated ~N-S fades at the edges. A mag 12 star is superimposed at the east edge 0.8' from center. A faint galaxy NGC 4467 lies 5' W.
Charles Messier discovered M49 = NGC 4472 = H. I-7 = h1294 on 19 Feb 1771 (first Virgo cluster member discovered). Italian astronomer Barnaba Oriani independently found it on 22 Apr 1779 at the Brera Observatory while following a comet that passed through the Virgo cluster. Admiral Smyth confused these discovery dates, causing later confusion on the primary discoverer.
William Herschel first recorded M49 = H. I-7 on 23 Jan 1784 (early sweep 105) and described a "A beautiful nebula. Not cometic. It is visible in the finder and vB in the telescope." He assumed H. I-7 was M61 but due to his very rough position (found 2 hours after his reference star, 49 Leo, was recorded!) he wasn't able to recover the field and Dreyer didn't include H. I-7 in the NGC. Wolfgang Steinicke discovered that Herschel's RA was 11 minutes too large (3° error) and the nearby objects NGC 4467 (H. II-18) and NGC 4470 (H. II-19). On 28 Dec 1785 (sweep 498) Herschel observed M49 again and wrote, "vB, cL, gradually much brighter middle, extended with faint branches." This time it was correctly identified as M49.
John Herschel made 5 observations, recording on 24 Apr 1830 (sweep 253): "eB; L; R pretty suddenly much brighter middle; insensibly fading away, has a * 13m following; by diag the star is just beyond the nebula." Heinrich d'Arrest claimed he resolved the cluster and saw "countless groups of stars; at 147x, the nebula periphery can be resolved into stars of the 13th and 14th magnitudes."
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12 29 48.8 +13 25 46; Com
V = 10.2; Size 4.5'x2.5'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 100°
24" (5/29/14): bright, fairly large, elongated 2:1 E-W, 2.0'x1.0', sharply concentrated with an intensely bright core that increases to a quasi-stellar nucleus.
18" (6/12/10): bright, fairly large, elongated 5:2 E-W, 2.4'x1.0'. Sharply concentrated with a small, intense core, ~30"x15" that increases smoothly to the center.
17.5" (4/25/87): bright, fairly small, elongated 2:1
~E-W, small but intense core, stellar nucleus.
13.1" (5/14/83): bright, elongated E-W, small very bright nucleus.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4473 = H. II-114, along with NGC 4477 and 4479, on 8 Apr 1784 (sweep 187). He simply noted "F, resolvable."
Heinrich d'Arrest found NGC 4473 and 4477 on 29 Mar 1856,
unaware of Herschel's prior discovery.
John Herschel responded in an open letter to John Hind that both of
d'Arrest's "novae" were seen earlier and that he was surprised
d'Arrest missed
******************************
NGC 4474 = UGC 7634 = MCG +02-32-094 = PGC 41241
12 29 53.6 +14 04 07; Com
V = 11.5; Size 2.4'x1.4'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 80°
17.5" (4/25/87): second brightest of three in the field with NGC 4468 6' WSWand NGC 4459 14' WSW. Moderately bright, fairly small, very small bright core, faint stellar nucleus, elongated WSW-ENE.
13.1" (5/14/83): fairly faint, small, very elongated E-W.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4474 = H. II-117 = H. II-629 = h1295 on 8 Apr 1784 (sweep 187) and noted "r[esolvable]." He observed this galaxy again on 14 Jan 1787 (sweep 691) and simply noted "faint". His RA was only 12 seconds too small but it was assumed to be new and included in his second catalogue as II.629. John Herschel realized the equivalence when he compiled the GC.
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12 29 47.6 +27 14 36; Com
V = 13.6; Size 1.7'x1.0'; Surf Br = 14.0; PA = 5°
18" (5/30/03): faint, elongated 3:2 N-S, 0.9'x0.6', fairly low surface brightness. Appears brighter along a bar extending along the major axis. Faint halo or extensions which are difficult to pin down the orientation.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4475 = H. III-362 = h1297 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and recorded "eF, cL, the whole about 4 or 5' long and 2' broad." His size estimate is much too large and John Herschel, who only picked up the nucleus, called it "eF; R; 15"."
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12 29 59.1 +12 20 55; Vir
V = 12.2; Size 1.7'x1.2'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 25°
24" (5/29/14): moderately bright, fairly small,
elongated 2:1 SSW-NNE, 28"x14", bright core gradually increases to
the center. Fainter of pair with
17.5" (5/24/87): fairly faint, small, elongated SSW-NNE, small brighter core. Forms a pair with NGC 4478 4.7' ESE. Located 12' W of M87 in the Virgo cluster.
13.1" (5/14/83): faint, elongated, weak concentration.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4476 = H. II-123 = h1296 on
12 Apr 1784 (sweep 189) and described "Two [along with NGC 4478] F, S and
one B, L nebula [
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NGC 4477 = UGC 7638 = MCG +02-32-097 = PGC 41260
12 30 02.0 +13 38 12; Com
V = 10.4; Size 3.8'x3.5'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 15°
24" (5/29/14): very bright, fairly large, round, 2.0' diameter, sharply concentrated with an intensely bright core and stellar nucleus. Forms a pair with NGC 4479 5.3' SE.
NGC 4477 marks the eastern end of Markarian's Chain (1961 paper).
18" (6/12/10): very bright, fairly large, slightly elongated SSW-NNE, 2.5'x2.0'. The outer halo is very weakly concentrated and then suddenly increases to an intense 40"x20" core. At 275x the core appears lively or mottled and increases to a stellar nucleus. Forms a pair with NGC 4479 5.3' SE.
17.5" (4/25/87): fairly bright, moderately large, slightly elongated ~N-S, bright core, stellar nucleus. Forms a pair with NGC 4479 5.5' SE and NGC 4473 lies 12' SSW.
13.1" (5/14/83): bright, slightly elongated N-S, small bright nucleus, NGC 4479 5.5' SE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4477 = H. II-115 on 8 Apr 1784 (sweep 187), along with NGC 4473 and 4479. He recorded "Two resolvable nebula [NGC 4477 and 4479]." Heinrich d'Arrest found NGC 4477 and NGC 4473 on 29 Mar 1856, apparently unaware of Herschel's prior observation. See notes for NGC 4473.
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NGC 4478 = UGC 7645 = MCG +02-32-099 = PGC 41297
12 30 17.4 +12 19 43; Vir
V = 11.4; Size 1.9'x1.6'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 140°
24" (5/29/14): bright, fairly small, elongated 5:4 NW-SE, 35"x28", high surface brightness, contains a very small, very bright nucleus. A star is involved on the north side, just 10" N of center. Brighter of a pair with NGC 4476 4.6' WNW. Located 8.7' SW of M87.
17.5" (5/24/87): fairly bright, fairly small, slightly elongated NW-SE, brighter core. Forms a pair with NGC 4476 4.7' WNW. Located 9' WSW of M87.
13.1" (5/14/83): fairly bright, slightly elongated NW-SE, weak concentration.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4478 = H. II-124 = h1298 on 12 Apr 1784 (sweep 189) and described "Two [along with NGC 4476] F, S and one B, L nebula [M 87]. His single position matches NGC 4478. On sweep 245, John Herschel recorded "B; S; R; pretty suddenly brighter middle; 30"; the f of 2 [with NGC 4476]." Kolbold measured the position for both the nucleus and the superimposed star in 1893.
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NGC 4479 = UGC 7646 = MCG +02-32-100 = PGC 41302
12 30 18.4 +13 34 39; Com
V = 12.4; Size 1.5'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 24°
24" (5/29/14): moderately bright, fairly small, elongated 4:3 N-S, 45"x35", broad weak concentration with a slightly brighter core. Forms a pair with brighter NGC 4477 5.3' NW.
18" (6/12/10): fairly faint, moderately large, elongated 5:3 SSW-NNE, 1.0'x0.6', weak concentration to an ill defined, slightly brighter core and an occasional faint stellar nucleus. Fainter of a pair with NGC 4477 5.3' NW.
17.5" (4/25/87): fairly faint, small, slightly elongated N-S, weak concentration. Located 6' SE of NGC 4477.
13.1" (5/14/83): faint, small, round, diffuse, even surface brightness.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4479 = H. II-116, along with NGC 4473 and 4477, on 8 Apr 1784 (sweep 187). He recorded "Two resolvable nebula [NGC 4477 and 4479] at 4' or 5' distance." His single position matches NGC 4477 but the separation is 5' so the identification is certain.
Heinrich d'Arrest independently found NGC 4473 and 4477 on 29 Mar 1856. John Herschel was surprised that d'Arrest missed NGC 4479 as it was in the same field as NGC 4477 and a class II nebula. He wrote a letter to John Russell Hind (as possibly another variable nebula), which was reprinted in 1862 MNRAS, Vol. 22, p.250 titled "Sir John Herschel to Mr. Hind, on the Disappearance of a Nebula in Coma Berenices". He was 70 years old at the time and decades past being an active observer. Jean Chacornac, Schönfeld and Lassell, reading about the supposed missing nebula, also confirmed the visibility of NGC 4479. Eventually d'Arrest observed this galaxy on 5 May 1862 using the 11-inch Copenhagen refractor.
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12 30 26.7 +04 14 48; Vir
V = 12.4; Size 2.3'x1.2'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 175°
17.5" (3/24/90): fairly faint, fairly small, oval NNW-SSE, weakly concentrated. A mag 13 star is 1.9' NW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4480 = H. II-531 = h1299 on
2 Feb 1786 (sweep 521) and recorded "pB, E, about 3' long, brighter
towards the southern side."
Caroline's reduction is 2' south of
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12 29 48.7 +64 01 59; Dra
V = 14.0; Size 0.7'x0.3'; Surf Br = 12.2; PA = 144°
17.5" (4/15/93): faint, small, very elongated 4:1
NW-SE, 0.6'x0.15'. Appears as a
thin sliver 40" W of a mag 13 star.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4481 on 7 Oct 1866 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His measured an accurate position on 2 nights and accurately placed the mag 13 star that follows by 7 or 8 seconds of time.
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12 30 10.4 +10 46 46; Vir
V = 12.7; Size 1.7'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 145°
17.5" (4/21/90): faint, fairly small, oval 3:2 NW-SE, almost even surface brightness.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4482 = H. III-40 on 15 Mar
1784 (sweep 174) and logged "eF, pL, I was near overlooking it." There is nothing at his position, but
28 sec of RA west and 2' north is
Arnold Schwassmann found this galaxy again on a Heidelberg
plate in 1900 and reported Sn. 158 (later
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12 30 40.6 +09 00 56; Vir
V = 12.2; Size 1.6'x0.9'; Surf Br = 12.4; PA = 65°
17.5" (4/18/87): moderately bright, small, oval SW-NE, small bright core, stellar nucleus.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4483 on 19 Mar 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. He measured the position on 2 nights and noted the nearby mag 10 star preceded by 26 seconds of time.
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12 28 52.7 -11 39 08; Vir
V = 13.6; Size 1.5'x1.5'; Surf Br = 14.3
18" (5/8/04): fairly faint, fairly small, round, 0.8' diameter, broad concentration to a slightly brighter core. With direct vision a small slightly brighter 10" nucleus was sometimes visible.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4484 = h1300 on 9 Mar 1828 and
logged "Not vF; R; gradually brighter in the middle; 20"." There is nothing at his position, but
exactly 2.0 min of RA west is
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12 30 31.4 +41 42 01; CVn
V = 11.9; Size 2.3'x1.6'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 15°
48" (5/1/19): at 375x; two obvious HII knots are just
off the SW side of this bright galaxy.
[VS65] 04, 39" from center, is a bright knot ~12"
diameter. [VS65] 01, a slightly
fainter knot only 6" diameter, is just 15" further SW. These designations are from a 1965
study of HII regions in
24" (5/27/17): at 200x; moderately to fairly bright, moderately large, elongated 5:4 N-S, ~1.5'x1.2'. Contains a very small brighter core/nucleus but not strongly concentrated. The surface brightness is fairly high and patchy, but I didn't use high power to look for HII regions.
18" (6/13/07): moderately bright, moderately large,
elongated 4:3 ~N-S, ~1.6'x1.2', broad mild concentration. Extended in the direction of the
northwest arm structure in
13.1" (2/16/85): moderately bright, fairly small, brighter core, elongated SSW-NNE. Forms a fascinating interacting pair with NGC 4490 3.6' SSE of center. Located 40' NW of Beta Canum Venaticorum (V = 4.3). Member of the CVn II Group (brightest member M106).
William Herschel discovered NGC 4485 = H. I-197 = h1306 on 14 Jan 1788 (sweep 798). He recorded both as "Two, the most south [NGC 4490] very bright, very large, little elongated. That to the north [NGC 4485] bright, pretty small, irregular figure, about 1 1/2' distance." John Herschel logged "S; R; is 70° np and 3' n of I. 198 [NGC 4490]."
Birr Castle assistant R.J. Mitchell sketched the pair on 27 Mar 1856 (Plate 27, Fig. 23 in the 1861 publication). He showed a bright nucleus and a well defined outer ring. The following year, though, he could not see any sign of spirality. In addition, a small patch (HII region) esd sketched on the south side as well as a faint star, probably a compact HII region.
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12 30 49.7 +12 23 28; Vir
V = 8.6; Size 7.2'x6.8'; Surf Br = 13.0
82" (5/4/19, McDonald Observatory): at 613x; M87's jet was a remarkable sight! It appeared as a bright, sharply defined "spike" with a fairly high surface brightness and two stellar knots! I was very surprised by the length and the extreme thinness, appearing like a narrow laser beam shooting out of the core, ~20"x2"!
48" (5/4/16 and 4/30/19): at 488x, 610x and 697x; M87's jet was almost continuously visible as a small, very thin spike extending to the west-northwest of the core, perhaps 15"x2". When the seeing was sharp, there was a brighter, knot (stellar) at the outer tip that sometimes appeared detached. There was a strong impression of a second stellar knot within the spike.
48" (4/1/11): at 488x, the jet in M87 was immediately noticed as a short, faint spike poking out of the central core to the WNW and the position angle [290-300°] was accurately sketched without prior knowledge. The narrow jet brightened or there was a knot at the outer tip.
In addition to looking for the jet, I sketched three
companions at the edge of the outer halo on the southwest side. About 2' SW of
the center of M87 is a pair of very faint, roundish galaxies, both ~15"
diameter. The pair forms
Virgo UCD 3 is either one of the brightest globular clusters in M87 or a nucleated dwarf galaxy, called a Ultra-Compact Dwarf (UCD). It is situated just 3.0' NE of the center of M87, directly opposite the two small galaxies at the southwest edge of the halo of M87. A mag 14.5 star, just 20" SSW, is a perfect reference to focus on the cluster. On 4/16/13 using 488x it was suspected as an 18th magnitude "star", but I didn't feel confident of the observation. At 813x, though, it was confirmed as an extremely faint, stellar object, glimpsed several times at the same position.
24" (5/29/14): extremely bright, large, slightly
elongated NNW-SSE, ~4'x3.5', well concentrated with a large, intense core. The core brightens but there was no
distinct nucleus. The halo
gradually fades and increases in size with averted vision. Several galaxies are nearby including
17.5" (5/24/87): very bright, fairly large, gradually increases to a very bright core, no sharp nucleus. A very compact galaxy NGC 4486A = UGC 7658 lies 7' S.
13.1" (5/14/83): very bright, intense core, fairly smooth halo.
Charles Messier is credited with the discovery of M87 = NGC 4486 = h1301, along with M84 and M86, on 18 Mar 1781. But Wolfgang Steinicke recently found (email Oct '16) that Johann Gottfried Koehler made an earlier discovery on 5 May 1779.
On 17 Apr 1784 (sweep 199), William Herschel logged "Three nebulae, the two first [NGC 4476 and 4478] vF, S, the third [M87], B, L, mbM but diminishing very gradually in brightness." John Herschel made at least 5 observations, recording on sweep 25 Mar 1830 (sweep 245): "vB; vL; R; pretty suddenly much brighter middle; r; 3' diam."
M87 is one of the most distant galaxies (~52 million light years) visible in binoculars. It contains a 6.4-billion-solar-mass black hole (1,000 times more massive than Sgr A). The 20" jet was discovered by Heber Curtis at Lick Observatory in 1918 and described as a "curious straight ray lies in a gap in the nebulosity in pa 20°, apparently connected with the nucleus by a thin line of matter. The ray is brightest at the inner end, which is 11" from the nucleus."
A supernova (1919A) was found in 1922 by Russian astronomer Balnowski on a plate taken 24 Feb 1919.
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12 31 04.4 -08 03 15; Vir
V = 10.9; Size 4.2'x2.8'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 70°
17.5" (2/28/87): moderately bright, fairly large,
diffuse, brighter core, slightly elongated. A mag 13 star is off the north end 1.1' from center. Brightest in a small group that incudes
William Herschel discovered NGC 4487 = H. II-776 on 23 Mar
1789 (sweep 916) and logged "F, vL, er." His position (Caroline's reduction) is 7 sec of RA west and
1.5' south of
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12 30 51.4 +08 21 36; Vir
V = 12.2; Size 3.7'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.9; PA = 5°
17.5" (4/18/87): fairly faint, elongated NW-SE, small
brighter core. A mag 13 star lies
1.3' SW of center. Located 16' NNW
of
William Herschel discovered NGC 4488 = H. III-484 = h1302 on
28 Dec 1785 (sweep 498) and noted "vF". His position matches
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12 30 52.2 +16 45 32; Com
V = 12.0; Size 1.7'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.0
17.5" (5/23/87): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly
elongated, stellar nucleus. A
group of four stars mag 11-13 is about 4' NE. Forms a pair with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4489 = H. II-91 = h1303 on 21 Mar 1784 (sweep 182) and simply noted "vS". He was discovering new objects very rapidly, so this and several following objects in the cluster have very brief descriptions. John Herschel made three observations and measured an accurate RA.
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NGC 4490 = Arp 269 NED2 = VV 30a = UGC 7651 = MCG +07-26-014 = CGCG 216-008 = Holm 414a = PGC 41333 = Cocoon Galaxy
12 30 36.1 +41 38 34; CVn
V = 9.8; Size 6.3'x3.1'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 125°
48" (5/1/19): at 375x; several HII knots were identified along the north side of this remarkable galaxy. NGC 4490:[VS65] 19, 22 and 23 are three very close, tiny knots oriented WNW-ESE [total length 22"] along the north edge of the central region. The middle knot (#22) was the brightest but only ~6" and the last knot (#23) was the faintest. NGC 4490:[VS65] 02 was a fairly bright, elongated glow on the NW edge of the galaxy [1.8' from center]. On close inspection it resolved into two extremely small knots. These designations are from a 1965 study of HII regions in NGC 2403, 2903 and 4485/4490 by Véron and Sauvayre.
24" (5/27/17): very bright, large, elongated ~5:2 WNW-ESE, ~5'x2.2', fairly high but irregular surface brightness, brighter core, but seems offset from center. A long arm (somewhat detached from the brighter central region), sweeps WNW and curls north near the end (bending towards companion NGC 4485). Fascinating unusual structure.
18" (6/7/08): I viewed this interesting pair in my 15x50 IS binoculars (just a faint blur), 18" Starmaster (disturbed arm on the WNW end extending towards NGC 4490 easily visible) and the 33.4" f/5 (internal structure visible).
18" (6/13/07): very bright, large, elongated 5:2 WNW-ESE, ~5'x2', with a very bright oval core, ~45"x30". The surface brightness is irregular or mottled but most interesting is a small extension or arm that juts out of the WNW end and appears to bend or hook north towards the companion NGC 4485. There appears to be a smaller counterpart at the ESE end that slightly protrudes from the main body. With averted vision, the galaxy grew wider and appeared ~5'x2.5'. Located 39' NW of mag 4.3 Beta CVn. Member of the CVn II Group (brightest member M106).
18" (6/4/05): very bright, large, elongated 2:1 NW-SE, contains a large, bright core. At the northwest end a faint arm appears to emerge hooking sharply to the north for 1' towards NGC 4485. At the southeast end, there appears to be slight extension without much curvature near a 16th magnitude star. The central region is weakly concentrated to the center. Overall, the galaxy has a mottled, slightly splotchy appearance as if was dusty or knotty with HII regions. Located 40' NW of 4.2-magnitude Beta Canum Venaticorum.
13.1" (2/23/85 and 4/12/86): very bright, large, striking, elongated 2:1 NW-SE, 6'x3', large bright core is elongated and grainy. A very faint arm extends from the NW end in the direction of NGC 4485 3.6' NNW. A small extension (arm) at the SE end is suspected. On 4/12/86, just a hint of curvature was noted towards NGC 4485.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4490 = H. I-198 = h1308, along with NGC 4485, on 14 Jan 1788 (sweep 798). He recorded both as "Two, the most south [NGC 4490] very bright, very large, little elongated. That to the north [NGC 4485] bright, pretty small, irregular figure, about 1 1/2' distance." John Herschel reported "vB; vL; mE; 40° np to sf; easily resolvable."
Birr Castle assistant R.J. Mitchell made an accurate sketch of NGC 4485 and 4490 on 27 Mar 1856 (figure 23, Plate XXVII in LdR's 1861 publication). It showed the northwest tip curling towards NGC 4485 and a faint streak, corresponding to a string of HII regions, along the north edge of the galaxy.
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12 30 57.1 +11 29 00; Vir
V = 12.6; Size 1.7'x0.9'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 148°
17.5" (4/25/87): fairly faint, elongated NW-SE, fairly
small, brighter core. A mag 13.5
star lies 2.2' NE. Forms a pair
with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4491 = H. III-41 = h1304 on 15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174) and noted "vF". Caroline's reduced position is 4' southeast of UGC 7657. John Herschel logged "pB; L; R; 40"." and measured a fairly accurate position.
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NGC 4492 = IC 3438 = UGC 7656 = MCG +01-32-089 = PGC 41383
12 30 59.7 +08 04 40; Vir
V = 12.6; Size 1.7'x1.6'; Surf Br = 13.5
17.5" (4/18/87): fairly faint, small, round, bright core. A mag 12.5 star is very close NE 45" from center and a brighter mag 11.5 star is 1.8' SE. Located 19' ENE of M49.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4492 = H. II-499 = h1305 on 28 Dec 1785 (sweep 498) and simply noted "F". His position is within 1' of UGC 7656. John Herschel made the single observation "pB; pL; very gradually little brighter middle; near two small stars."
Julius Schmidt independently found NGC 4492 in June 1861
with the 6" refractor at the Athens Observatory and announced it (along
with both NGC 4464 and NGC 4470) in AN 1513 (1866). All three of these objects, though, were found previously by
Herschel. In addition, Arnold
Schwassmann found this galaxy again in 1900 on a plate taken with the 6"
astrograph at the Königstuhl Observatory in Heidelberg. He assumed Sn. 65 was new (on a
different plate he correctly identified Sn. 64 as NGC 4492) and Dreyer
recatalogued Sn. 65 as
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12 31 08.3 +00 36 49; Vir
V = 13.5; Size 1.1'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 133°
24" (5/20/17): at 200x and 260x; fairly faint, fairly
small, slightly elongated NW-SE, 30"x25". Contains a small slightly brighter core and brighter nucleus
with direct vision. Located 4.7'
SE of mag 8.5
At 200x an extremely faint "knot" (companion) was suspected off the southeast side [50" between centers]. The companion was definitely glimpsed at 260x and appeared extremely faint, very small, round, 10" diameter, stellar nucleus. At 375x it was just visible continuously with averted (V = 15.2, B = 16.1) and was round, 12" diameter, possible stellar nucleus.
17.5" (3/24/90): faint, small, oval NW-SE, even surface
brightness. Located 4.7' SE of mag
8.6
Albert Marth discovered NGC 4493 = m 241 on 22 Mar 1865 and noted "vF, vS, iR." His position is accurate, though he didn't notice the faint companion off the southeast end.
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12 31 24.1 +25 46 30; Com
V = 9.8; Size 4.8'x3.5'; Surf Br = 12.9
18" (4/5/03): very bright, fairly large, slightly
elongated ~N-S, ~3'x2.4', sharply concentrated with a very bright 20" core
which increases to center. The
halo gradually fades and increases in size with averted vision. Located 6' SSW of mag 7.9
William Herschel discovered NGC 4494 = H. I-83 = h1307 on 6 Apr 1785 (sweep 393). He recorded "considerably bright, pretty large, much brighter in the middle, irregularly round." John Herschel described it as "very bright, round, very small much brighter in the middle to a nucleus, 40-50" diameter."
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12 31 22.9 +29 08 10; Com
V = 13.2; Size 1.6'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 130°
18" (4/5/03): faint, fairly small, elongated 5:3 NW-SE, 0.7'x0.4', weak concentration.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4495 = H. III-301 = h1310 on 13 Mar 1785 (sweep 387) and noted "vF, vS, R." John Herschel made two observations and measured an accurate position.
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12 31 39.3 +03 56 23; Vir
V = 11.4; Size 4.0'x3.2'; Surf Br = 14.0; PA = 70°
17.5" (2/28/87):
William Herschel discovered NGC 4496 = H. II-36 = h1309 on 23 Feb 1784 (sweep 158) and recorded "a faintish pL nebula. It seems to be resolveable." Just 1 minute later, according to Caroline's sweep record, he logged III-18 (same polar distance). Perhaps there was some confusion that resulted in II-36 being recorded twice. It's also possible the second object is NGC 4496B (southeastern component). If that's the case, the 1 minute time difference is wrong and I assume Herschel would likely have called it a double nebula.
John Herschel made three observations and resolved this double system on the 7 Apr 1828: "A double nebula; vF; pL; both R; pos 45° sf by diag; the two are in contact; unequal." The three editions of the Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies label the two components as NGC 4496A and 4496B.
R.J. Mitchell sketched and described this system on 18 Apr 1855 at Birr Castle, "A double neb, alpha [NGC 4496B] is vF, and its light flickering, the other [NGC 4496A] has F neby extending a good way downwards [north], and is much the larger and brighter of the two." Neither JH in the GC or Dreyer in the NGC assigned two designations for the components, although the NGC description reads "bi-nuclear or double nebula".
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NGC 4497 = IC 3452 = UGC 7665 = MCG +02-32-113 = PGC 41457
12 31 32.5 +11 37 29; Vir
V = 12.5; Size 2.0'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 65°
17.5" (4/25/87): moderately bright, fairly small, elongated WSW-ENE, broad concentration. A mag 12.5 star is 2.4' E of center. Forms a pair with NGC 4497 12' SW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4497 = H. III-42 on 15 Mar
1784 (sweep 174) and simply noted "vF" (he was recording objects very
quickly on the sweep). Caroline's
reduced position is 2.5' southeast of
Schwassmann "rediscovered" the galaxy on 8 Sep
1900 using a Heidelberg plate taken by Wolf, measured an accurate position and
recorded Sn. 199 (later
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NGC 4498 = UGC 7669 = MCG +03-32-056 = PGC 41472
12 31 39.7 +16 51 10; Com
V = 12.2; Size 3.0'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 133°
17.5" (5/23/87): fairly faint streak NW-SE, diffuse,
brighter core. Forms a trio with
NGC 4489 12' SW and
William Herschel discovered NGC 4498 = H. III-69 on 21 Mar 1784 (sweep 182) and simply noted "S". His position was 30 seconds of RA too large and 6' too far south.
Heinrich d'Arrest measured the position twice, and questioned if it was same object as H. III-69. He noted "F, L, oval, 70" mininum dia. The nucleus is very faint. After repeated observation, it was seen as 90" long. Question is whether this is a Herschel object or not as it differs in AR by 22s, and in Dec by 3 1/2'." Stephan also made an observation on 28 Mar 1879.
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12 32 05.0 -39 58 57; Cen
V = 13.2; Size 1.8'x1.3'; Surf Br = 14.0; PA = 93°
18" (5/15/10): at 220x appeared very faint, slightly
elongated E-W, 0.8'x0.65'. Low
even surface brightness with no core or zones, although view compromised by low
elevation. Probable outlying
member of the Centaurus cluster (AGC 3526).
John Herschel discovered NGC 4499 = h3397 on 5 Jun 1834. He
recorded "F; L; R; very gradually little brighter middle;
90"." His position
(measured on 2 sweep) is a close match with
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12 31 22.1 +57 57 53; UMa
V = 12.5; Size 1.6'x1.0'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 130°
18" (5/8/04): moderately bright, small lens, elongated 5:2 NNW-SSE. Sharply concentrated with a very small bright core and faint extensions. Located 1' W of a mag 10.5 star!
William Herschel discovered NGC 4500 = H. I-234 = h1311 on 17 Apr 1789 (sweep 923). He recorded "considerably bright, very small, little elongated. Just preceding a pretty large star." John Herschel logged "pB; E; pretty gradually brighter middle; a * 9m foll 30" dist in parallel."
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12 31 59.1 +14 25 13; Com
V = 9.6; Size 6.9'x3.7'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 140°
48" (4/5/13 and 4/27/22): at 488x;
17.5" (4/25/87): very bright, very large, elongated 5:2 NW-SE, brighter core, intense very small or stellar nucleus (Seyfert 2 galaxy). A faint double star is embedded at the SE end (mag 13.5/14.5 at 20"). A brighter double star mag 11/12 at 30" is 5' S of center. Located at the NE end of "Markarian's chain" in the core of Virgo cluster.
17.5" (6/5/99 and 6/12/99): 14th magnitude type Ia SN 1999cl was easily observed in M88 just outside the brighter core. It was discovered just a week earler at 46" west and 23" north of the nucleus.
Charles Messier discovered M88 = NGC 4501 = h1312 on 18 Mar 1781.
William Herschel's first observation was on 8 Apr 1784 (sweep 187) in moolight: "bright, pretty large, resolvable nebula with a small one after it; moonlight so strong that I had nearly overlooked the latter." He described it on 14 Jan 1787 (sweep 691) as "vB, vL, E."
John Herschel made 5 observations. On 28 Apr 1832 (sweep 422): "B; vL; vmE; 8' length, 1' broad. The northern half is brighter than the southern." On two other sweeps he accurately measured the position angle as between 140°-145°.
On 9 Mar 1850, George Johnstone Stoney, Lord Rosse's assistant, wrote "Another spiral? dark spaces p[receding] Nucl, others also, especially one sf [south-following] Nucl." Lord Rosse included M88 in his list of "Spiral or curvilinear" nebulae in his 1850 PT paper. On 17 Mar 1855 R.J. Mitchell logged "Thought I could trace a dark passage from south end down past the Nucl. Saw but the one branch f neby outside this passage." William Lassell sketched M88 on 21 May 1862 with his 48-inch on Malta. He noted "this nebula is of a somewhat convoluted form it may be a spiral, but I cannot make it out." Nevertheless, a comparison of his sketch with images, shows the tight set of spiral arms around the core and another spiral arm curling around on the southeast side of the halo.
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12 32 03.3 +16 41 16; Com
V = 13.9; Size 1.1'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 40°
18" (4/5/03): very faint, small, elongated 3:2 SW-NE, 0.6'x0.4', low surface brightness. NGC 4498 lies 11' NNW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4502 = H. II-92 = h1314 on 21 Mar 1784 (sweep 182) and noted "vF, S." Caroline's computed position was 6' too far north. He was working quickly in the sweep and made several positional errors on nearby objects. John Herschel measured an accurate position.
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12 32 06.2 +11 10 35; Vir
V = 11.1; Size 3.5'x1.7'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 12°
24" (5/20/17): bright, fairly large, oval 2:1 or
5:2 N-S, the halo increases to
~2'x0.8' with averted. Sharply
concentrated with an extremely bright core that increases to an intense stellar
nucleus!
24" (6/4/16): bright, large, elongated nearly 5:2 N-S,
~1.8'x0.7'. Sharply concentrated
with a very large, very bright elonagated core that increases to an even
brighter nucleus and stellar peak at the center. The halo gradually fades out but the ratio of major to minor
axis is higher in the halo than the core.
IC 3470 is 6.7' NE and
17.5" (4/25/87): fairly bright, fairly small, elongated ~N-S, very bright core, stellar nucleus.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4503 = H. II-66 = h1313 on 15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174) and noted "pB". His descriptions are very brief in this portion of the sweep as he was recording new nebulae rapidly. Caroline's reduced position is 18 sec of RA too far east. John Herschel made two observations, the first on 11 Apr 1825, his third formal sweep. Dreyer made an observation on 24 Mar 1878, though mistakenly assumed he was observing GC 3077 = NGC 4528. He wrote, "pB, lE N-S, irr figure, fades away more gradually on f[ollowing] side..."
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NGC 4504 = MCG -01-32-022 = LGG 293-002 = PGC 41555
12 32 17.3 -07 33 50; Vir
V = 11.2; Size 4.4'x2.7'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 150°
17.5" (2/28/87): fairly large, almost even surface brightness, slightly elongated, very weakly concentrated core. Two mag 14.5-15 stars are off following end 1.4' NE and 2.1' ESE of center. Member of the NGC 4487 group (LGG 293).
William Herschel discovered NGC 4504 = H. II-771 = h1398 on 20 Mar 1789 (sweep 913) and noted "pB, iF, mbM, easily resolvable." John Herschel made a