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
******************************
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 single observation from the Cape of Good Hope and logged "vF; L; lE; gradually very little brighter middle; 2' l by 100" broad."
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12 31 39.3 +03 56 23; Vir
See observing notes for NGC 4496.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4505 = H. III-18 = h1315 on 23 Feb 1784 (sweep 158) and recorded "vF of a considerable size; it seems to be resolvable, is more faint than the foregoing [II-36 = NGC 4496] and rather larger. It was logged 1.0 minute of time following H. II-36 (= NGC 4496) at the same polar distance. The two descriptions are fairly similar, with the second nebula (NGC 4505) noted as fainter and larger. There is nothing at his position, roughly 15' E (1 minute of time) of NGC 4496. One possibility is due to some confusion, the same galaxy was recorded twice by Caroline. The other possibility is NGC 4505 is the galaxy 1' SE of center of NGC 4496 and there was an error recording the time. Wolfgang Steinicke subscribes to the second interpretation. But if that's the case, why wasn't it described as a double nebula, as done with most other cases?
John Herschel made a single observation on 9 Aor 1828 (sweep 142): "eF, the following of 2 [with NGC 4496] in field." His position is roughly the same as his father's (perhaps using his working list based on Caroline's Zone Catalogue), so it's uncertain whether he resolved the galaxy often called NGC 4496B. Karl Reinmuth, in his photographic survey "Die Herschel-Nebel", questions whether NGC 4505 refers to a mag 14 star, and this is possible.
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12 32 10.5 +13 25 10; Com
V = 12.7; Size 1.6'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 110°
17.5" (4/25/87): faint, small, slightly elongated E-W, diffuse, very weakly concentrated core. A mag 11 star is 2.1' W. Located 34' E of NGC 4473 near the Virgo border.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4506 = H. II-631 = h1316 on 14 Jan 1787 (sweep 691) and noted "F". John Herschel's description reads, "vF; pmE in parallel; gradually brighter in the middle; a * 9m 8 sec following."
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NGC 4507 = Shapley-Ames 2 = ESO 322-029 = MCG -07-26-011 = LGG 298-008 = PGC 41960
12 35 36.7 -39 54 34; Cen
V = 12.1; Size 1.7'x1.3'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 56°
18" (4/25/09): moderately bright, fairly small,
slightly elongated, increases to a small brighter core. Situated within an oval group of ~8
stars (~9'x6') and 5' SW of mag 5.8
17.5" (4/7/89): fairly faint, oval, weak
concentration. Located 5.2' SW of
mag 5.8
John Herschel discovered NGC 4507 = h3399 on 5 Jun 1834 and
recorded "pB; S; R: pretty suddenly much brighter middle to a *
16m." His position (measured
on two sweeps) is at the east edge of
The identification with NGC 4507 was missed in the 1932 Shapley-Ames Catalogue and this galaxy was listed as one of 6 "new anonymous" galaxies (New 2).
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12 32 17.4 +05 49 08; Vir
= **?, Gottlieb. = "Not found", Carlson.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4508 = h1317 on 19 Apr 1830 and noted "vF; R; a * 13m with a burr." His position corresponds with a close, faint double star. The stars are cleanly resolved on the SDSS. Karl Reinmuth also identifies a double star at the NGC position, although he also mentions a possible nearby candidate. This is object #1450 in the Ames "Catalogue of 2778 Nebulae including the Coma-Virgo Group". Ames felt this object was too far from the NGC position and too faint.
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12 33 06.8 +32 05 32; CVn
V = 13.5; Size 0.9'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 155°
17.5" (4/28/89): faint, small, slightly elongated SW-NE, almost even surface brightness. Located 4.5' NW of a bright double star STF 1653 = 9.7/9.7 at 8".
John Herschel discovered NGC 4509 = h1318 on 11 Mar 1828 and
noted "vF; S; R; little brighter in the middle." There is nothing at his position but
1.0 min of RA east is
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NGC 4510 = UGC 7679 = MCG +11-15-058 = CGCG 315-041 = PGC 41489
12 31 47.2 +64 14 01; Dra
V = 13.1; Size 1.5'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 153°
17.5" (4/15/93): faint, very small, very small bright core, stellar nucleus, very small halo. NGC 4441 lies 17' SW.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4510 on 9 Sep 1866 with the
11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His single position is an excellent match with
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12 32 08.1 +56 28 16; UMa
V = 14.1; Size 1.1'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 9°
18" (5/8/04): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 5:3
~N-S. A mag 14 star is close
south, in the direction of elongation.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4511 = H. III-834 = h1319 on
17 Mar 1790 (sweep 947) and noted "eF, S, iF." His position matches
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12 32 47.6 +63 56 21; Dra
V = 12.2; Size 2.5'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.4; PA = 167°
See observing notes for NGC 4521. Identification uncertain; this number may be identical to NGC 4510.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4512 = h1321 on 3 Apr 1832 and
recorded "pB; R: pretty suddenly brighter middle; 20"." There is nothing at his single
position, though 10' north-northeast is
Bigourdan was unable to recover NGC 4512 and Reinmuth states "no pB neb found, =NGC 4521?" Corwin suggests that NGC 4512 may be identical to NGC 4510 as this would require a 30' error in declination. Furthermore this galaxy is more likely than NGC 4521 to be called "round" and "20" in diameter. So, the identification with NGC 4521 is uncertain, but likely applies to either NGC 4521 or NGC 4510. See Corwin's identification notes.
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12 32 01.5 +66 19 57; Dra
V = 13.1; Size 1.4'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 15°
24" (5/30/16): at 225x; fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 3:2 SSW-NNE, 0.6'x0.4', small bright core.
The triple system
48" (4/4/13): at 488x; VII Zw 466 appeared fairly faint, small, round with a slightly brighter rim and darker center. The ring was irregular lit and brighter on the west side with a couple of slightly brighter knots north and south.
17.5" (4/15/93): faint, small, elongated 3:2 SSW-NNE, very small bright core, stellar nucleus.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4513 on 16 Oct 1866 with
the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His single position is an excellent match with
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12 32 43.0 +29 42 45; Com
V = 13.2; Size 1.2'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.3
18" (5/30/03): fairly faint, fairly small, round, 0.7' diameter, weak concentration with no noticeable core. A mag 14 star lies 1.5' NE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4514 = H. III-302 = h1320 on 13 Mar 1785 (sweep 387) and noted "eF, vS". John Herschel made two observations and called this galaxy (sweep 342) "vF; R; bM; 15"."
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12 33 05.0 +16 15 56; Com
V = 12.3; Size 1.3'x1.1'; Surf Br = 12.6
17.5" (5/23/87): fairly faint, very small, almost round, weak concentration.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4515 = H. II-93 = h1324 on 21 Mar 1784 (sweep 182) and noted "F, vS." John Herschel called it "F; an extremely dilute nebulosity, with a centre almost stellar.
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12 33 07.6 +14 34 30; Com
V = 12.8; Size 1.7'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 3°
17.5" (5/23/87): faint, small, very elongated N-S, small well defined core. Located 18' NE of M88.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4516 = H. III-78 = h1323 on 8 Apr 1784 (sweep 187) and recorded "A B, pL, r nebula [M88] with a small one [NGC 4516] after it. Moonlight so strong that I had nearly overlooked the latter. John Herschel logged "F; R: very gradually brighter middle; 40"." and measured an accurate position.
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NGC 4517 = NGC 4437 = UGC 7694 = MCG +00-32-020 = CGCG 014-063 = FGC 1455 = PGC 41618
12 32 45.6 +00 06 59; Vir
V = 10.4; Size 10.5'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 83°
48" (5/4/16 and 4/28/22): beautiful, showpiece edge-on
spiral, nearly 8:1 WSW-ENE, ~11'x1.5'.
A mag 10.9 star is attached on the N edge, just E of center. The galaxy is broadly concentrated with
a slightly bulging, brighter core region.
A fairly prominent, irregular dust lane extends ~5', unevenly slicing
the galaxy along the north edge of the core region. The absorption lane is widest and most prominent in the
central region and a small, slightly brighter nucleus peaks out just S of the
lane. A fairly thin strip of the
galaxy is visible to the north of the dust lane, passing through the bright
star at the N edge. The dust gives
the galaxy a patchy, mottled appearance reminiscent of
17.5" (3/24/90): moderately bright, very large edge-on 8:1 WSW-ENE, almost 10'x1.2'. This galaxy is an impressive large narrow streak with fairly low surface brightness and fills 1/2 of the 21' field. There is no well-defined nucleus but central region slightly bulges. Appears brighter along the western extension. A mag 9 star is attached at the northeast edge of the core.
NGC 4517A, located 17' NNW, appeared very faint, large, small brighter core. Appears as a very diffuse hazy region elongated SSW-NNE with no distinct boundaries. Located 3.5' SE of a mag 10.5 star.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4517 = H. IV-5 on 22 Feb 1784 (sweep 153) and recorded "A pretty bright star with a milky ray on the south side of it, extending from east to west, or rather from np to sf. It does not seem to touch the star, and is about 10 or 12' in length." On a second observation (1 Jan 1786, sweep 507), he added "a pB star with a milky ray to the south of it, and partly including it." WH commented this might suggest that the nebula had a considerable proper motion, though differences in observing conditions might account for the difference. The GC and NGC position (from 3 observations) is 0.5 min of RA too far east and 2' south.
JH found h1277 = NGC 4437 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. The equivalence may have first been suggest by Karl Reinmuth 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. So, NGC 4517 = NGC 4437.
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12 33 11.7 +07 51 06; Vir
V = 13.7; Size 1.0'x0.4'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 0°
24" (5/20/17): at 375x; fairly faint, fairly small,
elongated 3:2 N-S, ~25"x18", gradually increases to a small bright
core and stellar nucleus. Located
16' NW of
Forms a close pair with
17.5" (3/24/90): very faint, small, elongated NW-SE,
bright core. Located to the west
of a N-S line joining mag 6.9
John Herschel discovered NGC 4518 = h1322 on 27 Dec 1827 and
recorded "F; S; R; bM; 20"." His position corresponds with
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12 33 30.3 +08 39 16; Vir
V = 11.8; Size 3.2'x2.5'; Surf Br = 13.9; PA = 145°
24" (6/4/16): at 322x; bright, large, slightly elongated 5:4 SW-NE, at least 1.5'x1.2'. Contains a relatively large brighter core. The halo is noticeably mottled with an uneven surface brightness (probably due to HII knots in the arms).
Forms a pair with
17.5" (4/18/87): fairly bright, moderately large, brighter core, slightly elongated. A knot is superimposed on the SW end.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4519 = H. II-158 on 15 Apr
1784 (sweep 194) and recorded, "F, pL, almost R, r." His position (Caroline's reduction) is
3' northeast of
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12 33 49.9 -07 22 32; Vir
V = 14.0; Size 1.1'x0.5'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 101°
18" (4/9/05): faint, small, elongated 2:1 ~E-W. A very faint star is at the western tip. The galaxy appears to have a very faint stellar nucleus or a second star is involved. A mag 11.2 star is 3' NW. NGC 4504 lies 20' SW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4520 = H. III-757 on 20 Mar 1789 (sweep 913) and logged "2 vF stars involved in nebulosity, vF, S." He made another observation with a similar description a few nights later (sweep 916). The GC and NGC has a typo, calling this galaxy II-757.
Lewis Swift found this galaxy again on 21 Apr 1889 and
assumed it was new. His
description for #64 in his 8th discovery list (later
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NGC 4521 = NGC 4512? = UGC 7706 = MCG +11-15-061 = CGCG 315-046 = PGC 41621
12 32 47.6 +63 56 21; Dra
V = 12.2; Size 2.5'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.4; PA = 167°
24" (5/30/16): at 225x; moderately bright and large,
edge-on 4:1 NNW-SSE, 1.2'x0.3', sharply concentrated with a very small bright
core. A mag 11 star is 2' NNW and
a mag 15.2 star is 1.4' SSE. Forms
a pair with much fainter UGC 7700 4' SSW.
Brightest in a group including NGC 4510 19' NNW and
UGC 7700 (misidentified in all modern catalogues and most online sources as NGC 4512) appeared very faint, fairly small, 24" diameter (only the central region seen), very low even surface brightness.
17.5" (4/15/93): moderately bright and large, edge-on 4:1 NNW-SSE, very bright core, faint stellar nucleus, very thin tapering extensions. Located 2.0' SSE of a mag 10 star. A mag 15 star is just 30" E of the southern extension. NGC 4481 lies 20' WNW. UGC 7700 = (R)NGC 4512 located 4' SW was not seen.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4521 = H. II-849 = h1326 on 20 Mar 1790 (sweep 954) and logged "pB, vS, lE, SN." John Herschel recorded "pB; pmE; pretty gradually brighter middle; 20" long, 12" broad; a * 9m near. His description matches NGC 4521, but his position is 20' too far south. Because of the discrepancy with his father's position, JH listed it as a "Nova". In the NGC notes, Dreyer notes that "h1326 = II 848, but h's P.D. Is wrong; d'Arrest's adopted".
See notes for NGC 4512 = h1321, which may be identical to NGC 4521.
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12 33 39.5 +09 10 25; Vir
V = 12.3; Size 3.7'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 33°
17.5" (4/18/87): fairly faint, fairly large, thin edge-on streak oriented SSW-NNE, weak concentration.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4522 = h1325 on 18 Jan 1828 and recorded "eF; pL; lE; very little brighter middle." His single position is accurate.
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12 33 47.8 +15 10 02; Com
V = 14.1; Size 2.0'x1.9'; Surf Br = 15.4
17.5" (5/23/87): extremely faint, difficult, very
diffuse, moderately large. Located
10' S of
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4523 on 19 Apr 1865 with
the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His published position is 10 sec of RA west of
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12 33 54.4 -12 01 39; Crv
V = 13.7; Size 1.2'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 80°
17.5" (3/29/89): faint, small, oval WSW-ENE, low even surface brightness. Three mag 15 stars are just west.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4524 = h1327 on 9 Mar 1828 and
recorded "vF; irreg R; bM."
His single position is 1' north of
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12 33 51.2 +30 16 39; Com
V = 12.2; Size 2.6'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 47°
18" (4/10/04): moderately bright, fairly large, elongated 2:1 SW-NE, broadly concentrated to an ill-defined 0.8' core. A low surface brightness halo increases the size to at least 2.0'x.1.0'. The halo is irregular or patchy and fades into the background so is difficult to trace, though it is a little brighter on the SW extension.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4525 = H. II-325 = h1328 on 13 Mar 1785 (sweep 387) and noted "F, pL, E, bM." John Herschel made a single observation: "pF; L; R; 60".", but didn't measure a position.
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NGC 4526 = NGC 4560? = UGC 7718 = MCG +01-32-100 = CGCG 042-155 = PGC 41772
12 34 03.1 +07 41 59; Vir
V = 9.7; Size 7.2'x2.4'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 113°
24" (5/20/17): very bright, very large, very elongated
3:1 WNW-ESE, ~3.75'x1.25'.
Contains a large, rounder core with a small intense nucleus that seems
slightly offset south of center.
The extensions gradually fade out towards the tips. Situated at the midpoint of mag 7.0 HD
109285 7.5' WSW and mag 6.8
17.5" (3/12/94): Supernova SN 1994D (Type Ia) was observed 5 days after discovery. It appeared about 12th magnitude and was located 9" W and 7" N of the galaxy's nucleus.
17.5" (4/18/87): very bright, fairly large, very
elongated WNW-ESE, bright core, strong stellar nucleus. A mag 12.5 star is 1.3' S of
center. Located midway between mag
6.9 SAO 119466 7.6' W and mag 6.7
William Herschel discovered NGC 4526 = H. I-31 = H. I-38 =
h1329 on 13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191) and recorded I-31 as "vB, E, mbM,
r." It is situated between
two brilliant stars at a considerable distance." There is nothing at his position, but 17' north is
Herschel probably found this galaxy a third time on 28 Dec 1785 (sweep 498) and recorded it as H. I-119 = NGC 4560, with another bad position. So, NGC 4526 = NGC 4560.
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12 34 08.4 +02 39 11; Vir
V = 10.5; Size 6.2'x2.1'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 67°
24" (5/20/17): at 200x; bright; very large; very elongated ~4:1 WSW-ENE, ~4'x1',well concentrated with a very bright elongated core that contains a fairly intense nucleus. The galaxy appears to brighten slightly on the western end, curl south, and spread out. Similarly, an enhancement curls a bit north on the eastern end, like the beginning of spiral arms (verified later on the DSS). IC 3474 lies 23' due east.
17.5" (5/10/91): Supernova 1991T (Type Ia) was bright! It appeared as an 11th mag "star" less than 1' NE of the nucleus.
17.5" (3/24/90): fairly bright, very large, very
elongated WSW-ENE, prominent core, small bright nucleus.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4527 = H. II-37 = h1330 on 23 Feb 1784 (sweep 158) and recorded "pB, of an extended shape, from np to sf and mbM than at the ends." His orientation should read "sp to nf". On sweep 143, John Herschel logged "pB; pL; gradually much brighter middle; E in pos 30° nf to sp."
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12 34 06.1 +11 19 16; Vir
V = 12.1; Size 1.7'x1.0'; Surf Br = 12.5; PA = 5°
17.5" (4/25/87): fairly bright but small, oval ~N-S,
nucleus bulge, small bright core, stellar nucleus. Located 35' WNW of the
William Herschel discovered NGC 4528 = H. II-67 = h1331 on 15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174) and noted "vS but pB." His RA was 42 seconds too small (several objects on this sweep have a poor RA). John Herschel made four observations (first on 11Apr 1825, his third sweep) with a range of brightness descriptions from "F" to "pB".
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12 34 12 +20 32; Com
= No confident identification, but might be
William Herschel discovered NGC 4529 = H. III-26 on 12 Mar 1784 (sweep 167) and logged "I suspected a large, extremely faint nebula; but though I looked at it a good while I could not verify the suspicion, nor could I convince myself that it was a deception." The RA was only taken approximately, but the derived position is 19' ENE of UGC 7697, a low surface edge-on that would have been very difficult to see. He reported another observation on 16 Mar 1790 (sweep 944), using 26 Comae as the offset star, though his description only states "extremely faint." Caroline's reduced position was reported in the GC and NGC and is 14' further north than the first observation. Dreyer discussed the difference between Caroline's reduction and Auwers' reduction in the NGC Notes/Corrections section (based on the sweep used). In any case, there is nothing at either position.
RNGC misidentifies
Malcolm Thomson states this a probable misidentification if the original NGC position is correct. I send an e-mail to Harold Corwin back in October 1999 about the identification and he couldn't identify a convincing candate. But Wolfgang Steinicke identifies UGC 7697 as NGC 4529. I never viewed this galaxy in my 18", but it looks like a tough object visually.
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12 33 44.5 +41 21 27; CVn
V = 4.3
= *4.3 (Beta CVn), Gottlieb. = Not found, RNGC.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4530 = h1332 in May 1828 (sweep 150). He described "8 [Beta] CVn. Involved in a considerable nebula 3' in diam, exactly round; very gradually brighter in the middle." He made a total of four observation and described the star as nebulous on each occasion, although there is no nebulosity surrounding this star. Herschel realized the observation was uncertain. In the appendix to the Slough catalogue, he noted "With regard to nebulous stars generally, I ought to mention that it has frequently occurred to me to notice a peculiar state of atmosphere in which all large stars (above the 7th magnitude) have appeared surrounded with photospheres of 2' or 3' or more diameter, precisely resembling that about some of the finer specimens of nebulous stars." William Herschel used Beta CVn as his reference star for an observation of NGC 4485/4490 though made no mention of it being nebulous.
This is the second brightest star (after
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12 34 15.9 +13 04 31; Vir
V = 11.4; Size 3.1'x2.0'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 155°
17.5" (4/25/87): moderately bright, moderately large,
slightly elongated NW-SE, diffuse, broad concentration. Located 37' W of
William Herschel discovered NGC 4531 = H. II-175 = h1333 on 17 Apr 1784 (sweep 199)and noted "pF, L." John Herschel made two observations and recorded (sweep 339) "pF; pL; R; very gradually brighter middle; 80"."
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12 34 19.3 +06 28 07; Vir
V = 11.9; Size 2.8'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 160°
24" (5/20/17): fairly bright, moderately large, very elongated 3:1 or 7:2 NNW-SSE. The surface brightness is irregular; brighter and mottled on the NNW end and fainter on the SSE end, giving an asymmetric appearance. A mag 14.5 star is off the east side [0.6' from center]. Mag 8.0 HD 109402 lies 5.4' S.
Holmberg VII lies 12' SE of NGC 4532. At 200x this dwarf was just visible as a very faint patch with averted vision, roundish, ~40" diameter (no distinct edge), very low even surface brightness, no core or nucleus.
17.5" (3/24/90): moderately bright, moderately large,
elongated 5:2 NW-SE, no central condensation. Asymmetric appearance as fainter at the SE end (dust?). Located 5.4' N of mag 8.3 SAO
119478.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4532 = H. II-147 = h1334 on
13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191) and noted "pB, pL, mE, r." His position and description matches
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NGC 4533 = UGC 7725 = MCG +01-32-102 = CGCG 042-157 = PGC 41816
12 34 22.0 +02 19 31; Vir
V = 13.8; Size 2.1'x0.4'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 161°
17.5" (3/24/90): faint, moderately large, edge-on NNW-SSE, low surface brightness narrow streak. Collinear with mag 8.6 SAO 119474 4.1' N and mag 8.8 SAO 119473 7.2' N. All of these are on line with bright galaxy NGC 4536 8.3' SSE.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4533 = T. 1-45 and described a class III nebula, 7 sec of RA west and 9' north of [NGC 4536]. The exact offsets to this galaxy are -5 sec RA and +8' dec.
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12 34 05.4 +35 31 06; CVn
V = 12.3; Size 2.6'x2.1'; Surf Br = 14.0; PA = 125°
17.5" (4/28/89): fairly faint, moderately large, round, 2.0' diameter, low almost even surface brightness, very small region of central brightening. A mag 15 star is 30" SW of the halo and 1.5' from center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4534 = H. II-410 = h1336 on
1 May 1785 (sweep 405) and noted "F, cL, r." His position is just off the north side
of
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12 34 20.3 +08 11 52; Vir
V = 10.0; Size 7.1'x5.0'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 0°
48" (4/4/13): NGC 4535 is a gorgeous face-on Sc spiral with two, long, very prominent arms extending from a small, very bright central region. The small, very bright core is elongated SSW-NNE and punctuated by an intense, stellar nucleus. The two main arms are clearly attached right at opposite ends of the core. At the northeast end, a beautiful thin arm winds clockwise to the west with a mag 13.5 star pinned on the outer north edge. The arm contains NGC 4535:[HK83] #157 (several additional entries including #141/145 are in Hodge & Kennicutt's "Atlas of HII regions in 125 galaxies"), a small, bright, 15" knot and then dims as it wraps to the south. A mag 14.5 star is situated midway between the nucleus and southern end of this arm [47" SW of the nucleus].
The second main arm is attached at the southwest end of the core and curves clockwise to the southeast, where the arm brightens in an elongated 30" patch (#51/52/72/78), which is symmetrically positioned opposite #157. A fainter arm segment, extending WNW to ESE is visible on the south side, containing #84/90, a small, fairly faint 12" patch, located 1.5' SSE of center. This knot forms the vertex of a flat isosceles triangle with a mag 15 star 0.5' NW and a mag 14 star 0.7' S. The arms are etched on the slightly fainter and larger background glow of the disc, which extends 5.5'x4.0' in a N-S orientation.
24" (5/24/20): at 260x; bright, large, face-on spiral with a low contrast "S" shape, ~5'x4' N-S. Strongly concentrated with a small bright core elongated N-S and an intense quasi-stellar nucleus. A mag 14.5 star is superimposed 0.8' SW of center. The northern arm was very subtle; it curved clockwise to the west, passing close to a mag 13.5 star 1' N of center. A faint 15" knot, [HK83] #157, was at the end of this arm, 1' NW of center. A low contrast arm on the south side curled towards the east and north. A mag 15 star is 1.2' S of center (just south of the arm) and a mag 14 star is 2.2' S of center at the edge of the outer halo.
17.5" (4/18/87): bright, fairly large, very small bright core, elongated SSW-NNE, about 5.5'x4.0'. Appears slightly darker on both sides of core (this is a gap between the spiral arms). A mag 13.5 star is superimposed on the north side 1.0' from the center and a similar star is at the south end of the halo 2.2' from center. A faint mag 14.5 star is just 48" SW of the core. NGC 4526 lies 30' SSW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4535 = H. II-500 on 28 Dec 1785 (sweep 498) and described "very large, easily resolvable. I see a few of the largest stars in it." In his 1814 PT paper (fig. 12), Herschel hypothesized this object may be a cluster of stars mixed with nebulosity or a cluster seen at great distance which contains no nebulosity. John Herschel did not make any observations, though d'Arrest made four observations and described it as up to 5 or 6' in size. He also noted the mag 15 star (called mag 17) just 48" preceding the nucleus.
The nickname "Lost Galaxy" is from Leland S.
Copeland's February 1955 S&T article "Adventuring in the Virgo
Cloud". In his article, Copeland described a star hop through the Virgo
Cluster using his 8" Cave reflector. He states, "North of the Diamond
is a very dim spiral, here called the Lost Galaxy, NGC 4535." Leland was
probably referring to
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NGC 4536 = UGC 7732 = MCG +00-32-023 = CGCG 014-068 = PGC 41823
12 34 27.1 +02 11 16; Vir
V = 10.6; Size 7.6'x3.2'; Surf Br = 13.9; PA = 130°
48" (4/4/13): very bright, gorgeous showpiece spiral with two very stretched arms extending northwest and southeast ~7'x2.5'. Contains a very bright, slightly elongated core that increases to an intense stellar nucleus. One long arm emanates from the west side of the core and shoots to the northwest, extending over 3' from the nucleus. Close west of the core is a brighter, knotty region identified as [HK 83] 66/67 in the Hodge-Kennicutt "Atlas of H II regions in 125 galaxies". The second arm is connected at the northeast side of the core and stretches to the southeast. A small brightening (#53) is just north of the core where the arm is attached. This arm contains a brighter, elongated section which includes [HK 83] 23/33/35/36, opposite the brighter region on the western arm.
24" (5/24/20): at 260x; bright, very large, very elongated at least 3:1 NW-SE with two long slightly arched arms, ~6.5'x2'. The galaxy is strongly concentrated with a bright elongated core that increased to a very small but non-stellar nucleus. The long eastern arm was attached on the north side of the core and was brightest in a 1.5'-2' section angling to the SE. The arm dimmed with a diffuse, lower surface brightness extension out to 3.5' SE of center, spreading further south at the eastern end. The western arm was also brightest in the initial 1' section on the west side of the core. The arm dimmed and thinned but stretched northwest for ~3' from center, where is seemed to bend north and fade out.
17.5" (3/24/90): fairly bright, very large, very
elongated NW-SE, weak concentration, stellar nucleus. Spiral structure is suspected at the ends of the major
axis. Forms a pair with NGC 4533
8' N. Located 12' WSW of mag 7.0
William Herschel discovered NGC 4536 = H. V-2 = h1337 on 24 Jan 1784 (sweep 120) and noted "F, L, cE. It is bright in the middle in two or three places." He recorded the galaxy on 4 different sweeps. John Herschel reported "pB; vL; mE in pos 20° np; suddenly brighter middle."
On 19 April 1855, R. J. Mitchell (Lord Rosse's assistant) observed with George J. Stoney, [visiting between professorial duties]. Stoney didn't see the faint curve at the west extremity, but Mitchell was confident. Mitchell sketched the galaxy on 29 May 1856 (Plate XXVIII, Fig. 24 in the 1861 publication) and clearly showed the central bar and long arms forming an stretched "Z" shape.
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12 34 48.9 +50 48 18; CVn
V = 13.9; Size 1.0'x0.5'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 21°
See observing notes for
Lewis Swift discovered NGC 4537 = Sw. 1-22 on 16 Mar 1884
and recorded "eeF; S; R; nearly between 2 stars." There is nothing at his position, but
49 seconds of RA due east is NGC 4542 (discovered by John Herschel), the brightest
nearby candidate. Also in the
vicinity is
The RNGC and PGC (and secondary sources such as Megastar) identify MCG +09-21-022 as NGC 4537. Both Malcolm Thomson and Harold Corwin concur that NGC 4537 is more likely a duplicate of NGC 4542. See Harold Corwin's identification notes for more.
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12 34 40.9 +03 19 25; Vir
V = 14.5; Size 0.7'x0.3'; Surf Br = 12.4; PA = 80°
17.5" (3/24/90): very faint, small, elongated 5:2
WSW-ENE, low even surface brightness.
Albert Marth discovered NGC 4538 = m 242 on 22 Mar 1865 and
noted "eF, vS, nearly R."
His position matches
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12 34 34.8 +18 12 09; Com
V = 12.0; Size 3.3'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 95°
17.5" (4/13/02): fairly faint but fairly large, elongated 5:2 E-W, 2.4'x0.9'. Fairly uniform low surface brightness but bulges slightly at the core. Two mag 14 stars are 1.5' SE of center. Located 13' SW of the beautiful double 24 Comae (5.0/6.6 at 20").
John Herschel discovered NGC 4539 = h1338 on 17 Mar 1831and
logged "pB; pmE." His
position and description matches
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12 34 50.8 +15 33 05; Com
V = 11.7; Size 1.9'x1.5'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 40°
17.5" (5/23/87): moderately bright, fairly small, even
surface brightness. A mag 13.5
star is 1.2' W of center. Forms a
close pair with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4540 = H. II-94 = H. II-119
= h1335 on 21 Mar 1784 (sweep 182) and noted H. II-94 as "F, S." Caroline's reduced position is 5'
southeast of
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12 35 10.6 -00 13 17; Vir
V = 13.0; Size 1.6'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 91°
17.5" (4/21/90): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated E-W, weak concentration.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4541 = H. III-493 = h1342 on
1 Jan 1786 (sweep 507) and noted "eF, S, irregular." His position (Caroline's reduction) is
3' too far south. John Herschel
made a single observation but did measure an accurate position. The NGC dec is 1.5' south (apparently
this position is from Holden) of
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NGC 4542 = NGC 4537: = UGC 7746 = MCG +09-21-021 = CGCG 270-011 = PGC 41864
12 34 48.9 +50 48 18; CVn
V = 13.9; Size 1.0'x0.5'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 21°
16" LX200 (4/14/07): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1 SSW-NNE, 0.8'x0.4', very small slightly brighter core. A near equilateral triangle of mag 11 stars lies to the NE (closest vertex 4' NE).
John Herschel discovered NGC 4542 = h1341 on 17 Feb 1831 and
noted "eF; pL; R; 30"."
His position matches
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NGC 4543 = MCG +01-32-109 = CGCG 042-167 = PGC 41923
12 35 20.3 +06 06 54; Vir
V = 13.5; Size 0.6'x0.4'; Surf Br = 11.8; PA = 0°
17.5" (4/21/90): fairly faint, small, elongated 2:1 N-S, very small bright core. NGC 4532 lies 25' NW.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4543 = h1340 on 27 Dec 1827 and
recorded "pF; R; bM; 40"."
His position matches
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NGC 4544 = UGC 7756 = MCG +01-32-110 = CGCG 042-168 = PGC 41958
12 35 36.6 +03 02 04; Vir
V = 13.0; Size 2.0'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 161°
17.5" (3/24/90): faint, fairly small, elongated 3:1 NNW-SSE, weak concentration. A mag 13.5 star is 1.5' ENE of center. NGC 4538 lies 22' NW and NGC 4527 30' SW.
Edward Swift, Lewis' 16 year-old son, discovered NGC 4544 =
Sw. 6-45 on 27 Apr 1887 and recorded "eF; S; R; bet 2 stars." The Swifts' position was 14 seconds of
time preceding
******************************
NGC 4545 = UGC 7747 = MCG +11-15-064 = CGCG 315-047 = PGC 41838
12 34 34.2 +63 31 30; Dra
V = 12.3; Size 2.5'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 8°
17.5" (4/15/93): fairly faint, moderately large, round, about 2' diameter, broad weak concentration. A mag 14.5 star is just off the NNE edge of the halo 1.0' from center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4545 = H. II-850 = h1346 on 20 Mar 1790 (sweep 954) and recorded "pB, pL, irregularly round, very gradually brighter middle, r." His position is 2' too far north. John Herschel made a single interesting description, "vF; L; wedge shaped, or has a vF * nf, which gives it a distorted appearance."
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12 35 29.5 -03 47 38; Vir
V = 10.3; Size 3.3'x1.4'; Surf Br = 11.9; PA = 80°
17.5" (3/24/90): bright, moderately large, elongated 5:2 WSW-ENE, very bright core, bright stellar nucleus. A mag 11 star is 2.0' SE of center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4546 = H. I-160 = h1339 on 29 Dec 1786 (sweep 674) and recorded "vB, cL, E from sp to nf but nearer the parallel [E-W] than the meridian, a BN with faint branches, the nucleus very gradually diminishing." John Herschel made four observations and recorded (sweep 147) "vB; mE; very suddenly much brighter middle to a r nucleus; 2' long, 90" br." Joseph Turner sketched the galaxy elongated at least 3:1 with the 48" Melbourne Telescope on 8 Apr 1878. (p.170 in logbook)
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12 34 51.8 +58 55 00; UMa
V = 14.0; Size 0.7'x0.5'
18" (5/12/07): this is a very small and close double
system oriented NW-SE. The
slightly brighter and larger NW component is very faint, very small, round,
15" diameter while the SE component is extremely faint and small, round,
10" diameter. The pair is
cleanly resolved, though the centers are just 27" apart.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4547 = H. III-802 = h1344 on 17 Apr 1789 (sweep 923). He logged "very faint, little elongated." His re-reduced position is just 1.3' too far NE. This is a double system, but Herschel likely only saw the brighter northwestern component. A second observation a week later (sweep 926). He confirmed the position of III-802 and also picked up extremely faint III-807 (= NGC 4549).
John Herschel made two observations, noting on sweep 345, "pF; pL; E; very gradually brighter middle; precedes a * 9m."
RNGC and CGCG misidentify the double system as NGC 4547 + NGC
4549. MCG misidentifies MCG
+10-18-068 as NGC 4547 and
******************************
12 35 26.4 +14 29 47; Com
V = 10.2; Size 5.4'x4.3'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 150°
24" (5/22/17): at 282x; very bright, large, strongly concentrated with a very bright round core that elongates into a bar oriented WSW-ENE. The initial portions of spiral arms are attached at both ends of the bar. On the WSW end, a weak arm extends north, curving slightly counter-clockwise and on the east end, a subtle arm starts to curl south. Both arms blend into a low surface brightness outer halo that extends ~3.5'x2.5'.
17.5" (5/23/87): bright, moderately large, elongated 3:2 SW-NE, 3'x2', gradually increases to a bright core and a very small nucleus. M88 is 50' WSW.
Charles Messier discovered M91 = NGC 4548 = H. II-120 =
h1345 on 18 Mar 1781. For a long
time M91 was considered a missing Messier object as there is nothing at his
position. In "The Missing
Messier Objects" (Sky & Tel Oct 1960), Owen Gingerich championed that
M91 was likely a duplicate observation of
William Herschel independently discovered the galaxy on 8
Apr 1784 (sweep 187). He assumed it was new (due to Messier's erroneous
position) and included it his first catalogue as II-120: "large,
resolvable, moonlight [end of a long night]." A second observation was
made on 14 Jan 1787 (sweep 691): "very bright, large". Oddly, he recorded the position again
73 seconds later (at the west edge of the field), not sure whether it was a new
object. A similar error had
occurred for
******************************
NGC 4549 = MCG +10-18-072 = PGC 41954
12 35 21.2 +58 56 59; UMa
V = 15.2; Size 0.45'x0.2'; PA = 100°
18" (5/12/07): extremely faint and small, round, 10" diameter, required averted vision to glimpse, though transparency was very mediocre. Located near the midpoint of a mag 14 star 2.3' N and a mag 11 star 2.7' S. This galaxy is not identified as NGC 4549 in the RNGC or CGCG. Located 4.3' ENE of the double system NGC 4547.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4549 = H. III-807 = h1347,
and reobserved III-802 (NGC 4547) on 24 Apr 1789 (sweep 926). He recorded both as "Two, both
extremely faint, small, elongated different ways. The place is that of the first [NGC 4547], the 2nd [NGC
4549] is about 4' following and 3' more north, and still fainter than the
1st." His offset pretty
clearly identifies NGC 4549 as
RNGC and CGCG misidentify
******************************
12 35 30.6 +12 13 14; Vir
V = 11.7; Size 3.3'x0.9'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 178°
17.5" (4/25/87): fairly bright, fairly small, pretty
edge-on N-S, small bright core, faint stellar nucleus. A mag 12 star lies 2.9' SE. Forms a pair with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4550 = H. I-36 = h1343, along with NGC 4551, on 17 Apr 1784 (sweep 199) and recorded "Two small but bright nebula; both lE." John Herschel made 3 observations (earliest on 11 Apr 1825, sweep 3) and recorded on 25 Mar 1830 (sweep 245), "pB; R; bM; 20"; the sp of 2; pos of the other from this by micrometer = 33.5°."
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NGC 4551 = UGC 7759 = MCG +02-32-148 = CGCG 070-183 = Holm 422b = PGC 41963
12 35 37.9 +12 15 50; Vir
V = 12.0; Size 1.8'x1.4'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 70°
17.5" (4/25/87): moderately bright, fairly small, oval 4:3 ~E-W, small bright core, faint stellar nucleus. A mag 13 star lies 2.1' NW of center. Forms a pair with NGC 4550 3.2' SSW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4551 = H. I-37 = h1349 on 17 Apr 1784 (sweep 199) and recorded "Two small but bright nebula; both lE." John Herschel made 2 observations and recorded (sweep 245) "pB; R; bM; 25"; the nf of 2; place by comparison with the preceding."
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12 35 39.9 +12 33 20; Vir
V = 9.8; Size 5.1'x4.7'; Surf Br = 13.2
17.5" (4/25/87): very bright, irregularly round, fairly small but high surface brightness with an intense, very small bright core and substellar nucleus. Forms a pair with NGC 4550/NGC 4551 pair 20' S.
Charles Messier discovered M89 = NGC 4552 = h1348 on 18 Mar 1781. William Herschel first (and only?) observation on 17 Apr 1784 (sweep 199) reads "B, pS."
John Herschel made four observations. Two examples are 10 Apr 1825 (sweep 2): "F; R; gradually brighter in the middle; 25"; has a * nf." and 4 May 1829 (sweep 192): "B; R; gradually brighter in the middle; 40...50" [diameter]."
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12 36 07.5 -39 26 20; Cen
V = 12.2; Size 2.1'x1.0'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 176°
17.5" (4/7/89): fairly faint, oval NNW-SSE. A mag 11.5/12.5 double star at 22"
separation lies 3.6' NNE. This
possible member of the Centaurus galaxy cluster (AGC 3526) is located 10' SW of
mag 6.8
John Herschel discovered NGC 4553 = h3400 on 22 Apr 1835 and recorded "F; R; or lE; gradually little brighter middle." His single position is accurate.
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12 35 42 +11 11; Vir
= Not found, Dreyer and Corwin.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4554 in 1882 while observing NGC 4567/4568 (the "Siamese Twins"). He noted in the text portion of paper V "The double nebula is preceded by a very faint nebula, about -50 sec in RA and -2 1/2' in dec, according to my drawing." There is nothing at Tempel's offset and neither Bigourdan (visually) nor Royal Frost (photographically at the Harvard College Observatory) could locate Tempel's object. Both Dorothy Carlson, in her 1940 list of NGC Corrections and RNGC classify the number nonexistent and Harold Corwin was unsuccessful searching for a good candidate.
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12 35 41.2 +26 31 23; Com
V = 12.1; Size 1.9'x1.6'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 125°
17.5" (4/13/02): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated
3:2 WNW-ESE, 1.0'x0.7', very small bright core. With averted vision the major axis increases a little and
the core seems irregular with a fleeting impression of a knot on the preceding
side of the core. Located 33' NNW
of
William Herschel discovered NGC 4555 = H. II-343 = h1350 on
6 Apr 1785 (sweep 393) and noted "a nebula, not large." Caroline's reduction is 7 seconds of
time preceding and 1.5' S of
Max Wolf mistakenly catalogued NGC 4555 in his 4th discovery
list (W. IV-211) and labeled a much fainter nearby galaxy as NGC 4555. As a result
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12 35 45.6 +26 54 32; Com
V = 13.1; Size 1.2'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 80°
18" (5/12/07): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly
elongated E-W, 0.6'x0.5', bright core, very small brighter nucleus. A mag 14
star is just off the south side.
First in a group with
IC 3556, located 4.4' northeast of NGC 4556, appeared very faint, small, slightly elongated N-S, 20"x15". This galaxy is misidentified in CGCG, MCG, UGC, and PGC as either NGC 4563 or NGC 4558.
IC 3561, located 4.2' east-southeast of NGC 4556, appeared very faint, very small, round, 20" diameter.
18" (4/5/03): fairly faint, small, slightly elongated, 0.7'x0.6'. A mag 13.5 star is just off the south edge 0.7' from center. Forms a pair with NGC 4558 5.2' NNE. Several other faint galaxies are nearby but the sky conditions were deteriorating and I wasn't able to search for these.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4556 = H. II-380 = h1351 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and noted "F, pL." His position (Caroline's reduction) is 14 sec of time too large. John Herschel made two observations and measured a more accurate RA. There are several identifications problems within this group. See NGC 4558 for more.
******************************
12 35 49.8 +27 03 14; Com
= ***?, Corwin and Thomson. Incorrect identification in the RNGC.
Guillaume Bigourdan discovered NGC 4557 = Big. 55 on 22 Apr 1886 and simply noted a "star accompanied by nebulosity." His position in Comptes Rendus (5 Dec 1887) is 1.5' south of a faint triple star (mag 14.5/15/15.5) in a 30" line, and Harold Corwin confirms his offset from nearby NGC 4558 points to this triple.
RNGC appears to misidentify IC 3559 as NGC 4557, although the rectangular coordinates would then be in error. MCG and PGC misidentify NGC 4558 as NGC 4557 and IC 3556 as NGC 4558. Malcolm Thomson and Harold Corwin sorted out the correct identifications.
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NGC 4558 = MCG +05-30-028 = CGCG 159-023 = PGC 41996
12 35 52.6 +26 59 31; Com
V = 14.4; Size 0.7'x0.4'; Surf Br = 12.8
18" (5/12/07): faint, very small, round, 20"-24" diameter, slightly brighter core. Symmetrically placed on the opposite side of a mag 13 located at the midpoint of NGC 4556 and NGC 4558. Located 5.2' NNE of NGC 4556 in a small group. IC 3556 lies 2' SE and appeared very faint, small, slightly elongated N-S, 20"x15". IC 3559 is 2.4' E, but with mag(B) = 16.6, it was only glimpsed knowing the exact location.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4558 = h1354 on 19 Apr 1827 and logged "vF; the nf of 2 (the p is II 380); a third suspected. His offset is 10 sec of RA east and 3' north of NGC 4556 (measured the same sweep). Unfortunately, his position falls very close to IC 3556, though d'Arrest measured two good positions so the NGC position is less than 1' off.
MCG and PGC misidentify this galaxy as NGC 4557 and misidentify IC 3556 as NGC 4558. See Harold Corwin's identification notes for more.
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12 35 57.7 +27 57 36; Com
V = 10.0; Size 10.7'x4.4'; Surf Br = 14.0; PA = 150°
48" (4/7/13): very bright, very large, very elongated
3:1 NW-SE, 9'x3', large bright core that gradually increased to the
center. The core appeared irregular,
mottled and dusty. The inner
portion of the disc showed weak spiral structure. At 488x, the outer halo was very patchy with several knots. Superimposed on the southeast side are
three mag 12/12.5/13 stars between 1.5'-2' from center and the galaxy faded out
rapidly beyond these stars to the southeast. Near the southeast end is
The outer halo faded out gradually and extended much further
on the northwest side, up to 5' NW of center.
17.5" (4/9/99): bright, large, elongated 5:3 NW-SE, ~7'x3'. Exhibits a striking, unusual appearance with a broad, weak concentration to a large, elongated core. The overall surface brightness is noticeably irregular with hints of brighter and darker spots. The outer halo has a low surface brightness, particularly on the SE end which is wider than the NW side and shows no tapering. A trio of mag 12-12.5 stars cradle the galaxy at this end and there appears to be mottling near the superimposed stars. NGC 4559 is located exactly 2.0° N of NGC 4565.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4559 = H. I-92 = h1352 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396). His description reads, "extremely bright, very large, beautiful. Four stars are scattered over it. pretty much extended from np to sf. The greatest brightness is not in the middle but more towards the following part, where 3 of the 4 stars are placed; the whole extent may be 10 or 12'.
John Herschel made 3 observations and described it as "vL; gradually brighter in the middle, but not to a nucleus; mE; has 3 stars south following. By a diagram, the southern end is broader than the northern, giving it a clubbed appeared."
IC 3550-52, IC 3555, and IC 3563 are HII regions and/or star clouds within NGC 4559 that were discovered photographically by Max Wolf on a Heidelberg plate.
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12 34 03.1 +07 41 59; Vir
See observing notes for NGC 4526.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4560 = H. I-119 = h1353 on 28 Dec 1785 (sweep 498) and noted "vB, pS." There is nothing near his position although his description implies a prominent nebula. But 2 min of RA preceding his position is NGC 4526, which fits the description. If this is the case, Herschel catalogued the galaxy three times as I-31, I-38 and I-119.
John Herschel made the single observation "B, L, R, gradually brighter in the middle", although the RA is marked +/-.
Bigourdan and Winnecke (visually), and later Arnold Schwassmann and Karl Reinmuth (photographically) were all unable to locate an object near WH's position. See Corwin's identification notes for more.
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12 36 08.2 +19 19 20; Com
V = 12.5; Size 1.5'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 30°
18" (4/5/03): fairly faint, moderately large, round, 1.0' diameter, weak concentration in halo, but suddenly contains a very small brighter core.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4561 = H. II-407 = h1355 on
27 Apr 1785 (sweep 403) and noted "pB, pL, lE." His RA was 15 sec too large. John Herschel made a total of 4
observations and d'Arrest measured the position twice, so the NGC position is
an excellent match with
Royal Frost found the galaxy at Arequipa on a Bruce 24-inch plate (taken on the night of 9 May 1904) and reported as number 978 in Harvard Annals 60. His position is 11 sec of RA too far east. Dreyer apparently thought it was new, but NGC 4561 = IC 3569. NGC 4336 = IC 3254 is another similar situation.
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12 35 34.8 +25 51 00; Com
V = 13.5; Size 2.5'x0.8'; Surf Br = 14.1; PA = 48°
17.5" (5/13/88): faint, fairly small, elongated SW-NE, even surface brightness.
17.5" (3/23/85): faint, small, elongated SW-NE, low even surface brightness, visible with direct vision. Elongated at a right angle to NGC 4565 13' NE. Located just south of a string of five mag 10-12.5 stars of length 11' oriented N-S.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4562 in 1882 while observing
NGC 4565. In the text portion of
his 5th paper (AN 2439), he mentioned another nebula was found south preceding
NGC 4565, though no offset was mentioned.
Dreyer gives a very rough position in the NGC. The only galaxy in this location that Tempel might have
picked up is
Due to the poor NGC position, this galaxy was found on
Crossley plates taken at Lick Observatory in 1898-1900 and catalogued as a new
nebula (#508 of 744) in the 1908 Publications of Lick Observatory, Vol
VIII. The RNGC also calls this
galaxy
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NGC 4563 = (R)NGC 4557 = MCG +05-30-033 = PGC 42030
12 36 12.8 +26 56 28; Com
V = 14.8; Size 0.6'x0.4'; PA = 104°
18" (5/12/07): faint, very small, round, 15" diameter, stellar nucleus. A very faint star appears to be at the west edge. Comparable in brightness to NGC 4558 located 5.4' NW. Located in a small knot of galaxies with NGC 4556 6' WSW.
18" (4/5/03): faint, extremely small, round, 10"-15" diameter. Appears to have a mag 14.5 star superimposed on the west edge or a fairly bright offset stellar nucleus.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4563 on 13 Apr 1864 with
the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His two micrometric positions match
RNGC misidentifies this galaxy as NGC 4557. Furthermore, CGCG and RNGC misidentify IC 3556 (located 3.5' west-northwest of NGC 4563) as NGC 4563. Finally, in the UGC notes for NGC 4556, IC 3556 is misidentified as NGC 4536.
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12 36 27.0 +11 26 21; Vir
V = 11.1; Size 3.5'x1.5'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 47°
17.5" (4/25/87): fairly bright, fairly small, elongated SW-NE, sharp concentration; increases suddenly to a small bright core with a stellar nucleus, fainter extensions. The NGC 4567/NGC 4568 pair lies 11'S at the edge of the 220x field.
13.1" (5/14/83): moderately bright, small, edge-on streak, fairly high surface brightness.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4564 = H. II-68 = h1356 on 15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174) and noted "pB". The terse description is probably due to the multitude of galaxies passing through his field. Immediately afterwards he logged the impressive Siamese Twins, NGC 4567 and NGC 4568. He was able to view all three in the same field. John Herschel made two observations and measured an accurate position.
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NGC 4565 = UGC 7772 = MCG +04-30-006 = CGCG 129-010 = FGC 1471 = Holm 426a = PGC 42038 = The Needle Galaxy = Berenice's Hairclip
12 36 20.8 +25 59 16; Com
V = 9.6; Size 15.8'x2.1'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 136°
48" (2/18/12): the view of the dust lane and structure along its edge was remarkable at 287x and 375x. But we spent time exploring the distant galaxy cluster (2.2 billion light years) that resides just off the SE tip and detected three mag 17.7-18 (V) members! Also three nights later, we revisited the cluster and I picked up SDSS J123631.45+255857.2, a mag 17.7V galaxy just 2' SE of the mag 13.5 star NE of the core of NGC 4565.
17.5" (several dates 3/28/87 to 3/24/90): bright, very large, edge-on 12:1 NW-SE, dimensions approximately 16'x1.5'. A beautiful dark lane is visible continuously with direct vision along most of major axis although more prominent in the center. The galaxy is split asymmetrically by the dust lane with the southern half both larger and brighter. Subtle scalloped structure is visible along the dust lane. Contains a small bright core with a stellar nucleus at the south edge of the lane. A mag 13.5 star is 1.6' NE of the center. A string of five mag 10-12.5 stars of length 11' oriented N-S is west of the galaxy and the southern end leads directly to NGC 4562, 13' SW of center.
13.1" (4/28/84 and 5/27/84): the absorption lane is prominent at 100x and portion of the galaxy beyond fairly easy. A stellar nucleus is visible within the bright central bulge.
13.1" (5/14/83): fairly bright, very large thin streak, bright core. The dust lane is clearly visible to the north of the bright nucleus along the central portion of the galaxy.
13.1" (4/24/82): a faint dark lane splits the central bulge into two unequal parts. The nucleus is brightest to the south of the lane. The strip of the galaxy on the north side of the dust lane is fainter.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4565 = H. V-24 = h1357 on 6 Apr 1785 (sweep 393). He recorded "a lucid ray with a very bright spot in the middle. The ray about 20' long [extending beyond his 15' field at 158x] and about 3 or 4' broad; extended from np to sf, making an angle of about 35° with the meridian. The nebula makes a beautiful appearance."
John Herschel made 4 observations and noted the fainter strip on the northeast side of the dust lane. On 28 Mar 1832 (sweep 407) he recorded "vL; an immensely long ray; pos = 134.5° by micrometer. Both Lord Adare and Mr Hamilton, who viewed it with me, agreed that a feeble parallel band extends below (north) of the nucleus."
R.J. Mitchell, Lord Rosse's assistant on 17 Apr 1855 , remarked "a beautiful object, very well seen in finding eyepiece. The whole neb is much broader (taking into account the appendage) at Nucl than elsewhere, narrowing off suddenly and very symmetrically towards both ends, and the Nucl projects forward into the dark space; and immediately opposide this the faint appendage is broadest and brightest. The ray is 12' or 14' long and there is a faint star at Alpha [on diagram]. (Mr. Johnstone Stoney [on vacation from teaching] was with me)."
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12 36 00.1 +54 13 15; UMa
V = 13.1; Size 1.3'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 80°
18" (5/8/04): faint, small, slightly elongated, 0.5'x0.4'. Increases to a very small brighter core and faint stellar nucleus.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4566 = H. III-880 = h1360 on
2 Apr 1791 (sweep 1001) and noted "eF, S." His position is poor - 4.5' north and 15 sec of RA west of
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NGC 4567 = VV 219b = UGC 7777 = MCG +02-32-151 = CGCG 070-189 = Holm 427b = PGC 42064 = The Siamese Twins
12 36 32.7 +11 15 29; Vir
V = 11.3; Size 3.0'x2.0'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 85°
17.5" (4/25/87): northern member of a double system with NGC 4568. Moderately bright, fairly small, elongated 3:2 ~E-W. Slightly smaller than NGC 4568 attached at the east end but NGC 4567 has a slightly higher surface brightness.
13.1" (4/16/83): fairly faint, elongated E-W. NGC 4568 is attached at the NE end.
8" (4/16/83): faint, moderately large, appears as a double nebula at moderately large to high power.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4567 = H. IV-8 = h1358 = h1363, together with NGC 4568, on 15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174). He recorded a "double nebula [with NGC 4568], or two pretty considerable nebula apparently running into one another. The foregoing nebula [NGC 4564] may be taken into the field of view these two." Caroline's reduced position is ~6' southeast of the Siamese Twins.
Because of his father's poor position, John Herschel recorded the pair as a Nova (h1358 and 1359) at the correct position. He also made another observation with a poor position (h1363), but correctly associated h1363 with IV-8 and IV-9. The error was noted by d'Arrest in a 1863 paper.
The nickname "Siamese Twins" was coined by Leland S. Copeland and mentioned in his Feb. 1955 article "Adventuring in the Virgo Cloud".
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NGC 4568 = VV 219a = UGC 7776 = MCG +02-32-152 = CGCG 070-189 = Holm 427a = PGC 42069 = The Siamese Twins
12 36 34.2 +11 14 25; Vir
V = 10.8; Size 4.6'x2.0'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 23°
17.5" (4/25/87): this is the southern member of a double system with NGC 4567. The NE end of this galaxy is nearly attached to the east end of NGC 4567. Moderately bright and large, elongated 5:2 SSW-NNE, large brighter core. Two mag 11/12 stars lie 3.5' E.
13.1" (4/16/83): fairly faint, elongated SW-NE, two stars following.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4568 = H. IV-9 = h1359 = 1363, along with NGC 4567, on 15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174). He recorded both together as a "double nebula [with NGC 4567], or two p. considerable nebula apparently running into one another. The foregoing nebula [NGC 4564] may be taken into the field of view these two." See NGC 4567 for more.
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12 36 49.9 +13 09 44; Vir
V = 9.5; Size 9.5'x4.4'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 23°
17.5" (4/25/87): bright, large, very elongated 3:1
SSW-NNE, sharply concentrated, suddenly increases to a bright stellar nucleus
(possibly a superimposed star), fairly even surface brightness to halo.
Charles Messier discovered M90 = NGC 4569 on 18 Mar 1781.
William Herschel observed M90 on 8 Apr 1784 (sweep 187). He described it as "pretty large, with a nucleus, perhaps cometic, but moonlight permits not to give a proper description." John Herschel made no observations.
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12 36 53.4 +07 14 47; Vir
V = 10.9; Size 3.8'x1.1'; Surf Br = 12.4; PA = 159°
17.5" (3/24/90): bright, fairly large, very elongated 3:1 NNW-SSE, 3:1x1.0', very bright core, stellar nucleus.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4570 = H. I-32 = h1361 on 13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191). He described it as "pretty bright, not large, elongated, much brighter in the middle." On 1 May 1786 (sweep 560) he called this galaxy "very bright, elongated in the meridian [N-S], bright nucleus with faint branches." The branches are just the outer part of the elongated disc and do not refer to spiral structure.
John Herschel made five observations and recorded on sweep 117, "vB; mE; very small much brighter middle; 2' long; pretty bright arms and a resolvable centre."
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12 36 56.4 +14 13 02; Com
V = 11.3; Size 3.6'x3.2'; Surf Br = 13.8; PA = 55°
17.5" (5/23/87): fairly faint, moderately large, round,
2.5' diameter, diffuse, weak concentration. Located 2.8' SE of mag 8.5
48" (2/18/12): Malin 1, a giant low surface brightness galaxy, lies 6.8' NNE of the center of NGC 4571. At 287x, it was immediately picked up as an extremely faint, non-stellar glow. At 488x, it was visible ~75% of the time with averted vision as a very small, round, low surface brightness, ~10" diameter. With direct vision, a faint stellar nucleus was occasionally visible.
Malin 1, discovered in 1986 on an image by David Malin, has the most extended low surface brightness outer halo of any known disk galaxy with a diameter of 650,000 light years. More recently it was discovered that within 30,000 light-years of Malin 1's center lies a normal barred spiral galaxy. The galaxy lies at a distance of 1.1 billion light years.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4571 = H. III-602 = h1362 on 14 Jan 1787 (sweep 691) and recorded "vF, cL, very gradually brighter middle. South of a cB star." John Herschel called this galaxy "vF; pL; E; very gradually brighter middle; attached like a nail to a star (place that of the star.) He included a sketch in the Slough Catalogue. His observation of h1367 may also apply to this galaxy.
Arnold Schwassmann found NGC 4571 again on 12 Sep 1900 with
a plate taken by Wolf with the 6" astrograph at the Königstuhl Observatory
in Heidelberg. But he
misidentified the nearby 14th mag star to the west (Sn. 292) as NGC 4571 and
listed Sn. 293 (later
Dreyer mentioned this galaxy as a possible candidate for M91, though this is very unlikely due to its faintness. See Corwin's identification notes.
******************************
12 35 45.5 +74 14 34; Dra
V = 13.9; Size 1.6'x0.5'; Surf Br = 14.3; PA = 170°
18" (5/8/04): faint, moderately large, appears as a
very low surface brightness glow oriented NNW-SSE, ~1.2'x0.8', with just a weak
concentration. Located 7.5' NW of
brighter
William Herschel discovered NGC 4572 = H. III-939 = h1364 on
10 Dec 1797 (sweep 1066). He noted
"extremely faint, small." Caroline's reduction is 3' south of
John Herschel made the single observation, "eF, only to
be seen with very long attention."
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12 37 43.7 -43 37 16; Cen
V = 13.0; Size 2.6'x2.0'; Surf Br = 14.6; PA = 150°
14" (4/2/16 - Coonabarabran, 160x): fairly faint to
moderately bright, fairly small, slightly elongated E-W, ~0.8'x0.6', increases
in size with averted. Using direct
vision a stellar nucleus was seen.
A mag 10.5 star is 1' N, close off the north edge. Located 16' SE of mag 7.6
John Herschel discovered NGC 4573 = h3401 on 15 Mar 1836 and
recorded "vF; S; almost exactly south of a * 10m, 30"
dist." His position and
description matches
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12 37 43.6 -35 31 04; Cen
V = 13.0; Size 1.7'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 113°
18" (3/28/09): very faint, moderately large, elongated 4:3 WNW-ESE, 1.2'x0.9', low surface brightness, weak concentration and the halo fades into the background.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4574 = h3402 on 20 Apr 1835 and
recorded "vF; L; lE; very gradually little brighter middle; 60" l,
40" br." His position is
just off the northeast side of
******************************
12 37 51.2 -40 32 15; Cen
V = 12.6; Size 2.0'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 106°
17.5" (4/7/89): very faint, very elongated ~E-W. A mag 12 star is at the west end 1.0' from center and a mag 11.5 star is 1.6' SW of center. Member of the Centaurus cluster (AGC 3526).
John Herschel discovered NGC 4575 = h3403 on 8 Jun 1834 and
recorded "F; pmE; 25" l, 15" br; follows 2 stars." His position and description matches
******************************
12 37 33.6 +04 22 03; Vir
V = 13.8; Size 1.2'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 159°
17.5" (4/21/90): very faint, small, elongated 3:2
NNW-SSE, low surface brightness. A
mag 12.5 star is 1.8' N of center.
Located 8' NW of mag 6.9
Edward Holden discovered NGC 4576 on 27 Apr 1881 with the
15.6-inch Clark refractor at the Washburn Observatory and recorded "F; np
a star 7th mag." A second
observation on 20 Apr 1882 added "preceding GC 3125 [ NGC 4586] 55.5 sec
and 3' north." His position
and description matches
******************************
NGC 4577 = NGC 4591?? = UGC 7821 = MCG +01-32-125 = CGCG 042-191
12 39 12.4 +06 00 44; Vir
See observing notes for
William Herschel discovered NGC 4577 = H. III-13 on 28 Jan 1784 (sweep 132) and recorded "a minute before [the transit of 24 Vir] I suspected a vS neb, but while I put on a higher power to examine it, I lost it and would not stop too long to look for it again." A very rough position was noted.
Harold Corwin notes the star 24 Vir is actually a duplicate
entry for 5 Boo, so Herschel made an error as his sweep is not near this star.
"There are no galaxies in any of the places that come from WH's
observations, from GC/NGC, or from attempting to correct WH's RAs using the
idea that H. II 26 = NGC 4453 (the only other nebula found that night) is
actually NGC 4430. However, the approximate RA that we do have, along with the
constraints on the declination, point to either
******************************
12 37 30.6 +09 33 19; Vir
V = 11.5; Size 3.3'x2.5'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 35°
17.5" (4/18/87): moderately bright, fairly small, oval 3:2 SW-NE, 1.5'x1.0', small bright core with possibly a stellar nucleus. A mag 10.5 star lies 4.1' W of center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4578 = H. II-15 = h1365 = h1366 on 18 Jan 1784 (sweep 86) and recorded "F, S. It is not cometic though pretty round; of the first class." John Herschel made two observations which differed by 5' in declination, so he was uncertain if they refered to the same object. As a result, he included two GC designations which Dreyer combined in the NGC.
******************************
12 37 43.5 +11 49 06; Vir
V = 9.7; Size 5.9'x4.7'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 95°
17.5" (4/25/87): bright, moderately large, slightly
elongated 4:3 WSW-ENE, small very bright core, stellar nucleus. Located 7.6' E of mag 8.3
13.1": bright, increase to a small bright core, slightly elongated E-W, diffuse halo.
Charles Messier discovered M58 = NGC 4579 = h1368 (along
with
William Parsons (Lord Rosse) or an assistant apparently noticed spiral structure in M58 by 1850 as it was included in the listed of "Spiral or curvilinear" nebulae in the 1850 PT paper. The 1861 and 1880 monographs, though, do not list an observation earlier than 1851.
******************************
NGC 4580 = UGC 7794 = MCG +01-32-117 = CGCG 042-183 = PGC 42174
12 37 48.4 +05 22 08; Vir
V = 11.8; Size 2.1'x1.6'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 165°
17.5" (4/21/90): moderately bright, moderately large, irregular shape though slightly elongated NW-SE, broad concentration with an uneven surface brightness.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4580 = H. I-124 = h1369 on 2
Feb 1786 (sweep 521) and noted "pB, cL, R." Caroline's reduction is 1.4' northwest of
******************************
12 38 05.2 +01 28 39; Vir
V = 12.5; Size 1.9'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 173°
17.5" (4/4/92): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 3:2 N-S, even concentration to a small bright core.
Edward Holden discovered NGC 4581 on 20 Apr 1882 with the
15.6-inch refractor at the Washburn Observatory and recorded "F, S, bM, stell
N" (Publications of the Washburn Observatory, Vol II, p101). His position is 1' north of
******************************
12 38 10.1 +00 10 57; Vir
= *, Carlson and Corwin.
Sidney Coolidge discovered NGC 4582 = HN 20 on 30 Apr 1859 with the 15-inch refractor of Harvard College Observatory during the Zone Survey of equatorial stars. He simply noted "in a faint nebulosity" and at his exact position is a single mag 13.4 star -- this mirrors his other 8 discoveries at HCO! Karl Reinmuth and Harold Corwin also equate NGC 4582 with a star.
******************************
12 38 04.4 +33 27 31; CVn
V = 13.5; Size 1.1'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.6
17.5" (4/28/89): faint, small, round, bright core. Two mag 15 star are 1' NW and 1' NE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4583 = H. III-495 = h1370 on
2 Jan 1786 (sweep 508) and recorded "eF, S, iF, r." His position is within 1' of
******************************
12 38 17.9 +13 06 35; Vir
V = 12.9; Size 1.4'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 5°
18" (4/10/04): fairly faint, fairly small, round, 40" diameter, weak concentration.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4584 on 21 Apr 1862 with
the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His measurements on 3 nights matches
******************************
12 38 13.3 +28 56 13; Com
V = 14.1; Size 0.8'x0.5'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 114°
18" (4/10/04): faint, small, round, 25" diameter,
low even surface brightness.
Located 5.8' W of mag 10.3
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4585 = Sf. 21 on 21 Apr
1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His single micrometric position is an excellent match with
******************************
NGC 4586 = UGC 7804 = MCG +01-32-122 = CGCG 042-187 = PGC 42241
12 38 28.4 +04 19 08; Vir
V = 11.7; Size 4.0'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 115°
17.5" (2/28/87): moderately bright, moderately large, elongated 5:2 NW-SE. Contains a very bright core. Located 10' E of mag 6.9 SAO 119502. NGC 4576 lies 15' WNW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4586 = H. I-125 = h1371 on 2 Feb 1786 (sweep 521) and recorded "pB, pL, E." His position at the north edge of UGC 7804. John Herschel made two observations and logged "pB; pmE; pretty suddenly brighter in the middle." on sweep 141.
******************************
12 38 35.4 +02 39 26; Vir
V = 13.4; Size 1.1'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 48°
17.5" (4/21/90): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly elongated SW-NE, weak concentration. Surrounded by seven mag 13-14.5 stars within a 3' radius.
Johann Palisa discovered NGC 4587 on 17 Apr 1882 with the
12-inch refractor at Vienna University Observatory. His discovery position in
AN 2520 matches
******************************
12 38 45.4 +06 46 05; Vir
V = 14.3; Size 1.3'x0.4'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 57°
18" (3/13/04): faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1 WSW-ENE, 0.8'x0.4'. Observations made through thin clouds.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4588 = H. III-98 on 13 Apr
1784 (sweep 191). His description
reads, "eF, eS. By a
misunderstanding the time & number [PD] was not taken; however at 12h 24m
the time was marked down, which was less than 1 min after the transit of the
nebula; so that the time of the nebula must be about 12h 23m or 12h 23m
30s. The number as far as I can
recollect might perhaps be about 40, which gives 45'; but is more uncertain
than the time. I saw the nebula very well." Though very possibly a coincidence, his rough position is
just 2.4' northeast of
******************************
NGC 4589 = UGC 7797 = MCG +12-12-013 = CGCG 352-038 = CGCG 335-017 = LGG 284-008 = PGC 42139
12 37 25.0 +74 11 31; Dra
V = 10.7; Size 3.2'x2.6'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 75°
18" (5/8/04): bright, fairly large, elongated ~4:3 E-W,
2.5'x2.0'. Sharply concentrated
with a very bright prominent core and a fainter halo. A mag 13 star is at the west edge of the core. Forms a pair with NGC 4572 7.5' NW and
William Herschel discovered NGC 4589 = H. I-273 = h1374 on 22 Nov 1797 (sweep 1064) and logged "vB, R, mbM, 3 or 4' dia." His position is 4.5' too far SE. This was first sweep since 18 Oct 1784, a span of over three years! The sweep was conducted in the north, but under the pole.
John Herschel made 4 observations, recording on sweep 348 "B; R; pretty gradually much brighter middle; 30"; a S * np; dist 1'." His position on this sweep was very accurate.
******************************
12 39 28.0 -26 44 35; Hya
V = 7.7; Size 12.0'; Surf Br = 0.1
24" (5/22/17): at 375x; very bright, well resolved globular with quite a number of surprisingly bright stars [brightest stars Vtip = 12.6] spread over the central region and around the edges, giving a fairly loose appearance [class X]. The unresolved central background glow is large and bright. Perhaps 60-75 stars are resolved in the central region, but excluding the outer portion of the halo, which also seems to contain a number of brighter stars out to at least 8'.
17.5" (2/28/87): 30-50 stars resolved including many fairly bright stars over unresolved background haze.
13.1" (3/24/84): about 20 stars resolved around edges of core and in halo. The core is mottled but unresolved.
8" (3/24/84): few stars resolved across disk.
Charles Messier discovered
William Herschel first observed M68 on 28 Mar 1786 (sweep 550) and recorded: "a beautiful cluster of very compressed stars, irregular figure but chiefly round. There are very few scattered stars about it; all the stars red, near 3' broad and about 4' long." The comment about consisting of red stars was repeated in several other descriptions of globular clusters. In his 1814 PT publication he noted "this oval cluster is also approaching to the globular form, and the central compression is carried to a high degree." John Herschel a the single observation: "GC; irr R; gradually brighter in the middle; diam in RA = 12...15 sec. All clearly resolved into stars 12 m; very loose and ragged at the borders."
******************************
NGC 4591 = NGC 4577? = UGC 7821 = MCG +01-32-125 = CGCG 042-191 = PGC 42319
12 39 12.4 +06 00 44; Vir
V = 13.1; Size 1.6'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 37°
18" (4/10/04): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 5:2 SW-NE, 0.7'x0.3', weak concentration.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4591 = H. III-504 = h1372 on 2 Feb 1786 (sweep 521) and noted "vF, vS." NGC 4577 is possibly an earlier observation. See that number.
******************************
12 39 18.3 -00 31 53; Vir
V = 11.7; Size 5.8'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.9; PA = 97°
17.5" (2/28/87): moderately bright, elongated 5:2 ~E-W, moderately large, 3.0'x1.2', weak concentration. Located 1° NNW of beautiful double Porrima = Gamma Virginis (3.6/3.7 at 4").
William Herschel discovered NGC 4592 = H. II-31 = h1373 on 22 Feb 1784 (sweep 153) and recorded "a nebula; extended from east to west and also towards the north; it is not cometic and seems to be resolvable." His sketch shows the object bulging towards the north in the center.
John Herschel made a single observation:on 14 Apr 1828 (sweep 145): "eF; L; pmE; very gradually little brighter middle." He made an error, though, precessing the coordinates for the GC, so the published position was 30' too far N. As a result, when Edward Holden found it again on 23 Apr 1881 he reported it as new (#8) in Publ. of the Washburn Observatory, Vol I.
******************************
12 39 39.4 -05 20 39; Vir
V = 10.9; Size 3.9'x2.9'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 55°
48" (4/28/22): at 488x; very bright and large barred spiral, elongated SW-NE. Sharply concentrated with an intensely bright core and an even brighter nucleus! The bar itself is very well-defined. At the SW end a very short arm curls counterclockwise towards the N and a short curving extension is symmetric at the NE end of the bar. The incipient arms fade quickly into the general faint glow of the halo.
17.5" (2/28/87): fairly bright, moderately large,
elongated WSW-ENE, very bright core, stellar nucleus. First of four in a group (USGC S181) within a 32' field
including
17.5" (1/31/87): moderately bright and large, strong bright core, elongated WSW-ENE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4593 = H. II-183 = h1375 on 24 Apr 1784 (sweep 205) and recorded "pB, cL, E, mbM but the brightness confined to a small place." John Herschel made two observations and first logged (sweep 147) "very small brighter middle to a * 11-12m, with a faint chevelure."
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12 39 59.4 -11 37 23; Vir
V = 8.0; Size 8.7'x3.5'; Surf Br = 11.6; PA = 89°
82" (5/4/19 and 5/5/19, McDonald Observatory): at 400x; remarkable view of the Sombrero with a shockingly black dust lane (like an occulting bar) oriented precisely vertically through the entire eyepiece field. Perhaps due to the curvature of the dust lane towards the tips and subtle structure in the galaxy's disc, the view had 3-dimensional depth, with the dust lane in front and the disc trailing into the background.
Sombrero UCD 1, an Ultra-Compact Dwarf discovered in 2009,
was easily visible as a slightly soft mag 17.5 "star", 2.6' SSE of
the center of
48" (2/20/12, 4/5/13, 4/30/19): stunning view of the jet-black super high-contrast dust lane at 375x. The fainter section of the galaxy south of the dust lane was quite prominent and nearly as extensive as the northern half and the central bulge region was noticeably thicker in proportion to the major axis than views in smaller scopes. I also clearly noticed that although the dust lane was very flat in the central region (oriented precisely E-W), it bent slightly north and widened just a bit on both the east and west ends of the disc, giving it a slightly warped appearance.
17.5" (3/12/94): very bright, very large, elongated 3:1 E-W, 7.5'x2.5'. Very prominent dust lane along the entire length of the major axis and divides the core into two non-symmetric sections. The prominent section of the core is just north of the dark lane. Overall, the galaxy is brighter and much more extensive to the north of the lane. The portion of the core and halo south of the dust lane is much fainter, smaller and unconcentrated. A mag 10 star lies 4' WSW.
13.1" (4/24/82 and 5/21/82): very bright, large, very elongated, arms long and thin. A prominent dark lane is visible along the length of the galaxy. Only a faint glow is visible to the south of the dust lane.
8" (7/5/80): bright, large, central bulge, south edge has a sharp light cut off [due to dust].
15x50mm (6/19/08 and 4/6/13): easily visible in binoculars as a elongated glow with brighter center.
Pierre Méchain discovered M104 = NGC 4594 = H. I-43 = h1376 on 11 May 1781, after Messier's final catalogue was sent to publication. The discovery was mentioned in a letter dated 6 May 1783 to Johann Bernoulli, the editor of the Berliner Astronomisches Jahrbuch. He wrote, "On May 11, 1781, I have discovered a nebula above Corvus; it did not appear to me to contain stars; it is faint & very difficult to see when the wires of the micrometer are illuminated; I have compared it on this day & the following to the Ear of Virgo [Spica], & I have derived its right ascension 187d 9' 42", its south. declin. 10d 24' 49". It is not included in the Connoissance des tems." The note was published near the end of the 1786 Jarbuch volume. Messier penciled in the position into his own copy of his catalogue, published in 1784. French astronomer Camille Flammarion introduced the new designation M104 in 1921.
As M104 wasn't published in Messier's catalogue, William Herschel independently discovered it on 9 May 1784 (sweep 210) and catalogued it as new. He described H. I-43 as "elongated, very bright middle, about 5 or 6' long, but daylight is too strong to see the whole extent of it. The bright place in the middle is pretty large, but breaks off abruptly." The abrupt break is due to the dust lane on the south side, but he didn't specifically mention a dark division. He made a second observation on 11 Mar 1788 (sweep 819): "much elongated, from about 20° sp. to nf., BN, 4 or 5' long."
John Herschel was the first to comment on the dust lane. On 9 Mar 1828, he recorded "vB, vmE, in pos 2° np to sf; very suddenly much brighter middle to a nucleus; 5' l, 30" br, a bright star sp. There is a faint diffused oval light all about it, and I am almost positive that there is a dark interval or stratum separating the nucleus and the general mass of the nebula from the light above (south) of it. Surely no illusion." In his sketch (Fig. 50) he adds the remarks "The strong suspicion of a parallel appendage to the latter of these, is almost converted into certainty by its undoubted existence in V. 24 [NGC 4565], in which it was seen by two other observers as well as by myself." Later sketches were made by William Lassell in 1862 with his 48" and Wilhelm Tempel in 1882 with an 11" refractor. The first photo was taken by Isaac Roberts in April 1897.
Francis Pease first measured the rotation of M104's galactic disk in 1916 at Mount Wilson. Two years later he did the same with M31.
Leland Copeland called M104 the "Sombrero" in the June 1942 issue of S&T. The back cover featured an image taken by the Mount Wilson 60-inch in 1916. The image is referred to as the "Sombrero nebula". The classic photo of M104 was made with the Palomar 200-inch in 1950 and published in the Hubble Atlas of Galaxies.
******************************
12 39 51.9 +15 17 52; Com
V = 12.1; Size 1.7'x1.1'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 110°
17.5" (4/13/02): moderately bright and large, elongated 3:2 WNW-ESE, 1.0'x0.7', broad concentration. Followed by two mag 12.5 stars which lie 2.5' E and 3.1' SE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4595 = H. II-632 = h1377 on
14 Jan 1787 (sweep 691) and logged "F, pL, R, very gradually brighter
middle." Caroline's reduced
position is 2.5' northeast of
******************************
12 39 56.0 +10 10 34; Vir
V = 10.4; Size 4.0'x3.0'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 135°
17.5" (4/18/87): bright, elongated WSW-ENE, small
bright core, possible substellar nucleus.
A mag 12.5 star is 1.1' SSE of center at the edge of the halo and two
brighter mag 10/11 stars are 3' SE.
13.1" (4/16/83): bright, moderately large, bright core, elongated ~E-W. Located about 30' W of mag 5 Rho Virginis.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4596 = H. I-24 = h1378 on 15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174) and noted "pB". His RA was 40 seconds too large. John Herschel made 5 observations, first on 9 May 1825 (sweep 4), "B, round, gradually much brighter middle, 3 small stars follow."
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12 40 12.8 -05 47 59; Vir
V = 12.1; Size 4.1'x1.9'; Surf Br = 14.2; PA = 30°
17.5" (2/28/87): fairly faint, elongated SSW-NNE, very large but diffuse, smooth surface brightness.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4597 = H. II-636 on 22 Feb 1787 (sweep 706) and noted "F, vL, bM." Caroline's reduced position is 3' southwest of MCG -01-32-034 = PGC 42429.
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12 40 11.9 +08 23 02; Vir
V = 12.7; Size 1.4'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.1
18" (4/10/04): fairly faint, fairly small, round, 1.0' diameter, moderate concentration to center with a small, brighter core and quasi-stellar nucleus. A mag 14.5 star is just off the south edge (0.8' from center) and a mag 8.3 star lies 8.6' N near the edge of the 220x field.
18" (3/13/04): fairly faint, fairly small, irregularly
round, 0.9'x0.8'. Located 8.6' S
of mag 8.3
William Herschel discovered NGC 4598 = H. III-105 on 15 Apr
1784 (sweep 194) and noted "eF but vL." Caroline's reduction is 18 sec of RA east of
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12 40 27.1 +01 11 48; Vir
V = 12.6; Size 1.7'x0.8'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 144°
17.5" (4/21/90): fairly faint, small, elongated 3:1 SW-NE, small bright core, stellar nucleus.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4599 = H. III-509 on 22 Feb
1786 (sweep 527) and noted "vF, vS." Caroline's reduction is 1.5' northwest of
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12 40 22.9 +03 07 04; Vir
V = 12.7; Size 1.2'x0.8'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 60°
17.5" (4/21/90): moderately bright, fairly small, oval
3:2 SW-NE, small bright core.
Forms the west vertex of a right triangle with mag 8.8
William Herschel discovered NGC 4600 = H. II-577 = h1379 on
30 Apr 1786 (sweep 558) and logged "F, S, between 2 B stars; making a
triangle with them." John
Herschel noted "F; S; R; precedes 2 stars 8-9 mag." Both descriptions and positions match
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12 40 46.7 -40 53 36; Cen
V = 13.5; Size 1.8'x0.5'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 16°
25" (4/2/19 - OzSky): at 244x; at least fairly faint,
fairly large, very elongated nearly 4:1 SSW-NNE, 1.2'x0.3', brighter core. Located 5' NNW of
25" (3/31/19 - OzSky): at 244x; nearly moderately bright, elongated 2:1 SSW-NNE, 1.0'x0.5', brighter along the major axis. Situated 5' NNW of NGC 4603 in the Centaurus Cluster (AGC 3526).
24" (4/12/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): at 260x, this Centaurus cluster member (AGC 3526) appeared moderately bright, elongated 5:2 SSW-NNE, 1.2'x0.5', broad concentration. Located 5.3' NNW of NGC 4603.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4601 = h3405, along with NGC
4603 on 8 Jun 1834 and recorded "eF; L; R; pretty suddenly little brighter
middle. The first of 2." His position is 12 sec east and 1.6'
south of
******************************
NGC 4602 = MCG -01-32-036 = PGC 42476
12 40 36.7 -05 07 55; Vir
V = 11.5; Size 3.4'x1.2'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 105°
17.5" (2/28/87): fairly bright, oval WNW-ESE, fairly
large, bright core. A mag 14 star
is just off the east end 1.3' from center. Second of four in a group (USGC S181) with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4602 = H. II-184 = h1380 on 24 Apr 1784 (sweep 205) and recorded "not F, L, lE, not mbM, r." His position is poor - 18 sec of RA too large. John Herschel made the single observation "F; L; E; very gradually little brighter middle; 50"." and measured an accurate position.
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NGC 4603 = ESO 322-052 = MCG -07-26-028 = LGG 301-001 = PGC 42510
12 40 55.4 -40 58 34; Cen
V = 11.6; Size 3.4'x2.5'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 27°
25" (4/2/19 - OzSky): at 244x; bright, very large, oval 2:1 SSW-NNE, slightly brighter core, ~2.5' major axis. Two obvious stars are superimposed; a mag 14.5 star 0.8' SW of center in the halo and a mag 14 star 0.4' NW of center at the edge of the core.
25" (3/31/19 - OzSky): at 244x; bright, large, oval 5:3
SSW-NNE, ~2.5'x1.5', broad concentration but no distinct core or nucleus. Two stars are superimposed; close NW of
center and near the SW end. A
number of Centaurus cluster members are nearby including NGC 4601 5' NNW, ESO
322-053 5.6' NNE,
NGC 4603B: very faint, fairly small, edge-on 4:1 SSW-SSE, 40"x10", low surface brightness streak with no core.
24" (4/12/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): at 200x appeared very bright, very large, elongated 2:1 SSW-NNE, 3'x1.5', broad concentration though the brightest portion seems offset towards the a star embedded just west of of the core. A second superimposed star is near the southwest end. NGC 4601 lies 5.3' NNW and NGC 4603B is 7.8' SW. This subgroup of AGC 3526 (Centaurus Cluster) is catalogued as Klemola 19.
17.5" (4/7/89): extremely faint, moderately large, round, very low surface brightness. Member of the Centaurus cluster (AGC 3526).
John Herschel discovered NGC 4603 = h3406 on 8 Jun 1834 and
recorded "F; L R; very gradually brighter middle; r(?). The following of 2 [with NGC
4601].". His RA is 11 sec
east of
Pietro Baracchi observed this galaxy on 8 Apr 1885 with the Melbourne telesocpe and recorded "very faint, pretty large, irregular, gradually little brighter middle, mottled, roundish. A *15 mag attached to n.p. side or involved with the nebula - yes, just within it. Another star 15 mag s.p. very close to the edge of thenebula. Contour uncertain - seems to spread out but can't be traced by the eye."
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NGC 4604 = MCG -01-32-037 = PGC 42489
12 40 44.9 -05 18 09; Vir
V = 13.8; Size 1.0'x0.4'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 115°
17.5" (1/31/87): faint, fairly small, edge-on WNW-ESE. Third of four in a group (USGC S181) and located 11' SSE of NGC 4602.
NGC 4604 is very possibly a duplicate observation of NGC 4602, which appeared fairly bright, oval WNW-ESE, fairly large, bright core. A mag 14 star is just off the east end 1.3' from center.
Christian Peters discovered NGC 4604 around 1881 with the 13.5-inch refractor at Hamilton College Observatory. The discovery wasn't published in either of his two Copernicus lists in 1881 and 1882, so he must have communicated it directly to Dreyer, who did not include a description in the NGC. The published position is 2' southeast of the center of NGC 4602.
The 1921 Helwan Observatory publication reported that NGC
4604 was not found on an 80 min exposure taken between 1914-16 with the
30" reflector. Dorothy
Carlson mentioned this in her NGC errata list and RNGC classified the number as
nonexistent. RC3 and SEGC identify
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12 39 59.4 +61 36 33; UMa
V = 10.3; Size 5.8'x2.2'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 125°
18" (5/14/07): very bright, large, nearly edge-on 3:1 NW-SE. The relatively large, bulging core is mottled. The southeast extension is brighter, mottled (HII regions) and tapers towards the tip. The very tip of this extension appears to hook slightly towards the east. The fainter northwest extension is much more diffuse, is broader and fades at the ends. The major axis of the two extensions are slightly skewed with respect to each other as if they were bent at the center or possibly the brighter southeast extension is warped or distorted.
18" (5/8/04): very bright, large, quite elongated 5:2 ~NW-SE. Contains a relatively large, high surface brightness elongated core. This galaxy's structure is very unusual with careful viewing. The southeast extension is clearly brighter and more tapered than the northwest end. The surface brightness of the southeast extension is noticeably uneven with a mottled or splotchy appearance possibly from HII regions and an irregular distribution of dust. Near the center there is a slight bend or kink to the major axis, with the fainter northwest extension slightly misaligned. Also the northwest extension appears to fan out somewhat at the northwest edge and fade into the background.
8": bright, moderately large, very elongated NW-SE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4605 = H. I-254 = h1381 on 19 Mar 1790 (sweep 953) and recorded "eB, E, about 5' long in the parallel, all over equally bright, except just on the edges." John Herschel made a single observation (sweep 344): "B; L; vmE; in pos 118.6°; gradually little brighter middle; 4' l and 1' br."
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12 40 57.5 +11 54 41; Vir
V = 11.8; Size 3.2'x1.6'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 33°
17.5" (4/25/87): fairly faint, very elongated
SW-NE. A mag 13.5 star is
superimposed on the SSW end 0.5' from center and a mag 14 star is at the SSW
edge 1.1' from center. Forms a
pair with
13.1" (4/16/83): faint, small, very elongated SSW-NNE. Two stars are at the south edge. Located 20' NW of M59.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4606 = H. III-43 = h1382 on 15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174) and simply noted "a nebula". John Herschel made 3 observations (earliest on 11 Apr 1825, sweep 3) and recorded on 25 Mar 1830 (sweep 245), "vF; a curious object; 2 or 3 vF stars form a line with an oblique ray of neb." Nearby NGC 4607 was missed by both Herschels.
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NGC 4607 = UGC 7843 = MCG +02-32-176 = CGCG 070-216 = Holm 436b = PGC 42544
12 41 12.4 +11 53 08; Vir
V = 12.8; Size 2.9'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 2°
17.5" (4/25/87): extremely faint, edge-on streak N-S, low even surface brightness. Located 3.8' ESE of much brighter NGC 4606.
13.1" (5/14/83): extremely faint, edge-on N-S, low surface brightness, requires averted. Close following NGC 4606.
13.1" (4/16/83): extremely faint, near visual threshold, very elongated N-S, low surface brightness.
R.J. Mitchell, Lord Rosse's assistant, discovered NGC 4607 on 24 Apr 1854. While observing NGC 4606 he noted "about 3' or 4' following there is also a F lenticular R, E np sf." Mitchell's note was not included in the 1861 monograph (only the 1880 publication) so NGC 4607 was not included in the GC and Dreyer missed it while compiling the GC Supplement.
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NGC 4608 = UGC 7842 = MCG +02-32-177 = CGCG 070-214 = PGC 42545
12 41 13.6 +10 09 23; Vir
V = 11.0; Size 3.2'x2.7'; Surf Br = 13.2
17.5" (4/18/87): bright, fairly small, oval SW-NE, very bright core, stellar nucleus. A mag 12 star is 1.6' WNW of center. Forms a wide pair at low power with NGC 4596 19' W. Located 11' SW of Rho Virginis (V = 4.9).
13.1" (4/16/83): bright, fairly small, slightly elongated.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4608 = H. II-69 = h1383 on 15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174) and recorded "A nebula. It may be taken into the field with 30 (Rho) Virginis and precedes that star, but is 8' more south." The actual difference in Dec is less than 5', but the identification is certain. On 18 Jan 1828 (sweep 120) John Herschel called it "pB; R; pretty suddenly brighter middle; has a *12 1' np, and a *5.6 in field nf."
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12 42 20 -62 59 36; Cru
V = 6.9; Size 5'
13.1" (2/20/04 - Costa Rica): at 166x, 30 stars mag 9.5-13 are resolved in a 4'-5' region. Most of the stars are arranged in a curving lane ~NNW-SSE with fainter stars trailing off to the NNW and a few stars scattered to the east. The main string is oriented roughly N-S and bends towards the east on the north side. The cluster includes some doubles and triples with a nice mag 10.5 star pair at 15" and a distinctive triple on the south end of the lane.
NGC 4609 is situtated just 7' NW of mag 5.3 BZ Crucis = HD 110432. This star is located 1.8° E of Acrux, and is the only easy naked-eye star within the Coal Sack! The cluster resides behind the Coal Sack and is dimmed accordingly.
10x30mm Canon IS (3/27/19 - Tasmania): faint, small glow attached to a bright star (BZ Crucis).
James Dunlop discovered NGC 4609 = D 272 = h3407 on 12 May 1826. He reported "a group of five stars of the 8th or 9th magnitude, with a great number of extremely small stars resembling faint nebulae. 3' or 4' diameter." His handwritten notes also mention "north of a star of the 7th mag and preceding it by 25" in RA."
On 8 Mar 1837 (sweep 778), John Herschel called it a "Cluster class VII. Stars 11..13th mag; about 6' long and 4' broad; has 10 stars 11th mag, and some 20 or 30 smaller. It occurs in the midst of the black space following Alpha Crucis, which is by no means void of stars."
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NGC 4610 = NGC 4470 = UGC 7627 = MCG +01-32-082 = CGCG 042-132 = PGC 41189
12 29 37.9 +07 49 25; Vir
See observing notes for NGC 4470.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4610 = H. II-19 on 23 Jan 1784 (sweep 105). He recorded "South of and at rectangles to the great Nebula [M61] and the small star near it, is a nebula incomparably more faint. My field [15' dia] takes them both in together."
Dreyer notes in the 1912 revision of Herschel's catalogues that "there is no nebula in the place of GC 3147 [NGC 4610]" (Ann Harvard Coll Obs, xiii p 81 and Max Wolf, List II) and that M49 is most probably H. I-7 (assumed by Herschel to be M61). Dreyer further comments that M49 has a smaller nebula [H. II-498 = NGC 4470] 9 sec of RA west, 10.5' south and the sketch perfectly agrees with M49, the star following it and NGC 4470 (found by Herschel on 28 Dec 1785). So, NGC 4610 = NGC 4470.
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12 41 25.4 +13 43 46; Com
V = 14.3; Size 1.2'x0.3'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 126°
18" (5/28/06): very faint, fairly small, elongated 2.5:1 or 3:1 NW-SE, nearly 0.6'x0.2', low surface brightness, no concentration. Forms the southern vertex of a triangle with two mag 12 stars 2.7' NNW and 3.3' NE.
Édouard Stephan discovered NGC 4611 = St. 12-49 on 27 Apr 1878. His published position (list 12, #49) as reduced on 17 May 1881 with description "eeF; S; lE SE to NW; between 2 vF stars."
Stephan's list was published in 1883 but when Lewis Swift
found the galaxy again on 20 Apr 1889 he reported it as new in his 8th list,
#65 (later
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12 41 32.7 +07 18 53; Vir
V = 10.9; Size 2.5'x1.9'; Surf Br = 12.5; PA = 145°
17.5" (4/21/90): moderately bright, small, slightly
elongated, sharply concentrated with a very bright compact core. Located at the SW end of a string of
five bright stars mag 9-10.5 including a mag 10.5 star just 1.0' E. The NE end is this string is a double
star 10.5/12 at 20".
William Herschel discovered NGC 4612 = H. II-148 = H. II-20 = h1384 on 23 Jan 1784 (problematic sweep 105). Sometime after viewing "a beautiful nebula", which turns out to be M49 (see NGC 4472 for more), Herschel recorded a "very faint" nebula that was catalogued as H. II-20. There is nothing at Caroline's reduced position, but the four nebulae found on this early sweep had very poor positions, which Wolfgang Steinicke suggests was due to his sidereal clock failing.
On 13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191) he rediscovered the galaxy again and logged H. II-148 as "not F, R, bM and growing fainter by slow degrees." His offset from 31 Vir was accurate. Another observation was made on 1 May 1786 (sweep 560): "preceding the most south of a row of stars. cB, pL, mbM." He or Caroline identified it correctly as H. II-20 -- perhaps based on a telescopic sketch, which shows the chain of nearby stars leading to NGC 4612. As a result, the general discovery number #320 was crossed out in Caroline's sweep records. John Herschel decided, though, that H. II-20 and H. II-148 were possibly different objects because of the discrepancy in positions and assigned two GC designations. But Dreyer realized their equivalence based on the sketch and combined the two H-designations in the NGC. He commented that a sketch of H. II-20 "agrees perfectly with the the description of H. II-148 on 28 Dec 1785 (sweep 498) "preceding a row of considerable stars and near the south of them, making a triangle."
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12 41 28.9 +26 05 19; Com
V = 14.6; Size 0.5'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.9
24" (6/1/13): faintest in a trio (
17.5" (4/6/91): extremely faint, very small, round, weak concentration. Located 2.5' NNW of NGC 4614. Faintest of a trio.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4613, along with NGC 4614
and NGC 4615, on 9 May 1864 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His single position is exactly 1' south
of
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NGC 4614 = KTG 45B = Holm 439b = UGC 7851 = MCG +04-30-012 =
12 41 31.5 +26 02 34; Com
V = 13.3; Size 1.0'x0.8'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 175°
24" (6/1/13): brightest in a triplet (KTG 45) with NGC 4615 2.2' NE and NGC 4613 2.8' NNW. At 282x appeared moderately bright, fairly small, round, well concentrated with a very bright core, overall fairly high surface brightness. A mag 11.5 star lies 1.8' W.
17.5" (4/6/91): fairly faint, small, round, bright core, stellar nucleus. A mag 12 star is 1.9' WNW. Second brightest in a group with NGC 4615 2.5' NE and NGC 4613 2.5' NNW.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4614 = Sf. 11, along with
NGC 4613 and NGC 4615, on 9 May 1864.
His position (measured on two nights) matches
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NGC 4615 = Arp 34 = KTG 45C = Holm 439a = UGC 7852 = MCG +04-30-013 = CGCG 129-018 = WBL 419-003 = PGC 42584
12 41 37.3 +26 04 22; Com
V = 13.1; Size 1.6'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 125°
24" (6/1/13): largest in a small triplet with NGC 4613 2.1' NW and NGC 4614 2.2' SW. Fairly faint to moderately bright, very elongated 3:1 NW-SE, 1.5'x0.5', weak concentration. This is a nice little trio forming a small isosceles triangle with NGC 4615 at the eastern vertex. NGC 4615 is in Arp's category of "Integral Sign" galaxies.
17.5" (4/6/91): faint, fairly small, elongated 3:2 NW-SE, even surface brightness. Third and largest of three with NGC 4614 2.5' SW and NGC 4613 2' WNW.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4615 = Sf. 12, along with
NGC 4613 and NGC 4614, on 9 May 1864 with the 11-inch refractor at
Copenhagen. His position (measured
on two nights) matches
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12 42 16.4 -40 38 31; Cen
V = 13.4; Size 0.9'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.1
24" (4/12/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): this
member of the Centaurus Cluster (AGC 3526) appeared moderately bright, fairly
small, round, 25" diameter, broad and weak concentration, perhaps an
extremely faint halo. Located just
42" SW of a mag 12 star and 7' NW of
John Herschel discovered NGC 4616 = h3408 on 5 Jun 1834, along with NGC 4622, and recorded "eF; vS; R; sp a star at the edge. His position is 1.7' south of ESO 322-056 = PGC 42662. Brightest in a group surrounding the Centaurus cluster (in the Hydra-Centaurus Supercluster).
Using the 48" Melbourne Telescope on 6 Apr 1885, Pietro Baracchi described NGC 4616 as "pB; pS; R; gradually pretty much brighter middle; diam about 30"."
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12 41 05.8 +50 23 36; CVn
V = 13.2; Size 3.0'x0.5'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 179°
18" (5/8/04): fairly faint, moderately large, very
elongated 4:1 N-S, 1.5'x0.4', weak concentration. A mag 14 star is close south. Located 2.7' SW of mag 9.3
William Herschel discovered NGC 4617 = H. II-744 on 9 Mar 1788 (sweep 816). He noted "very faint, small." A second observation was made on 26 Apr 1788 (sweep 929): "Faint, small, irregular figure, easily resolvable." Although the final 2000th object in Herschel's second catalogue was discovered on 3 Dec 1788 (sweep 889), later sweeps up to 929 were included in the total observations and the summary description as the catalogue was being prepared. So, II.744 shows two observations.
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12 41 32.5 +41 09 02; CVn
V = 10.8; Size 4.2'x3.4'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 25°
48" (4/7/13 and 4/19/17): fascinating one-armed
asymmetric spiral (
18" (5/15/10): This is a very unusual, asymmetric Arp
galaxy with a single massive arm (similar to NGC 4027). At 220x it appeared bright, fairly
large, obviously irregular, with a slightly elongated main body ~2'x1.5',
extended 4:3 SW-NE. Within the
main portion of the galaxy a brighter, elongated bar was visible, roughly
1.5'x0.5'. The central bar,
though, is displaced to the NW side of entire glow as extending mostly to the
south side is a faint, beefy arm that often appears detached and barely
connected on the east end of the central region. This broad arm winds counterclockwise from east to south
roughly 100° with IC 3668, the brightest region or knot near the south end of
the arm, ~1.8' from the center of the bar. This single arm increases the overall size to ~3'x2'.
13.1" (4/12/86): moderately bright, fairly large, faint elongated halo with large brighter core which appears displaced towards the north. This is an unusual one-armed spiral galaxy with a more extensive halo on the south side. Forms a pair with NGC 4625 8.3' NNE. IC 3668 is a knot in the southern arm.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4618 = H. I-178 = H. I-179 = h1385 on 9 Apr 1787 (sweep 725). Interestingly he recorded it as double and assigned two catalog designations: "Two. The most north considerably or very bright. The most south pretty bright. Their nebulosities run into each other; the most north very much brighter in the middle." The southern object might be IC 3668, the HII complex on the south end of the galaxy, but more likely it refers to the halo on the south side. John Herschel also called this galaxy double (probably following his father). On 12 Apr 1830 he logged, "Double; a bright, large nebula, gradually brighter middle, with a faint one attached, 70° sf, so as to run together into one; moonlight."
Two bright knots in the southern portion were noted during several observations at Birr Castle. Assistant R.J. Mitchell sketched the galaxy on 27 Mar 1856 (Plate 28, Fig. 25 in the 1861 monograph) and clearly revealed the entire southern spiral arm: "The faint branch [spiral arm] to the left extends round as far as the preceding extremity of the bright branch [central bar]. "
Max Wolf found this galaxy in 1903 on a Heidelberg plate and
catalogued it as the first object in his 6th discovery list (later
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12 41 44.4 +35 03 46; CVn
V = 12.7; Size 1.3'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.1
17.5" (4/28/89): fairly faint, fairly small, round,
broadly concentrated halo, fainter halo.
Located 1.9' WNW of mag 8.6
William Herschel discovered NGC 4619 = H. II-411 = h1388 on 1 May 1785 (sweep 405) and recorded "pF, S, R, just preceding a cB star." John Herschel made three observations and described this galaxy as "eF", "F" and "pB".
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12 41 59.3 +12 56 34; Vir
V = 12.2; Size 1.8'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 40°
18" (4/10/04): moderately bright, round, 1.0' diameter, weak concentration to the center with a small slightly brighter core. Forms the NW vertex of an obtuse triangle with two mag 11 stars 4.7' ENE and 5.3' SSW.
18" (3/13/04): fairly faint, moderately large, round, 1.0' diameter, weak concentration.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4620 = h1387 on 29 Mar 1830 and
logged "vF; S; R; very gradually brighter middle; 15"." His position matches
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12 42 02.4 +11 38 48; Vir
V = 9.6; Size 5.4'x3.7'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 165°
48" (4/19/17): at 697x; extremely bright, very large, oval nearly 3:2 NNW-SSE. Contains a very bright elongated core and an intensely luminous nucleus.
UCD 3, the brightest ultra-compact dwarf in M59 (considered the remnant nucleus of a recently accreted galaxy) was easily visible continuously as a mag 16.4 "star 2.2' E of the center of M59. It forms a pair with a slightly fainter mag 16.5-17 star 20" NW. This object was announced in 2015 as the densest known galaxy!
UCD 1, located just 1.4' SW of the center of M59, appeared as a very faint, possibly "soft" star, just visible continuously with averted vision. It forms a wide pair with a slightly brighter mag 16.5 star 0.5' NW.
24" (5/22/17): at 200x and 375x; extremely bright, very large, oval 4:3 or 3:2 NNW-SSE. Strongly concentrated with a very bright roundish core and an intensely bright quasi-stellar nucleus. The core/nucleus is within a brighter central region, but then the surface brightness drops sharply with a very low surface brightness outer halo that extends 3.5'x2.5' NNW-SSE. A mag 12 star is at the north edge of the halo. IC 809 = IC 3672 lies 6.5' NNE, just north of an 11th magnitude star.
17.5" (4/25/87): very bright, moderately large, oval NNW-SSE, 3'x2', small very bright core, stellar nucleus. A mag 15 star is at the SW edge and a brighter mag 13 star is off the north end 1.9' from center. The NGC 4606/NGC 4607 pair lies 20' NW.
13.1" (5/14/83): bright, slightly elongated N-S, bright core. M60 lies 25' E and NGC 4606/4607 is 20' NW.
German observer Johann Gottfried Koehler discovered M59 =
NGC 4621 = h1386, along with M60, on 11 Apr 1779. It was independently found by Charles
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NGC 4622 = ESO 322-057 = MCG -07-26-031 = LGG 305-004 = PGC 42701
12 42 37.6 -40 44 39; Cen
V = 12.2; Size 1.7'x1.6'; Surf Br = 13.2
24" (4/12/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): at 260x this member of the Centaurus cluster (AGC 3526) appeared bright, fairly large, round, sharply concentrated with a very bright core, halo extends to 1.5'. NGC 4616 lies 7' NW and NGC 4603D is a similar distance SW (both viewed).
17.5" (4/7/89): very faint, small, round, low fairly
even surface brightness. Located
within the Centaurus cluster (AGC 3526) with
John Herschel discovered NGC 4622 = h3409, along with NGC
4616, on 5 Jun 1834 and recorded "pF; S; R; pretty suddenly little
brighter middle; 15". The
following of 2." His position
matches
Pietro Baracchi observed the galaxy on 19 Mar 1885 with the 48" Melbourne telescope and discovered 6 other members of the cluster. He described NGC 4622 as "pF, S, R, gradually pretty much brighter middle, diameter 50", indefinite edge." and labeled it as (1) in his logbook descriptions and sketch.
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NGC 4623 = UGC 7862 = MCG +01-32-135 = CGCG 042-207 = PGC 42647
12 42 10.6 +07 40 36; Vir
V = 12.2; Size 2.2'x0.7'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 176°
17.5" (4/21/90): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 3:1 N-S, small bright core. NGC 4612 lies 25' SSW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4623 = H. II-149 = h1389 on 13 Apr 1784 (sweep 191) and noted "vF, irregular nebula." His position is 4.5' too far south. John Herschel called this galaxy "pB; E; pretty suddenly brighter in the middle" and measured a fairly accurate position.
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12 45 06.1 +03 03 21; Vir
See observing notes for
John Herschel discovered NGC 4624 = h1390 on 9 Apr 1828 and
noted"B, E. RA ill observed." and placed at 12 42 15.7 +03 03 32
(2000). There is nothing near his
position, though his description states this is a bright nebula. Karl Reinmuth, in his 1926 photographic
survey, notes "not found; NGC 4624 = NGC 4636?"
Harold Corwin concludes "[NGC 4624] is most likely NGC 4665 [nearly 3 min of RA east of Herschel's position] which Herschel described as "B, pL" in two other sweeps. This, and the appearance of the bright bar of the galaxy, matches his terse description for NGC 4624, "B, E." In addition, his declination is correct for all three observations. There is a faint possibility that NGC 4624 is NGC 4600, but Herschel's two observations of that make it "F, S" in contrast to his note on NGC 4624. In addition, the declination of NGC 4600 is off Herschel's measured dec for NGC 4624."
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NGC 4625 = IC 3675 = Holm 438b = UGC 7861 = MCG +07-26-038 =
12 41 52.7 +41 16 26; CVn
V = 12.3; Size 2.2'x1.9'; Surf Br = 13.8
48" (4/7/13): at 488x, this companion to NGC 4618 appeared bright, fairly large,~1.3' diameter, bright core that is offset to the north side. With careful viewing a low contrast spiral arm is visible along the south side of the halo with a darker gap between the arm and the south side of the core. Member of the CVn II Group (brightest member M106).
13.1" (4/12/86): fairly faint, fairly small, round, brighter core. Forms a pair with NGC 4618 8.3' SSW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4625 = H. II-660 = h1392 on 9 Apr 1787 (sweep 725) and recorded "pB, pL, R, mbM." R.J. Mitchell, observing at Birr Castle on 10 Apr 1855, recorded "...the brightest part [core] seems excentric, being nearer the nf edge. From this I suspect a branch [spiral arm] round n to sp." A sketch (figure 25 in the 1861 publication) clearly shows the spiral arm as a ring with the core embedded on the northeast side.
Max Wolf found this galaxy in 1903 on a Heidelberg plate and
assumed it was new. Although the
NGC position is accurate, Dreyer recatalogued NGC 4618 as
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12 42 25.3 -07 02 39; Vir
V = 13.6; Size 1.5'x0.5'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 35°
17.5" (5/22/93): fairly faint, fairly small, very
elongated 3:1 SW-NE. A mag 14 star
is 1.5' SSE. Forms a similar pair
(size, elongation and position angle) with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4626 = H. II-772 = h1393 = h3410, along with NGC 4628, on 20 Mar 1789 (sweep 913) and noted "F, S, E." John Herschel made a single observation from the Cape of the Good Hope and logged "vF; lE; gradually little brighter middle."
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12 41 59.7 +32 34 26; CVn
V = 12.4; Size 2.6'x1.8'; Surf Br = 14.1; PA = 10°
13.1" (5/27/84): faint, small, slightly elongated
SSW-NNE. Located 2.6' NW of the
center of the remarkable galaxy
William Herschel discovered NGC 4627 = H. II-659 = h1391, along with NGC 4631 on 20 Mar 1787 (sweep 722). He logged "faint, small, round, just north preceding the large following one [NGC 4631]."
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NGC 4628 = MCG -01-32-041 = Mrk 1333 = Holm 441a = PGC 42681
12 42 25.3 -06 58 17; Vir
V = 13.7; Size 1.8'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 46°
17.5" (5/22/93): fairly faint, very elongated 3:1 SW-NE, 1.2'x0.4', even concentration down to a small bright core. Two mag 11 stars are just 1.5' N and 1.5' NE and two mag 10 stars are in the field 7' E and 7' ESE. This galaxy is the slightly brighter of a pair of very similar very elongated systems with NGC 4626 4.4' S.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4628 = H. II-773 = h1394 = h3411, along with NGC 4626, on 20 Mar 1789 (sweep 913) and noted "F, S, E." John Herschel made a single observation from the Cape of the Good Hope and logged "vF; R or lE; gradually little brighter middle."
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12 42 32.7 -01 21 04; Vir
V = 13.6; Size 1.4'x1.2'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 80°
17.5" (5/22/93): faint, round, 1.2' diameter, low
surface brightness, weak concentration, diffuse halo. Forms a pair with
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4629 on 19 Feb 1863 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. There is nothing at his position (measured only this night).
Reinmuth describes NGC 4629 as a pair of mag 14 stars at 0.7' distance. These two stars are 4' due south of d'Arrst's position, and a plausible candidate, though I would think would be too easily resolved. RNGC classifies the number as nonexistent and NGC 4629 is not plotted on the first edition of the Uranometria 2000.0 Sky Atlas. Harold Corwin identifies NGC 4629 = UGC 7869 = PGC 42692, located 27' due north of d'Arrest's position. UGC, MCG and CGCG do not identify this galaxy as NGC 4629, although NED, HyperLeda and the NGC/IC Project use this identification.
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12 42 31.2 +03 57 30; Vir
V = 12.7; Size 1.8'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 10°
17.5" (2/28/87): moderately bright, fairly small, brighter core, oval ~N-S. CGCG 043-003 lies 18' SSE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4630 = H. II-532 = h1395 on
2 Feb 1786 (sweep 521) and noted "vF, S, little brighter in the
middle." His position is at the
northwest edge of
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NGC 4631 = Arp 281 NED2 = UGC 7865 = MCG +06-28-020 = CGCG 188-016 = Holm 442a = PGC 42637 = The Whale Galaxy
12 42 06.5 +32 32 24; CVn
V = 9.2; Size 15.5'x2.7'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 86°
48" (4/16/15): Although I've viewed NGC 4631 a few times previously in the 48-inch, it was difficult to take notes as the amount of structure was overwhelming. At 375x (13mm Ethos, 16' field), the galaxy stretched across nearly the entire field and consisted of numerous bright luminous patches and irregular dark patches. The overall shape is asymmetric; gradually tapering down to nearly a point on the west end, bulging in the center and broader along the eastern side, only narrowing significantly near the very tip.
A mag 13.5-14 star is just north of the western tip. A relatively bright knot (NGC 4631:[HK83]#91-94, from Hodge and Kennicutt's 1983 "An Atlas of H II regions in 125 galaxies") lies 0.6' SE of this star and 5.8' W of center. Several obvious bright knots and splotchy regions line the western side of galaxy: #83 is 4.6' W of center, #79 is 3.9' W of center, #72/74 (a fainter spot) is 3.2' W of center, #63/64 (a prominent region) is 2.2' W of center.
A mag 12.5 star is at the north edge near the geometric center. There is no obvious core to the galaxy, though several bright patches are near the center. #47 is a luminous patch 1' S of the mag 12.5 star and #39/41 is a very bright patch 1.5' ESE of the star. Additional HII patches are lined up on the east side, mostly along the northern edge of the galaxy. #33-36 is a large, very bright patch (star cloud?) 2.4' ENE of center and #19/20 is a smaller knot 3.2' E of center. The galaxy bulges out (star association or arm?) on the south side near the eastern end (3.3' from center) and contains #17/18/21/22. The dusty eastern tip of the galaxy has a very faint HII knot (#5-7).
17.5" (6/5/99): at 280x (14' field) this remarkable galaxy runs edge to edge across the field! The surface brightness is unusually irregular with bright and dark mottling across the surface. There is no well-defined core but a prominent knot is close following (east) the geometric center along the north side and a second weaker knot is along the west side. The north edge has an unusually "scalloped" appearance particularly along the west side due to dust and brighter splotches. The galaxy gradually bulges towards the center and tapers at the tips, particularly along the west end. A mag 13 star is situated just north of the edge at the geometric center and NGC 4627 appears to hover over this "starship" a couple of arc miinutes northwest of center.
13.1" (many dates from 5/27/84 to 4/12/86): stunning galaxy, very bright, unusually large and interesting edge-on E-W, 15'x1.5'. A bright knot is east of the core and a faint knot is west of core. Appears very mottled along the major axis. A mag 13 star is just north of the core. NGC 4627, a companion galaxy, lies 2.6' NW of the center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4631 = H. V-42 = h1397,
along with NGC 4627, on 20 Mar 1787 (sweep 722). He recorded "very bright,
much extended from sp to nf, but near the parallel. About 16' long and much brighter middle. A little below the center of it is a
small star, but probably unconnected." Two minutes later he discovered the "Hockey Stick"
pair,
John Herschel made two observations and called it (sweep 74) "vmE; a long ray which crosses the whole field, rather curved upwards (to south). Has a vF nucleus and a B * nearly in the parallel." His sketch of the pair is on plate XV, figure 76 of the Slough Observations.
Three observations were made at Birr Castle. On 26 Mar 1848, assistant William Rambaut wrote, "A most extraordinary object with a B * near the centre, and at the right [north] masses of light appear through it in knots." George Johnstone Stoney made a detailed sketch on 19 Apr 1849 (fig. 9, 1850 Rosse paper). William Lassell sketched the galaxy on 27 May 1862 from Malta (plate V, figure 24) and included a knot on the west side, the bright region east of center, and a third knot towards the east end. To determine a position, Kobold measured two of the knots/star clouds - one on the west side (#63/64) and the bright region east of the geometric center (#33-36).
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12 42 32.1 -00 04 57; Vir
V = 11.7; Size 3.1'x1.2'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 63°
17.5" (2/28/87): fairly bright, fairly large, elongated
2:1 SW-NE, mildly concentrated.
Member of the
William Herschel discovered NGC 4632 = H. I-14 = h1396 on 22 Feb 1784 (sweep 153) and recorded "not cometic, seems to be resolvable and much like the foregoing [NGC 4592]. John Herschel made a single observation under poor conditions, but his position was accurate.
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12 42 37.2 +14 21 31; Com
V = 13.1; Size 2.1'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 30°
17.5" (5/22/93): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated
3:2 SW-NE, 1.2x0.8, no central concentration, halo fades into background. A mag 13 star is just off the NW edge
of halo 0.8' from center. Forms a
pair with
Édouard Stephan descovered NGC 4633 = Sw. 6-46 on 26 Apr 1878 during an observation of NGC 4634. Apparently he never measured a precise position as the discovery wasn't published. Both Herschels missed this galaxy, although both observed nearby NGC 4634.
Edward Swift, Lewis' 16 year-old son, rediscovered NGC 4633 on 27 Apr 1887 and reported it as new in his 6th discovery list (#46) with description, "eeF; pS; R; F star close preceding.; [NGC 4634] nr preceding." The description should read "F star close following".
Arnold Schwassmann found this galaxy again on a plate taken
with the 6" astrograph at Heidelberg at the turn of the century and
assumed Sn. 295 (later
******************************
NGC 4634 = UGC 7875 = MCG +03-32-086 = CGCG 099-112 = CGCG 100-002 = Holm 445a = PGC 42707
12 42 41.0 +14 17 46; Com
V = 12.4; Size 2.6'x0.7'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 156°
17.5" (5/22/93): moderately bright, edge-on 4:1 NNW-SSE, 3.0'x0.7', weak concentration. Forms a pair with NGC 4633 3.8' NNW. This galaxy is fairly striking.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4634 = H. III-603 = h1398 on
14 Jan 1787 (sweep 691) and recorded "vF, about 2 1/2' long, from np to
sf." His position and
description matches
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12 42 39.1 +19 56 44; Com
V = 12.6; Size 2.0'x1.4'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 170°
17.5" (5/22/93): fairly faint, moderately large, elongated 4:3 ~N-S, 1.6'x1.2', broad weak concentration.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4635 = h1400 on 17 Mar 1831 and
logged "eF L; bM; 3' diam."
The comment "an over-estimation" was later added. His mean
position (2 observations) matches
******************************
NGC 4636 = UGC 7878 = MCG +01-32-137 = CGCG 043-002 = PGC 42734
12 42 49.6 +02 41 18; Vir
V = 9.5; Size 6.0'x4.7'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 150°
24" (2/24/20): at 200x; I took a quick look at this galaxy to observe SN 2020ue, a type Ia supernova discovered on 12 Jan '20. It was very easy to identify as roughly 14th magnitude.
17.5" (3/24/90): very bright, large, slightly elongated NW-SE, very bright core, substellar nucleus, extensive halo appears mottled. Located between two mag 12/13 stars 3.4' NNW and 3.1' S, respectively.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4636 = H. II-38 = h1399 = h1401 on 23 Feb 1784 (sweep 158) and recorded "pB, pL. It seems to be of the resolvable kind, and is of an irregular shape." John Herschel measured two good positions under h1399, logging "B; L; R; very gradually very much brighter in the middle, but not to a nucleus." in sweep 238. But on sweep 142, he listed it again as h1401, a possible "Nova", this time with a 1° error in declination (too far north).
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12 42 54.1 +11 26 16; Vir
V = 14.5; Size 1.1'x0.5'; PA = 97°
24" (5/25/14): NGC 4637 is the eastern companion of NGC
4638, just 1.6' E of its center.
At 225x it appeared extremely faint, fairly small, elongated 5:2 E-W,
~25"x10". Required averted vision and I could only hold it for fairly
brief intervals. The identification
of this number is uncertain and it may be a duplicate of
R.J. Mitchell discovered NGC 4637 on 1 Mar 1854 using LdR's
72" and recorded a "Double nebula [including II-70 = NGC 4638], faint
nebulosity connects them." No
comment was made on the relative brightnesses or orientation and there were no
further observations at Birr Castle or by any others. RNGC identifies NGC 4637 with an extremely faint
spindle-shaped galaxy just following
But Dreyer comments in the NGC notes "It is very possible that the Birr observer mistook M60 and III 44 [NGC 4647] for h1402 and a nova." In his photographic survey "Die Herschel Nebel", Karl Reinmuth notes "not found, = NGC 4647?" Adelaide Ames also states "not found" in the Virgo-Coma Survey at Harvard College Observatory, Vol 88, No 1. See Harold Corwin's identification notes for further analysis but the identification of NGC 4637 is uncertain - either applying to the faint companion of NGC 4638 or the companion of M60.
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NGC 4638 = NGC 4667 = UGC 7880 = MCG +02-32-187 = CGCG 070-230 = CGCG 071-006 = PGC 42728
12 42 47.4 +11 26 32; Vir
V = 11.2; Size 2.2'x1.4'; Surf Br = 12.3; PA = 125°
24" (5/25/14): very bright, moderately large, elongated 2:1 NW-SE, 1.2'x0.6', sharply concentrated with a very bright, very elongated core (bar or edge-on S0?) and a much fainter oval halo. NGC 4637, an extremely faint companion, is 1.6' E of center.
17.5" (4/25/87): moderately bright, very elongated 5:2 WNW-ESE, fairly small, bright core, substellar nucleus. Located between M59 and M60.
13.1" (5/14/83): fairly bright, small, bright core, elongated.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4638 = H. II-70 = H. II-176
= h1402 on 15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174) and simply noted "a nebula." His position was 5' too far south, but
fairly close in RA. On 11 Apr 1825
(early sweep 3), John Herschel recorded, "F; R; gradually brighter in the
middle." His position was 2'
too far south.
MCG reverses the identifications of NGC 4637 and 4638 (see NGC 4637 for more).
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12 42 52.3 +13 15 26; Vir
V = 11.5; Size 2.8'x1.9'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 123°
17.5" (4/13/02): moderately bright and large, elongated 3:2 NW-SE, 1.5'x1.0', broad concentration to a larger, brighter core. The core increases sharply to a small bright nucleus. A mag 12.5 star is close following just 1.0' from center.
17.5" (4/21/90): moderately bright, fairly small,
elongated 3:2 NW-SE, 1.6'x1.0', faint stellar nucleus. A mag 12 star is just off the SE side
1.0' from the center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4639 = H. II-125 = h1403 on 12 Apr 1784 (sweep 189) and noted "not vF; S; r." His position was 3.7' too far north. John Herschel's description reads, "B; E; has a * 12m sf; 1' dist."
R.J. Mitchell, observing with LdR's 72" on 22 Apr 1854, recorded "a remarkable object. Spiral? Suspected a twist to the left at the preceding end." Five nights later he logged "saw tonight the curve in p part previously remarked."
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12 42 57.8 +12 17 12; Vir
V = 13.5; Size 1.4'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 45°
18" (4/29/06): very faint, moderately large, elongated
~3:2 ~E-W, 0.9'x0.6', low even surface brightness. Located 3.4' NE of a mag 10.5-11 star.
Lewis Swift discovered NGC 4640 = Sw. 6-47, along with NGC
4641, on 17 Apr 1887 and recorded "eF; pL; lE; * nr p; np of 2 [with NGC
4641]." His position is just 30" south of
******************************
NGC 4641 = UGC 7889 = MCG +02-32-191 = CGCG 071-011 = PGC 42769
12 43 07.6 +12 03 03; Vir
V = 13.2; Size 1.2'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 170°
17.5" (4/13/02): very faint, small, slightly elongated N-S, low surface brightness, 0.6'x0.45'. Located 1' NW of a mag 12.5 star. The declination in the RNGC is one degree too far south.
Lewis Swift discovered NGC 4641 = Sw. 6-48, along with NGC
4640, on 17 Apr 1887 and recorded "eF; pL; R; F * nr f; sf of 2 [with NGC
4640]." His position is 5 sec
of RA west of
The RNGC declination is exactly 1 degree too far south. Furthermore, this error is repeated in NGC 2000.0 and the galaxy is misplotted on the first edition of Uranometria 2000 Sky Atlas. UGC, MCG, CGCG and RC3 all give the correct declination. Listed in my RNGC Corrections list #2.
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12 43 17.7 -00 38 40; Vir
V = 12.9; Size 1.9'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 37°
17.5" (2/28/87): fairly faint, elongated SSW-NNE,
fairly small. A mag 15 star is
involved at the NE end. Forms a
pair with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4642 = H. III-494 on 1 Jan
1786 (sweep 507) and noted "eF, vS." Caroline's reduction is 1' south of
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12 43 20.2 +01 58 41; Vir
V = 10.8; Size 3.1'x2.3'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 130°
17.5" (3/24/90): fairly bright, moderately large, oval NW-SE, prominent core. Three mag 11-14 stars lie northwest, the closest is a mag 11.5 star 2.4' NW of center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4643 = H. I-10 = h1404 on 24 Jan 1784 (sweep 121) and noted "pB, S." His summary description from 4 observations is "vB, pL, lE, gradually much brighter middle, 2' l, 1 1/2' br." John Herschel called it "B; S; lE; pretty suddenly brighter in the middle."
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12 42 42.6 +55 08 43; UMa
V = 13.9; Size 1.6'x0.5'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 53°
24" (5/30/16): at 225x; fairly faint, moderately large,
very elongated 3:1 SW-NE, 0.9'x0.3'.
Contains a bright elongated core.
NGC 4644 is the northernmost in a group of galaxies (LGG 300) including
NGC 4644 is the western component of a close pair with much
fainter
18" (6/28/03): faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1 SW-NE, 0.8'x0.3', weak concentration with a slightly brighter core. Forms the north vertex of an isosceles triangle with two mag 12 star 6' SW and 6' ESE. First in a group of 6 NGC galaxies (LGG 300) with 4 on a line stretching from NGC 4644/4669/4675/4686. A very faint edge-on (NGC 4644B = PGC 42725) just 1.7' following was not noticed.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4644 = H. II-794.1 = h1406
on 14 Apr 1789 (sweep 921). He noted "faint, small." His re-reduced position (with respect
to Epsilon UMa) is 2' too far west (12 sec of time). John Herschel recorded "eF; vS; R; gradually brighter
in the middle; 10"." His
position matches
On 25 Apr 1878, Dreyer observed the field from Birr Castle, and described "3177 [NGC 4644] is eF, vS, E sp nf, small companion or star 3/4' f." The "small companion or star" is the nucleus of NGC 4644B = PGC 42725, which did not receive a NGC designation. See notes for NGC 4646 for more on this observation.
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12 44 09.9 -41 45 01; Cen
V = 11.8; Size 2.2'x1.4'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 52°
17.5" (4/7/89): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly elongated, sharp concentration. Member of the Centaurus cluster (AGC 3526).
John Herschel discovered NGC 4645 = h3412 on 8 Jun 1834 and recorded "pB; S; pretty suddenly brighter middle; 12".". His position is ~2' west of ESO 322-066, the only nearby galaxy.
Pietro Baracchi observed the galaxy on 8 and 9 Apr 1885 and logged a new nebula that preceded by 38 seconds and 40" to the south, but at this offset is a faint double star.
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NGC 4646 = UGC 7892 = MCG +09-21-031 = CGCG 270-015 = PGC 42740
12 42 52.1 +54 51 21; UMa
V = 13.4; Size 0.6'x0.3'; Surf Br = 11.4; PA = 18°
24" (5/30/16): at 225x; moderately bright, fairly small, elongated 2:1 SSW-NNE, 0.6'x0.3', bright irregular core seems knotty. A mag 14.8 star is very close to the northeast edge. Four collinear mag 13-14.5 stars extending to the northwest begins 2.5' W.
UGC 7905, a disturbed, interacting system with tidal tails
extending from both galaxies, lies 8.5' ENE. The pair is oriented SSW to NNE with centers separated by
35". At 225x, the southwest
member (
18" (6/28/03): fairly faint, small, elongated 2:1 SSW-NNE, 0.5'x0.25', stellar nucleus. There appears to be a faint star at the NE tip (verified on DSS). A striking line of four mag 13-14 stars (total length 2.8') is close NW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4646 = H. II-910 = H.
II-794.2 = h1407 on 2 Apr 1791 (sweep 1001) and noted "faint,
small". His position
(Caroline's reduction) is within 1' of
John Herschel recorded "Has 4 vS stars south-preceding in a line." His position matches UGC 7891, though the string of stars is north-preceding. JH sorted out the confusion with WH's two observations of II-794 in preparing the GC and listed them as II-794.1 and II-794.2. Dreyer agreed that these are different objects in his revision of William Herschel's catalogs and introduced the new designation II-910 (following the last number assigned) for the second observation.
Dreyer examined the field at Birr Castle on 25 Apr 1878. After observing NGC 4644, he moved 20' south and described NGC 4646 as "pB, E 50°, biN (Dist. 23"), 4 st nearly in a line p and a little n, 3'-4' from neb." The second "nucleus" is a very faint star at the northeast edge of the galaxy. Then he reported "A third nebula, biN in Pos. 16.5°, Dist 44", sp Nucl much the brighter, other one fainter and smaller, perhaps composed of st. This nebula is in Pos 71.5°, Dist 533" from [GC] 3179 [NGC 4646]." At this separation from NGC 4646 is the double galaxy UGC 7905, which fits Dreyer's description. He assumed this nebula was [GC] 5668 = NGC 4669, so UGC 7905 did not receive a NGC designation.
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NGC 4647 = Arp 116 NED1 = VV 206b = Holm 448b = UGC 7896 =
12 43 32.5 +11 34 56; Vir
V = 11.3; Size 2.9'x2.3'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 125°
48" (4/28/22): bright, large, strong concentration with a bright core. The fairly bright 2' diameter halo is mottled or uneven in surface brightness and elongated 4:3 ~E-W. The SE edge of halo appears to be in contact with the outer halo of M60, which is centered 2.5' SE. Type Ia supernova 2022hrs, discovered on 16 Apr and situated 35" SE of center, was blazing at mag 12.5, is
17.5" (4/25/87): forms a close double with M60. Located just off the NW edge 2.8' from the center of M60. Fairly faint, pretty large diffuse halo, small brighter core. Appears slightly smaller than M60 but clearly less concentrated.
13.1" (5/14/83): faint, moderately large, diffuse. Forms a close pair with M60.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4647 = H. III-44 = h1405, companion to M60, on 15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174). He recorded them together as "Two nebula, one of them [M60] vB." John Herschel made 4 observations. NGC 4637 is possibly a reobservation of this galaxy (see that number).
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NGC 4648 = UGC 7868 = MCG +13-09-029 = CGCG 352-039 = Kaz 31 = PGC 42595
12 41 44.4 +74 25 16; Dra
V = 12.0; Size 2.1'x1.6'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 70°
18" (5/8/04): fairly bright, moderately large, strongly concentrated with a bright 30" core and a much fainter halo ~1' in diameter. Situated within a wedge-shaped group of 8 stars. A striking mag 8.1/10.5 pair 7' W is collinear with the galaxy (oriented E-W). NGC 4589 lies 22' SW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4648 = H. I-274 = h1410 on 22 Nov 1797 (sweep 1064). He logged "considerably bright, very small, 6 or 7' following a coarse double star." It was found on his first sweep conducted with the 18.7" in over three years.
John Herschel made 5 observations and recorded "F; S; bM". He measured an accurate position on sweep 348.
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12 43 39.8 +11 33 11; Vir
V = 8.8; Size 7.4'x6.0'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 105°
48" (4/19/17 and 4/28/22): at 375x and 488x; M60 was extremely bright and large with a very luminous large core that increased to an intensely brilliant nucleus. The outer halo was slightly extended E-W, ~5'x4'. A blazing mag 12.5 supernova in NGC 4647 (SN 2022hrs) was situated 2' NW of center.
In 2017 my main target was UCD 1, the brightest ultra-compact dwarf in M60. It appeared as a very faint, possibly "soft" star, just visible continuously with averted vision, and situated 1.4' SW of the center of M60. The UCD forms a wide pair with a slightly brighter mag 16.5 star 0.5' NW.
17.5" (4/25/87): very bright, fairly large, diffuse halo, slightly elongated ~E-W, very bright core with a bright substellar nucleus. Forms a double system with NGC 4647 which is almost tangent to M60 barely off the NW edge.
13.1" (5/14/83): bright, very bright nucleus, slightly elongated ~E-W.
German astronomer Johann Koehler discovered M60 and M59 on 11 Apr 1779 and noted "Two very small nebulae, hardly visible in a 3-foot telescope: The one above the other." Koehler was tracking the comet of that year. Italian astronomer Barnaba Oriani independently discovered M60 the next night (12 Apr 1779) at the Brera Observatory (Milan), noting "Very pale and looking exactly like the comet." Also, Messier made an independent discovery on 15 Apr 1779 (along with M58 and M59).
William Herschel first recorded M60 on 15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174) as "Two nebula [with NGC 4647], one of them vB." John Herschel's first observation was on 11 Apr 1825 (sweep 3). He logged, "A most curious double nebula. The center dist 1/6 of the field or about 3'. They join with very faint nebulosity."
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12 44 19.6 -40 43 55; Cen
V = 11.6; Size 3.2'x2.8'; Surf Br = 13.9; PA = 83°
48" (4/21/17): at 488x; bright, moderately large, round, sharply concentrated with an intense core surounded by a roundish, mottled halo ~1 diameter. A mag 15 star is 0.5' SW of center at the edge of the halo and a mag 15.5 star is 0.3' NE of center in the halo.
24" (4/12/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): at 200x appeared bright, fairly large, round, strong even concentration with a very bright core inceasing to a small nucleus. A faint star is on the west side of the halo. NGC 4650A, a famous polar-ring galaxy, lies 5.6' ENE and PGC 42911 is a mere 1.9' E of center. The close companion appeared fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1 ~E-W, 0.6'x0.3', even surface brightness.
48" (5/12/12): NGC 4650A appeared moderately bright, fairly small, oval 3:2 WSW-ESE, 24"x16". The polar ring was occasionally visible as faint, thin extensions oriented NNW-SSE. Need to reobserve as viewed through thin clouds.
17.5" (4/7/89): very faint, small, oval WNW-ESE, bright core. Appears slightly brighter than NGC 4622A 5.8' WNW. Member of the Centaurus cluster (AGC 3526).
John Herschel discovered NGC 4650 = h3413 on 26 Jun 1834 and recorded "vF; R; bM; r. Wind violent." He later added the note "Right reduced. The degree of PD certainly correct." His position is accurate, though MCG does not label this galaxy as NGC 4650.
Joseph Turner observed this galaxy, along with NGC 4622, in
July 1876 with the Great Melbourne Telescope (unpublished plate V, figure 58)
but failed to notice any of the surrounding galaxies. He called it "small; extremely faint; center has
somewhat of a stellar character; quite round; appearance of a faint
halo." Pietro Baracchi
observed the surrounded field on 19 and 20 Mar 1885 with the GMT and described
NGC 4650 as "pB, S, R, gsmbM, small star south-preceding near it." In
addition he discovered 6 nearby galaxies; NGC 4622A, 4550A,
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12 43 42.6 +16 23 36; Com
V = 10.8; Size 4.0'x2.6'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 80°
18" (4/10/04): bright, large, elongated 3:2 ~E-W. Well-concentrated with a very bright, elongated 1.0'x0.6' core which increases to the center. Surrounding the core is a large, low surface brightness halo increasing the size to at least 2.5'x1.4' and perhaps 3'x2'.
13.1": fairly bright, slightly elongated, broad moderate concentration, fainter extensions ~E-W.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4651 = H. II-12 = h1409 on 30 Dec 1783 (sweep 74) and recorded "vF, pL, almost R but not cometic, about 3/4 degree sp 27 Coma Ber." Caroline's reduction is a poor match (common in his early sweeps), but his offset from 27 Com matches. This was the last galaxy he discovered in 1783, after two months of initiating his sweeps. John Herschel made 4 observations and measured a fairly accurate position.
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12 43 19.7 +58 57 54; UMa
V = 14.5; Size 1.1'x0.3'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 40°
18" (5/12/07): very faint, elongated 5:2 SW-NE,
0.8'x0.3', very weak concentration.
Located 5'-6' NNW of a wide pair of mag 7.9 (
John Herschel discovered NGC 4652 = h1413 on 1 May 1831 and
recorded "Not vF, pL, gradually brighter in the middle. It is almost 6' dist np two stars sts 8
and 10m". His position is 15
sec of RA preceding
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NGC 4653 = UGC 7900 = MCG +00-33-006 = CGCG 015-009 = PGC 42847
12 43 51.0 -00 33 40; Vir
V = 12.2; Size 3.1'x2.7'; Surf Br = 14.4; PA = 30°
17.5" (2/28/87): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly
elongated, fairly even surface brightness. A mag 11 star is 2.7' SE and a mag 13 star 1.4' SE of
center. In a group with NGC 4642
10' SW, NGC 4666 20' ENE and
William Herschel discovered NGC 4653 = H. III-662 on 11 Apr 1787 (sweep 726) and recorded "vF, pL." His position is 10 sec of RA too large. JH did not make an observation.
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NGC 4654 = UGC 7902 = MCG +02-33-004 = CGCG 071-019 = IC 3708 = PGC 42857
12 43 56.5 +13 07 33; Vir
V = 10.5; Size 4.9'x2.8'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 128°
17.5" (4/21/90): bright, large, elongated 3:2 NW-SE, bright core, mottled. Appears to have a dust lane along the north side. Several bright stars are in the field including a mag 10 star 3.2' WNW, a mag 11 star 6.1' NE and a mag 12 star 2.1' N. NGC 4639 lies 17' NW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4654 = H. II-126 = h1411 on 12 Apr 1784 (sweep 189) and noted "pF, pL, E, r." John Herschel recorded (sweep 192) "vF; vL; 2' l, 90" br; 3 stars near, one = 9th mag." In sweep 245 he questioned if "it is double nebula?".
Harold Corwin identifies
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12 43 36.5 +41 01 07; CVn
V = 13.8; Size 1.0'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.9; PA = E°
18" (3/30/05): faint, small, round, contains a very
small brighter core. A mag 13.5
star lies 0.9' E of center. Forms
a pair with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4655 = H. II-661 = h1412 on 9 Apr 1787 (sweep 725) and recorded "pB, vS, stellar. Just p a smal star. Not verified, but not much doubt. His position is just 1' southeast of CGCG 216-021 = PGC 42823.
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NGC 4656 = UGC 7907a = MCG +05-30-066a = CGCG 159-065a = LGG 299-006 = PGC 42863 = Hockey Stick Galaxy = Fishhook Galaxy
12 43 58.2 +32 10 13; CVn
V = 10.5; Size 15.1'x3.0'; Surf Br = 14.5; PA = 33°
48" (4/23/17): this showpiece galaxy was viewed at 375x and 488x and the structure/details was very comparable to the POSS2. The galaxy extended ~8'x1' SW-NE, though it has a much lower surface brightness on the SW end. It is well concentrated with a very bright and large, elongated core on the south end of the brighter half, giving a very asymmetric appearance. A bright stellar or quasi-stellar knot is at the southwest edge of the core (this is a huge star cloud on the HST image identified in SIMBAD as [BKD2008] WR 462, from a 2008 paper on Wolf-Rayet features). A faint (17th mag?) stellar object is close east.
The low surface brightness SW portion of the galaxy was broader than the NE section. It includes a faint, quasi-stellar knot (identified in SIMBAD as CasHII N4656a, from a 1984 Case University survey of HII regions in blue galaxies) along the western edge with a SDSS magnitude of 17.8V.
At least 4 main HII complexes are at the northeast end of
the galaxy (
18" (5/14/07): this fascinating galaxy forms one of the most striking pairs in the sky with NGC 4631 32' NW. At 220x, the distorted shape extends ~9'x1.5' in a SW-NE orientation. On first glance, it appears the bulging core is offset at the SW end, though with averted vision a very low surface brightness broader extension continues to the the SW of the core for several arcminutes before fading into the background. The core is very bright and mottled with a bright knot (HII region) jutting out to the west at the southwest end of the core. The NE extension has a remarkable, fairly bright 2' extension (NGC 4657), hooking to the east at a 45° angle from the major axis (the "blade" of the hockey stick). There is a small, faint, detached knot beyond the east end of the "blade" that appears to have broken off. The unusual bend and knot at the NE end is a result of a prior tidal interaction with its more massive neighbor, NGC 4631.
13.1" (many dates from 5/28/84 to 4/12/86): striking!, fairly bright, very elongated SW-NE. Appears wider and brighter at the SW end. The NE end hooks sharply east to merge with NGC 4657 which may be a part of NGC 4656 and not a separate galaxy. A star or knot is attached at the south end. Appears like a celestial hockey stick!
William Herschel discovered NGC 4656 = H. I-176 = h1414, along with NGC 4657, on 20 Mar 1787 (sweep 722). They were recorded together as "Two, their nebulosity join; they are both elongated and together form the shape of the letter "S". The most south [NGC 4656] considerably bright, much brighter middle. The most north [NGC 4657], pretty bright from sp to nf, but very near the meridian. John Herschel made a total of 5 observations. In sweep 342 he noted, "a long nebulous ray pos = 34.3° (by micrometer). Its southern half is fainter than its northern. It meets and cuts? another nebula [NGC 4657]. A strange object." A sketch was published in plate 15, Figure 75 in his Slough Observations. The pair was discovered two minutes after the discovery of NGC 4627 and 4631.
Birr Castle assistant Bindon Blood Stoney sketched the pair on Apr 26 1851 (Plate 28, Fig. 26 in Rosse's 1861 publication). The following year he called this pair "like a caterpillar on a leaf."
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NGC 4657 = UGC 7907b = MCG +05-30-066b = CGCG 159-065b = PGC 42863
12 44 08.2 +32 12 32; CVn
Size 1.1'x0.7'; PA = 90°
48" (4/23/17): NGC 4657 consists of at least 4 main HII complexes at the northeast end of NGC 4657, including a separate detached section. On the southwest edge is a bright knot, ~8" diameter, catalogued in SIMBAD as CasHII N4656f and in NED as NGC 4656:[DBT2008] 85 from a 2008 paper on massive clusters. A brighter 10" knot, identified in NED as 2MASX J12440599+3212340, is ~20" N, also along the west edge of the NE extension. The northeast end of the galaxy (NGC 4657) has a sharp extension to the east with a slightly brighter patch, identified in NED as 2MASX J12440844+3212340. Finally a bright, elongated patch ~30"x15" oriented NNW-SSE is detached to the east. SIMBAD identifies this object as NGC 4657, though the NGC designation should probably apply to the entire bent NE end of the galaxy.
18" (5/14/07): The north end of NGC 4656 has a remarkable, fairly bright 2' extension (NGC 4657), hooking to the east at a 45° angle from the major axis (the "blade" of the hockey stick). There is a faint, small, detached knot beyond the east end of the "blade" that appears to have broken off. This unusual bend and knot is likely a starburst region of NGC 4656 and the result of a prior tidal interaction with its more massive neighbor, NGC 4631.
13.1" (severa dates from 6/30/84 to 4/10/86): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated NNW-SSE. NGC 4657 is attached at the NE end of the remarkable galaxy NGC 4656 and elongated at nearly a right angle to the curving section of NGC 4656 just west.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4657 = H. I-177 = h1415 on 20 Mar 1787 (sweep 722). See descriptions under NGC 4656.
The UGC, MCG and CGCG list a single entry for the pair and NGC 4657 may be a tidally disturbed "tail" of NGC 4656 and not an independent galaxy. The primary designation for this object in NED is NGC 4656 NED02, with NGC 4657 the second identification. The position is on NE warped section (elongated E-W) of NGC 4656. The position is SIMBAD, though, is on the partially detached section close east with classification HII galaxy. HyperLeda has a listing for 2MASXJ12440844+3212340, with secondary designation NGC 4657 and object type "Part of galaxy". Corwin's position is on the brightest patch on the west side of E-W tail.
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12 44 37.7 -10 05 03; Vir
V = 12.5; Size 2.1'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 0°
17.5" (3/23/85): moderately bright, elongated ~N-S,
appears mottled or irregular.
Located 2.5' E of mag 8.6
William Herschel discovered NGC 4658 = H. II-558 = h3414 on 25 Mar 1786 (sweep 546) and recorded "F, E in meridian [N-S], nearly 3' l, following a cB star." NGC 4658 was discovered by WH (II 558). John Herschel logged "eF; attached like a wisp to a * 16m; a * 9m precedes."
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NGC 4659 = UGC 7915 = MCG +02-33-007 = CGCG 071-024 = PGC 42913
12 44 29.4 +13 29 55; Com
V = 12.1; Size 1.7'x1.3'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 173°
17.5" (4/13/02): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 5:4 ~NNW-SSE, 1.0'x0.8'. Contains a small, bright round core embedded in a fainter halo. Located 1.4' NE of a mag 9.8 star. NGC 4639 lies 28' SW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4659 = H. II-127 = h1416 on 12 Apr 1784 (sweep 189) and recorded "F, vS, R, little brighter middle, r, stellar." John Herschel logged "F; R; bM; 30".", and measured an accurate position.
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12 44 32.3 +11 11 27; Vir
V = 11.2; Size 2.2'x1.6'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 100°
13.1" (4/16/83): fairly bright, small, slightly elongated E-W, very small bright core. Located 25' SSE of M60.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4660 = H. II-71 = h1417 on
15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174) and simply noted as "S". There is nothing at Caroline's reduced
position, but 40 sec of RA following and 3' south is
John Herschel listed h1417 as a Nova in the Slough catalogue with description "vB; S; very small & very much brighter middle almost to a star." His position matches UGC 7914.
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12 45 14.8 -40 49 27; Cen
V = 13.5; Size 1.1'x0.4'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 116°
24" (4/12/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): at 200x this Centaurus cluster member (AGC 3526) was moderately bright, fairly small, elongated 2:1 WNW-ESE, 0.8'x0.4'. Located just 1' S of a 45" pair of mag 12.5 stars and 11.7' SE of NGC 4661.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4661 = h3415 on 5 Jun 1834 and
logged "F; R; pL; gradually brighter in the middle.". His position was not measured
accurately - the RA is given to the nearest minute of time and the RA to the
nearest min of arc and marked "+/-". There is nothing at his rough position, though 16' north is
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12 44 26.3 +37 07 15; CVn
V = 13.0; Size 1.9'x1.6'; Surf Br = 13.8; PA = 55°
17.5" (4/28/89): fairly faint, moderately large, round, gradually brighter halo, very small brighter core. A mag 14.5 star is 3.1' NW and a mag 15 star 2.5' N.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4662 = H. II-643 = h1418 on 17 Mar 1787 (sweep 714) and noted "F, pL, gradually brighter in the middle, r." John Herschel logged "pB; pL; R; bM; 40"."
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NGC 4663 = IC 811 = MCG -02-33-002 = PGC 42946
12 44 47.1 -10 11 52; Vir
V = 13.7; Size 1.0'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 170°
17.5" (3/23/85): faint, edge-on ~N-S, very small, brighter core, almost stellar nucleus. Forms a pair with NGC 4658 7' NNW.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4663 in 1883 with the 11-inch refractor at Arcetri in Italy. In the narrative portion of his fifth paper (AN 2439) he described a nebula that is 8' south-following NGC 4658, but he was unable to make a measurement using the circle micrometer. This galaxy is 7.2' south-southeast of NGC 4663, so the identification is certain, although the NGC RA is 12 seconds too large and the Dec off by 2' too small.
Bigourdan found this galaxy again on 13 May 1888, assumed it
was new, and reported it in his Comptes Rendus discovery lists as #176. As a result, Dreyer recatalogued NGC
4663 as
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12 45 06.1 +03 03 21; Vir
See observing notes for NGC 4665.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4664 = H. II-39 on 23 Feb 1784 (sweep 158) and recorded "pB. It contains two stars in the center and is preceded by a small star at the distance of 1/2 or 3/4 minute." There is nothing at his position, but 10' south is NGC 4665. In the 1912 revision of Herschel's catalogues, Dreyer comments "Neither [William] nor [John Herschel] nor d'Arrest saw more than one nebula here, it is therefore = I-142 [NGC 4665] with an error of 10' in PD." The star mentioned in the observation clinches the identification. So, NGC 4664 = NGC 4665. Although NGC 4664 is an earlier observation (I-142 was found on 30 Apr 1786), the modern designation is NGC 4665. NGC 4624 may be another observation of this galaxy (see that entry).
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NGC 4665 = NGC 4664 = NGC 4624: = UGC 7924 = MCG +01-33-005 = CGCG 043-018 = PGC 42970
12 45 06.1 +03 03 21; Vir
V = 10.5; Size 3.8'x3.2'; Surf Br = 13.1
17.5" (3/24/90): bright, moderately large, oval NNW-SSE, prominent core. A mag 15 star is at the NNW end 1.2' from center. Located 1.7' NE of a mag 10 star.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4665 = H. I-142 = h1419 on 30 Apr 1786 (sweep 558). He recorded "cB, pL, irregularly round, gradually much brighter middle. John Herschel logged (first of two sweeps) "B; not vL; very suddenly brighter in the middle; has a * 10m 45° sp at 1' distance." NGC 4664 = H. II-30 is a duplicate (earlier) observation, but he made a 10' error in the north polar distance. And John Herschel's h1390 = NGC 4624 may also be another observation of this galaxy.
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NGC 4666 = UGC 7926 = MCG +00-33-008 = CGCG 015-015 = Holm 453a = LGG 299-002 = PGC 42975
12 45 08.5 -00 27 42; Vir
V = 10.7; Size 4.6'x1.3'; Surf Br = 12.5; PA = 42°
17.5" (2/28/87): very bright, edge-on 4:1 SW-NE, fairly large, 4'x1', very bright core, mottled and streaky appearance. A close trio of mag 11-13 stars lies 5' SE. Forms a pair with NGC 4668 8' SE, which follows the triple star.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4666 = H. I-15 = h1420 on 22 Feb 1784 (sweep 153) and recorded "E from sp to nf, seems to contain bright places in the middle; it is not cometic, but appears to be resolvable. It resembles the two foregoing nebula [NGC 4632 and NGC 4592] but is narrower." John Herschel logged "pB; mE; pretty suddenly brighter middle; pos 45° nf or sp." and measured an accurate position.
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NGC 4667 = NGC 4638 = UGC 7880 = MCG +02-32-187 = CGCG 070-230 = CGCG 071-006 = PGC 42728
12 42 47.4 +11 26 32; Vir
See observing notes for NGC 4638.
John Herschel found NGC 4667 = h1421 on 23 Mar 1830 and logged "B; S; R; pretty suddenly brighter middle; 15"." There are no bright galaxies near his position, but Harold Corwin found that Herschel made an error in his reduction for h1421. Using 41 Virginis as a reference star (also in the sweep), the re-reduced position lands on NGC 4638. Reinmuth, Frost, d'Arrest and Vogel all reported NGC 4667 as not found (at the incorrect published position).
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NGC 4668 = UGC 7931 = MCG +00-33-009 = CGCG 015-016 = Holm 453b = LGG 299-003 = PGC 42999
12 45 31.9 -00 32 10; Vir
V = 13.1; Size 1.4'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 5°
17.5" (2/28/87): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly elongated N-S. Forms a pair with NGC 4666 7.4' NW. A triple star is 3.0' due west consisting of mag 11.5/13/13.5 stars at 20" separation between the closer pairs.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4668 = H. III-663 on 11 Apr 1787 (sweep 726) and logged "vF, S, iF." d'Arrest made two observations and mentioned the triple star that preceded by 12 sec in RA.
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NGC 4669 = UGC 7925 = MCG +09-21-038 = CGCG 270-018 = LGG 300-002 = PGC 42942
12 44 46.8 +54 52 33; UMa
V = 13.2; Size 1.4'x0.4'; Surf Br = 12.3; PA = 177°
24" (5/30/16): fairly faint, moderately large, very
elongated 7:2 N-S, 1.0'x0.3', small brighter core. Mag 9.7
UGC 7905 = VV 708, located 8' WNW of NGC 4669, is a disturbed, interacting system with tidal tails extending from both galaxies. The pair is oriented SSW to NNE with centers separated by 35". At 225x, the southwest member (Mrk 220) appeared fairly faint, small, high surface brightness, roundish, 18" diameter. The northeast component (Mrk 221) appeared faint, fairly small, 18", low surface brightness. Only the central region was seen and I missed the tidal tail extending to the north and east. This pair was discovered by Dreyer, but didn't receive an NGC designation due to a misidentification.
18" (6/28/03): faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1 N-S,
0.7'x0.35', fairly low nearly even surface brightness. Located 3.0' W of mag 9.8
William Herschel discovered NGC 4669 = H. III-778 = GC 5668
on 14 Apr 1789 (sweep 921). He noted "considerably faint, small,
elongated." My re-reduced
position (with respect to 77 UMa) lands 1.5' NE of
John Herschel mistakenly equated H. III-778 with GC 3206 (NGC 4675). As an assistant at Birr Castle, Dreyer observed NGC 4669 on 25 Apr 1878, noting "F, S, E n-s", but he referred to it as GC 3206 and he repeated this error in the NGC. In the same observation, Dreyer clearly observed UGC 7905 (pair described as "bi-nuclear in pos 16.5°, dist 44"), but UGC 7905 didn't receive a NGC designation as he assumed it was NGC 4669!
Heinrich d'Arrest independently discovered NGC 4669 on 10 Dec 1866 and noted a mag 10-11 star followed by 21.5 seconds of time, confirming the identification with UGC 7925. Although Dreyer attributed d'Arrest with the discovery in the NGC, he equated H. III-778 with NGC 4669 in his 1912 NGC Correction list.
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12 45 17.0 +27 07 31; Com
V = 12.7; Size 1.4'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 90°
17.5" (3/20/93): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated
3:2 E-W, bright core, almost stellar nucleus. Located 4.5' W of mag 9
William Herschel discovered NGC 4670 = H. III-328 = h1422, along with NGC 4673, on 6 Apr 1785 (sweep 393) and noted "F, S." John Herschel made four observations, calling this galaxy "B", "pB" and "F".
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12 45 47.6 -07 04 11; Vir
V = 12.6; Size 1.5'x1.3'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 141°
18" (4/9/05): fairly faint, fairly small, round, 0.8' diameter. Gradually increases to a very small brighter core, symmetrical appearance.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4671 = H. II-774 = h1423 on
20 Mar 1789 (sweep 913) and logged "pB, S, mbM, iR." His position matches
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12 46 15.5 -41 42 23; Cen
V = 13.2; Size 2.0'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 134°
14" (4/2/16 - Coonabarabran, 160x): fairly faint,
fairly small, elongated 2:1 SW-NE, slightly brighter along the major axis,
broad weak concentration. A group of five stars is south and southwest
including a mag 11.8 star 3.5' S and a mag 12.3 star 2.4' SE. NGC 4672 is a member of the Centaurus
Cluster (AGC 3526) with
John Herschel discovered NGC 4672 = h3416 on 8 Jun 1834 and
recorded "eF; S; R; very gradually brighter middle." He later added the noted "Right
reduced. See No. 3413." His position matches
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NGC 4673 = UGC 7933 = MCG +05-30-073 = CGCG 159-070 = Mrk 656 = PGC 43008
12 45 34.6 +27 03 38; Com
V = 12.9; Size 1.0'x0.9'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 170°
17.5" (3/20/93): faint, small, round, bright core, faint stellar nucleus. Located 4.1' S of mag 8.9 SAO 82478 which forms the vertex of an isosceles right triangle with NGC 4673 and NGC 4670 5.6' NW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4673 = H. III-329 = h1424, along with NGC 4670, on 6 Apr 1785 (sweep 393) and noted "vF, S. Goes in the field with the former [NGC 4670]." John Herschel made three observations, although his positions were not very accurate.
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12 46 03.5 -08 39 19; Vir
V = 13.1; Size 1.7'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 119°
18" (4/9/05): faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1 NW-SE,
1.0'x0.5'. At first I only noticed
the brighter 0.4' core, but with averted vision the fainter extensions were
visible. Located 9' ENE of mag 9
John Herschel discovered NGC 4674 = h3417 on 5 May 1836 and recorded "vF; R: gradually little brighter middle; 30"." An early SN discovery (1907A) was made by Luyten
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NGC 4675 = UGC 7935 = MCG +09-21-039 = CGCG 270-019 = LGG 300-010 = PGC 42998
12 45 31.9 +54 44 15; UMa
V = 14.4; Size 1.3'x0.4'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 97°
18" (6/28/03): faint, fairly small, very elongated 3:1
E-W, 0.9'x0.3', weak concentration.
A mag 11 star lies 3.9' SE.
Located between NGC 4669 10.5' NW and
William Herschel discovered NGC 4675 = H. II-795 on 14 Apr
1789 (sweep 921). He noted
"very faint, very small."
My re-reduced position (with respect to 77 UMa) lands 1' NE of
John Herschel mistakenly identified this galaxy as III-778 (which applies to NGC 4669) in the GC and Dreyer followed in the NGC. d'Arrest also measured an accurate position.
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12 46 10.7 +30 43 38; Com
V = 13.0; Size 2.3'x0.7'; Surf Br = 12.3; PA = 0°
82" (5/5/19, McDonald Observatory): at 613x; the tidal
tail north of
48" (4/6/13): fascinating interacting pair consisting of IC 819 (NNW component) and IC 820 (slightly brighter SSE component), separated by 40" between centers. At 375x and 488x in soft seeing, IC 819 appeared fairly bright, small, elongated 3:2 N-S, 24"x16", high surface brightness. IC 820 was bright, fairly small, elongated 3:2 SW-NE, 30"x20", high surface brightness, increased to a small, very bright nucleus. The two galaxies are connected or surrounded by a low surface brightness bridge. IC 819 has a remarkable bright, long thin tidal tail shooting due north! The tail has a high surface brightness (brightest feature of this type I've observed in any galaxy) and extends roughly 80"x8", dimming at the north end and ending just east of a mag 17.3 star. IC 820 has a small, low surface brightness halo on its south side, but its tail to the south was not clearly resolved.
24" (5/22/17): the interacting "Mice" duo
(
17.5" (4/28/89): the northwest member (IC 819) of the interacting pair "The Mice" appeared faint, small, low surface brightness, elongated N-S. NGC 4676B = IC 820, the southeast member of the pair was slightly brighter and appeared faint, small, round with a small bright core. The thin "tails" of the the Mice extending north and south were not seen.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4676 = H. II-326 = h1425 on 13 Mar 1785 (sweep 387). He noted "faint, much extended in the meridian [N-S]." John Herschel made the single observation "extremely faint; query if not bicentral; sky perfectly clear". So he suspected two components. No observations were made at Birr Castle.
Rudolf Spitaler resolved the two components (IC 819 and IC 820) on 20 Mar 1892 with the 27" refractor at the Vienna observatory.
In a 1957 paper, Vorontsov-Velyaminov named this class of objects "mice" and the nickname was used in the Burbidge's 1959 paper "Some Interconnected Multiple Extragalactic Nebulae".
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NGC 4677 = ESO 322-078 = MCG -07-26-044 = LGG 298-043 = PGC 43127
12 46 57.0 -41 34 58; Cen
V = 12.8; Size 1.7'x0.7'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 167°
18" (7/7/05 - Magellan Observatory, Australia):
moderately bright, moderately large, elongated 5:2 NNW-SSE, 1.0'x0.4'. Gradually increases to a small bright
core and quasi-stellar nucleus.
Located in the core of the Centaurus cluster, 26' SW of
17.5" (4/7/89): very faint, oval N-S, low even surface brightness. Member of the Centaurus cluster (AGC 3526).
John Herschel discovered NGC 4677 = h3418 on 8 Jun 1834 and
recorded "eF; lE; very gradually brighter middle." His position is just off the south end
of
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12 49 41.9 -04 34 46; Vir
V = 14.2; Size 1.0'x0.5'; PA = 85°
18" (4/30/11): faint, but easily picked as a small glow, elongated 3:2 E-W, 25"x15". A mag 15 star lies 30" ESE of center. I kept having the impression that I was resolving a very faint star or nearly stellar galaxy that was attached and the SDDS image reveals this is a double system (oreinted E-W) with two nuclei encased in a common halo, comfirming my impression.
Francis Leavenworth discovered NGC 4678 = LM 2-456 in 1886
and recorded "mag 15.5, 0.1' dia, R, neb?; * follows 2 sec." There is nothing anywhere near his
position. But exactly 3.0 min of
RA east is
Because of the bad position, RNGC classifies NGC 4678 as nonexistent and MCG labels this galaxy IC 824, though NGC 4678 should be the primary designation. This is either a merged double system with two nuclei or a bright knot is at the west end.
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12 47 30.1 -39 34 17; Cen
V = 12.4; Size 2.4'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 4°
18" (3/28/09): at 175x appeared very faint, moderately
large, elongated 3:2 N-S, 1.0'x0.7', low surface brightness. Located 5.5' NNE of mag 8.8
John Herschel discovered NGC 4679 = h3419 on 22 Apr 1835 and
recorded "eeF, pL, R, 60" (No doubt)." His position is 15 sec of
RA west of
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12 46 54.7 -11 38 10; Vir
V = 12.6; Size 1.2'x0.8'; Surf Br = 12.4; PA = 45°
17.5" (3/29/89): moderately bright, small, slightly elongated. Unusual appearance as the galaxy appears to fan out from a mag 12 star embedded at the east edge.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4680 = h3420 on 27 May 1835 and
recorded "eF; S; has one or two small stars entangled in it." His position and description matches
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12 47 28.7 -43 20 05; Cen
V = 12.6; Size 1.3'x1.2'; Surf Br = 13.0
14" (4/2/16 - Coonabarabran, 160x): moderately bright,
fairly small, oval 4:3 or 5:4 N-S, ~40"x32", fairly high surface
brightness, gradually increases to a very small bright core and stellar
nucleus. A number of bright stars
are scattered in the field: mag 7.8
John Herschel discovered NGC 4681 = h3421 on 15 Mar 1836 and
recorded, "pF; S; R; gradually brighter in the middle;
15"." His position
matches
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12 47 15.5 -10 03 48; Vir
V = 12.2; Size 2.6'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 85°
17.5" (3/23/85): fairly large, very diffuse, elongated ~WSW-ENE, low even surface brightness. A mag 14 star is off the NE edge 1.5' from center. The NGC 4658/NGC 4663 pair is located 35' W.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4682 = H. III-523 = h3423 on 25 Mar 1786 (sweep 546) and recorded "vF, E from sp to nf, 3 or 4' l, near 3' br." John Herschel called this galaxy "pF; E; gradually very little brighter middle; 45" l." and measured an accurate position.
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12 47 42.2 -41 31 42; Cen
V = 12.7; Size 1.4'x0.8'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 130°
18" (7/7/05 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 3:2 NW-SE, 0.5'x0.3', moderate concentration with a 10" core. A mag 14.5 star is off the SE end and a mag 13 star lies 1.0' SW. Located 18' SW of NGC 4696 in the core of the Centaurus Cluster (AGC 3526).
John Herschel discovered NGC 4683 = h3422 on 8 Jun 1834 and recorded "eF; S; R; very gradually brighter middle; 60"; nf a small stars. His position was 1.7' too far south.
While observing the field of NGC 4683, Pietro Baracchi discovered NGC 4696A on 4 Jul 1885 with the 48" Melbourne telescope. He described NGC 4683 as "F; S; R; very little brighter middle. Has a star 13th mag preceding it by 4 seconds and 40" south of it." This galaxy was reported as new at Helwan observatory in 1921, based on plates taken of the Centaurus cluster in 1919-20.
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12 47 17.5 -02 43 38; Vir
V = 11.4; Size 2.9'x1.0'; Surf Br = 12.4; PA = 23°
17.5" (2/28/87): moderately bright, fairly small, elongated 3:1 SSW-NNE, brighter along the major axis, bright core. A mag 14 star is off the NNE tip 0.8' from center and a mag 15.5 star is following the SSW end.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4684 = H. II-181 = h1426 on 22 Apr 1784 (sweep 912) and logged "pF, pL, E, r." John Herschel made the single observation "B; not vL; pmE; pretty gradually brighter middle." and measured a fairly accurate position.
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12 47 11.4 +19 27 51; Com
V = 12.6; Size 1.6'x1.0'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 158°
18" (5/15/04): fairly faint, small, elongated 3:2
NNW-SSE, 0.5'x0.3'. Sharply
concentrated with a 0.3'x0.2' core which increases to a stellar nucleus. The small, dim halo is very faint and
required averted vision. Situated
between mag 10
18" (4/10/04): fairly faint, very small (viewed core only), 20" diameter. Fairly high surface brightness with a sharp, mag 14 stellar nucleus which easily stands out.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4685 = H. III-398 = h1427 on 27 Apr 1785 (sweep 403) and noted "vF, vS, r." John Herschel made three observations calling this object (sweep 61) "pB; S; resolved or resolvable. Has a star in centre." His mean position is accurate and d'Arrest's is withing a few arcsec of center.
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NGC 4686 = UGC 7946 = MCG +09-21-044 = CGCG 270-021 = LGG 300-003 = PGC 43101
12 46 39.8 +54 32 03; UMa
V = 12.6; Size 2.0'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 3°
18" (6/28/03): fairly faint, very elongated 3:1 N-S, 1.0'x0.3', fairly sharp concentration with a small bright core. Two mag 14 stars close NE are collinear with the core. In a group of NGC galaxies and between NGC 4675 15' NW and NGC 4695 12' SE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4686 = H. II-795 = h1428 on 14 Apr 1789 (sweep 921). He logged "pretty bright, considerably large, bright nucleus, little elongated." My re-reduced position (with respect to 77 UMa) is within 1' of UGC 7946. On 2 Apr 1791 (sweep 1001), Herschel reobserved NGC 4686 and called it "pretty bright, very small, much brighter middle." At the same time he discovered NGC 4695, located 12' SE. But Caroline was confused with the identifications and assumed the new object was a reobservation NGC 4686 and the second observation of NGC 4686 was a reobservation of NGC 4675! As a result of this confusing situation, NGC 4695 didn't receive a Herschel designation. Dreyer, In the 1912 revision of Herschel's catalogue, Dreyer added a new designation III-985 to refer to NGC 4695.
John Herschel called it "pretty bright; pretty much elongated; very suddenly brighter middle."
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12 47 23.8 +35 21 07; CVn
V = 13.2; Size 0.9'x0.8'; Surf Br = 12.8
16" LX200 (4/14/07): fairly faint, small, slightly
elongated, 0.5'x0.4', slightly brighter quasi-stellar nucleus. Forms the SW vertex of an isosceles
triangle with two mag 13 stars 5.7' NE and 5.8' ENE.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4687 = h1430 on 11 Mar 1831 and logged "vF; R; pretty suddenly brighter middle; 15".". His single position is accurate.
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12 47 46.4 +04 20 10; Vir
V = 11.9; Size 3.2'x2.8'; Surf Br = 14.1
17.5" (4/21/90): extremely faint, fairly large, round, very low surface brightness, brighter core. Appears as a hazy region without distinct borders. Located 3.8' E of a mag 10.5 star.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4688 = H. III-543 = h1429 on 17 Apr 1786 (sweep 553) and noted "eF, pL." John Herschel measured a fairly accurate position and noted "10 sec following a * 9-10 mag." A bright knot on the northwest end appears bright enough to be a visual object.
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12 47 45.7 +13 45 45; Com
V = 10.9; Size 4.3'x3.5'; Surf Br = 13.7
17.5" (5/14/94): fairly bright, fairly large, elongated
3:2 WNW-ENE, 3'x2', large diffuse halo, weak concentration, ill-defined
brighter core, possible mottling.
A pair of mag 11.5/12 stars with separation 1.2' (parallel to the major
axis) are located 3.5' N. At 280x,
a 1.0' core is more prominent and the outer halo become becomes difficult to
view. At low power, forms the
northern vertex of a triangle with 28 Comae Berenices (V = 6.6) 14' SSE and mag
8.2
William Herschel discovered NGC 4689 = H. II-128 = h1431 on 12 Apr 1784 (sweep 189) and logged "L, R, bM, r." John Herschel made 3 observations and measured an accurate (mean) position.
On 29 Apr 1851, LdR assistant Bindon Stoney recorded "vF, gradually brighter in the middle, edges fade off. I fancied a dark space p the central portion." A few nights later he noted "F, suspected spiral."
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12 47 55.5 -01 39 22; Vir
V = 12.9; Size 1.2'x0.9'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 150°
17.5" (4/21/90): faint, very small, elongated 3:2 NW-SE, very small bright core is possibly stellar.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4690 = H. III-664 on 11 Apr
1787 (sweep 726) and logged "vF, S." His position is 2.5' south-southeast of
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12 48 13.6 -03 19 58; Vir
V = 11.1; Size 2.8'x2.3'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 75°
17.5" (2/28/87): bright, fairly small, oval 2:1 WSW-ENE, brighter along the major axis, small bright core.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4691 = H. II-182 = h1432 on 22 Apr 1784 (sweep 204) and recorded "pF, pL, E, r." John Herschel made the single observation "B; pmE nearly in the parallel [E-W]; gradually much brighter middle; 90" l, 60" br." and measured a fairly accurate position.
The SDSS image shows a very knotty bar and Hermann Kobold measured two positions in 1894 at Strasbourg; one he labeled as the main nucleus and a seond (close west) that he identified as nebulous. This galaxy may be a late merger based on the SDSS image.
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12 47 55.3 +27 13 20; Com
V = 12.6; Size 1.3'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.2
17.5" (3/20/93): fairly faint, small, round, weak
concentration. Located 7' NNW of
mag 8.0
William Herschel discovered NGC 4692 = H. II-381 = h1433 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and logged "F, S." John Herschel made three observations and d'Arrest made two observations (and measured an accurate position).
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12 47 09.2 +71 10 34; Dra
V = 13.5; Size 2.5'x0.5'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 34°
18" (5/8/04): faint, moderately large, edge-on streak 5:1 SW-NE, 1.4'x0.3', broad weak concentration. A mag 12.5 star is south of the SSW extension, 1.8' from the center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4693 = H. III-906 on 7 Apr 1793 (sweep 1037). He logged "very faint, extended, about 2' long and 1/2' broad." His RA was 40 seconds too small.
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12 48 15.1 +10 59 01; Vir
V = 11.4; Size 3.2'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 140°
17.5" (5/14/94): fairly bright, elongated 5:2 NW-SE, 2.5'x1.0', overall high surface brightness, faint halo with an abrupt bright core and stellar nucleus. A mag 14.5 star lies 1.3' W of center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4694 = H. II-72 = h1434 on 15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174) and noted "S, lE. The 2nd figure of the minutes was in the great hurry forgot to put down; but I suppose it was intended for 31 min." His estimated RA was 1 minute too small. John Herschel made up for this by measuring the RA accurately on 6 sweeps, the earliest on 9 May 1825 (sweep 4), when he called it "pB, round, gradually much brighter middle."
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NGC 4695 = IC 3791 = UGC 7966 = MCG +09-21-048 = CGCG 270-023 = LGG 300-004 = PGC 43173
12 47 32.1 +54 22 29; UMa
V = 13.4; Size 1.1'x0.7'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 80°
18" (6/28/03): faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1
WSW-ENE, 0.8'x0.4', low even surface brightness. With averted vision the size increases slightly and seems
brighter along the major axis.
Located 8.5' SW of mag 8.9
William Herschel discovered NGC 4695 = H. III-985 = h1435 on 2 Apr 1791 (sweep 1001). He noted "extremely faint, pretty small." His position was accurate, but Caroline mistakenly assumed this was a duplicate observation of NGC 4686, found on 14 Apr 1789, so she didn't assign a new discovery number. The GC and NGC positions are accurate, although NGC 4695 is called H. II-796, which should apply to NGC 4686. Unfortunately, NGC 4695 is left without a Herschel designation, so Dreyer created a new catalog designation III-985 (all numbers after III-978 were added later by John Herschel of Dreyer) in the 1912 update of the Herschel catalogues.
Lewis Swift found this galaxy on 23 May 1897, assumed it was
new, and recorded it in discovery list XI-141 (later
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NGC 4696 = ESO 322-091 = MCG -07-26-051 = LGG 298-044 = PGC 43296
12 48 49.2 -41 18 40; Cen
V = 10.4; Size 4.5'x3.2'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 95°
18" (7/7/05 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): fairly
bright, moderately large, elongated 3:2 WNW-ESE, 1.8'x1.2'. Gradually increases to a brighter
30" core. The halo reaches a
mag 13.5 at the NW edge. This
galaxy is the brightest member of the Centaurus cluster (
17.5" (4/7/89): brightest galaxy in the Centaurus
cluster (AGC 3526). Moderately
bright, moderately large, oval WNW-ESE, brighter core. A mag 13.5 star is at the NW edge.
James Dunlop discovered NGC 4696 = D 510 = D 511 = h3424 on 7 May 1826. He described D 510 (from handwritten notes) as a "faint nebula, about 12" or 15" diameter, very ill defined at the edges, slightly condensed to the center, 14' or 15' south - rather preceding - a star 7th mag." His position was 16' too far NW. D 511 was logged as a "pretty large faint nebula." and his position was 12' too far SE. Neither of these positional discrepancies are unusually large.
John Herschel made the single observation on 5 Jun 1834, "pB; L; R; gradually brighter in the middle; 2' resolvable." Herschel discovered 16 other galaxies in the Centaurus cluster.
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12 48 35.8 -05 48 02; Vir
V = 9.2; Size 7.2'x4.7'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 70°
17.5" (4/21/90): very bright, fairly large, elongated
2:1 WSW-ENE. Even concentration in
halo, then a very bright intense core.
The large halo gradually fades out at edges. A mag 12 star is 2.7' NE of center. Located 35' NNE of mag 6.3 SAO
138967. Visible in the 16x80
finder. Brightest in a large,
loose galaxy group (LGG 314) with two dozen members including
William Herschel discovered NGC 4697 = H. I-39 = h1436 on 24 Apr 1784 (sweep 205). His description reads, "vB, vL, irregularly extended, much brighter middle but the brightness breaks off abruptly [sharply concentrated] so as almost to resemble a resolvable nucleus consisting of 4 or 5 bright stars. There is however too much moonlight to describe the nebula completely." He observed it again on 20 Mar 1789 (sweep 913): "vB, little elongated from sp to nf, very gradually brighter middle, 3 or 4' long, but clouds coming on." He published his sketch from 1784 in his 1811 PT paper (Fig. 23) as an illustration of "nebulae that are suddenly much brighter in the middle."
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12 48 23.0 +08 29 16; Vir
V = 10.6; Size 4.0'x2.5'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 170°
17.5" (4/21/90): fairly bright, moderately large,
elongated 2:1 N-S, small very bright core. Situated between a mag 11 star at the north edge 2.1' from
the center and a mag 10.5 star off the south edge 2.7' from center. Mag 7.7
William Herschel discovered NGC 4698 = H. I-8 = H. III-6 on 18 Jan 1784. H. III-6 was the only object recorded in the early sweep 87 and was noted as "a nebula of the first class." The RA was only roughly taken and there was a problem determining the polar distance - only a two degree range was known. He observed this galaxy again on 23 Jan (sweep 106) and called it a "considerable nebula. " The second observation was catalogued as H. I-8, as Caroline considered it a new object. Another observation of H. I-8 was made on 15 Apr 1784 (sweep 194): "vB, not L, lE, mbM. It is between some pB stars." Again on 1 May 1786 (sweep 560): "cB; cL; between 2 pB stars, gradually much brighter middle." Caroline realized that H. I-8 was identical to H. III-6 and added the note "See I.8." to her later copy of the sweep records.
Dreyer commented in his 1912 revision of Herschel's catalogues, "the place [of III-6] agrees sufficiently with that of I-8 and a sketch also agrees with one of I-8. The identity seems certain, and was assumed to be so by J.H. [in the GC]". The RA in the NGC is 10 seconds too large. Schwassmann's corrected RA (based on a Heidelberg plate) in the IC 2 notes is accurate.
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12 49 02.2 -08 39 52; Vir
V = 9.5; Size 3.8'x2.6'; Surf Br = 11.9; PA = 45°
17.5" (4/21/90): very bright, moderately large, elongated 3:2 SSW-NNE, very small intense core with a bright stellar nucleus.
NGC 4699 is the brightest in a group in the southern extension of the Virgo Cluster. Other members include NGCs 4700, 4722, 4742, 4781, 4790, 4802, and 4818.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4699 = H. I-129 = h1437 = h3425 on 3 Mar 1786 (sweep 536) and recorded "very brilliant, irregularly round, very gradually much brighter middle." From Slough, John Herschel described "vB; R; very suddenly much brighter middle to a fine resolvable nucleus, 40". He mistakenly added in parentheses "doubtless a globular cluster".
Based on photos taken at the Helwan Observatory in Egypt in 1919-20, the galaxy was described as "A curious and complex form of spiral. The N is vB and alm stellar. From it project two bright slightly curved spiral arms in p.a. 55° and total length 40"; these merge into a pB oval disc with a sharp edge 1' x 40", E 50° in which are dark lanes and indications of spiral structure; outside this is a vF slightly irr. oval disc 3.5'x 2', E 45°. "
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12 49 07.8 -11 24 46; Vir
V = 11.9; Size 3.0'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.4; PA = 50°
17.5" (3/23/85): moderately bright, thin edge-on 5:1
SW-NE. A mag 12 star lies 2' W of
center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4700 = H. III-524 = h1438 =
h3426 on 25 Mar 1786 (sweep 546) and noted "cF, 4' long and 3/4'
broad." His position matches
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12 49 11.6 +03 23 19; Vir
V = 12.4; Size 2.8'x2.1'; Surf Br = 14.2; PA = 45°
17.5" (2/28/87): moderately bright, fairly small, oval SW-NE, weakly concentrated. A small trio of mag 13 stars lie 3.5' N (closest pair 21" separation).
William Herschel discovered NGC 4701 = H. II-578 on 30 Apr
1786 (sweep 558) and noted "F, S." His position matches
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NGC 4702 = NGC 4692 = UGC 7967 = MCG +05-30-086 = CGCG 159-078 = PGC 43200
12 47 55.3 +27 13 20; Com
See observing notes for NGC 4692.
Heinrich d'Arrest found NGC 4702 on 4 Mar 1867 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. He described (translated by Corwin from Latin) as "Doubtless a very small, very much compressed cluster." There is nothing at his position but exactly 1 minute of RA west is NGC 4692. d'Arrest observed and measured this galaxy on two nights, but not on the night he logged NGC 4702. So, Corwin equates NGC 4702 and NGC 4692.
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12 49 19.0 -09 06 31; Vir
V = 13.7; Size 3.0'x0.6'; Surf Br = 14.1; PA = 156°
18" (4/9/05): very faint edge-on, 4:1 NW-SE,
1.0'x0.25', low even surface brightness.
Located 8' NE of mag 7.6
William Herschel discovered NGC 4703 = H. III-514 on 3 Mar 1786 (sweep 536) and recorded "eF, vS, E." His position is 5 sec of RA east and 1' south of MCG -01-33-015 = PGC 43342.
Based on plates taken at the Helwan observatory in 1919-20, it was described as "F, 2.5' long, vmE 155°, pF almost stellar N; absorption cuts off the northeast edge of the nebula in a sharp line parallel to its greatest extent, giving it much the appearance of the well known nebula NGC 4565."
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12 48 46.4 +41 55 16; CVn
V = 13.7; Size 1.0'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 105°
18" (3/30/05): faint, fairly small, round, fairly low
surface brightness with only a very slightly brighter core which seems offset
from the geometric center. Located
6.4' SE of mag 8.6
William Herschel discovered NGC 4704 = H. II-662 = h1439 on 9 Apr 1787 (sweep 725) and recorded "F, S, R, bM." John Herschel made two additional observations.
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12 49 25.1 -05 11 46; Vir
V = 12.8; Size 3.2'x1.1'; Surf Br = 14.0; PA = 125°
17.5" (4/4/92): fairly faint, moderately large, very
elongated 3:1 WSW-ENE, brighter middle but no core. A mag 14.5 star is involved at the east edge 0.9' SE of
center. Located 5' SSW of mag 8.8
William Herschel discovered NGC 4705 = H. III-610 = h1440 on 22 Feb 1787 (sweep 706) and noted "cF, pL, E." John Herschel made a single observation, though his RA is 17 sec too large. Henrich d'Arrest made two observations and measured an accurate position (given in the NGC).
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NGC 4706 = ESO 323-001 = MCG -07-26-055 = LGG 308-001 = PGC 43411
12 49 54.1 -41 16 47; Cen
V = 12.9; Size 1.4'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.5; PA = 24°
18" (7/7/05 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): fairly
faint, fairly small, oval 3:2 SSW-NNE.
Fairly well concentrated with a bright 15" core. The halo increases in size to 0.7'x0.4'
with averted vision. Located 6.4'
NNW of brighter NGC 4709 in the core of the Centaurus cluster.
17.5" (4/7/89): very faint, small, oval SSW-NNE, low surface brightness. Located 6.4' NNW of NGC 4709 and 12' ENE of brightest member NGC 4696 in the central portion of the Centaurus cluster (AGC 3526).
John Herschel discovered NGC 4706 = h3427 on 5 Jun 1834 and recorded "vF; vS; R; pretty suddenly brighter middle; 10"."
Pietro Baracchi observed the field on 12 May 1885 with the 48" Melbourne telescope and wrote, "pretty bright, very small, round, a little brighter middle."
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12 48 23.2 +51 09 48; CVn
V = 12.9; Size 2.2'x2.1'; Surf Br = 14.4; PA = 25°
18" (3/30/05): very unusual appearance to this magellanic spiral as all I could detect was a moderately large (~1.5') very low surface brightness glow with no concentration surrounding what appeared to be a mag 14 star. The DSS and SDSS confirms this is a star and the galaxy extends mostly to the west of the star.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4707 = H. III-815 on 26 Apr
1789 (sweep 929) and noted "small, stellar neb." His position (Caroline's reduction) is
20 tsec east and 1' north of
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NGC 4708 = MCG -02-33-016 = Holm 463a = PGC 43382
12 49 41.5 -11 05 35; Vir
V = 13.1; Size 1.1'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 55°
18" (4/9/05): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly elongated SW-NE, ~0.9'x0.7'. The surface brightness is irregular and the elongation sometimes changes orientation using averted vision. NGC 4700 lies 21' SSW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4708 = H. III-722 on 11 Mar
1788 (sweep 819) and logged "F, S, E." His position is 1' south of
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NGC 4709 = ESO 323-003 = MCG -07-26-056 = LGG 305-006 = PGC 43423
12 50 03.8 -41 22 56; Cen
V = 10.9; Size 2.4'x2.0'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 112°
18" (7/7/05 - Magellan Observatory, Australia):
moderately bright, fairly small, irregularly round, 0.8'x0.7' diameter. This member of the Centaurus Cluster
had a symmetrical appearance and steadily increased to a small, bright core and
quasi-stellar nucleus. NGC 4706
lies 6.4' NNW and
NGC 4709 is located 14' ESE of NGC 4696 in the core of the cluster with many faint galaxies within 10'. It is the brightest member in a subgroup called Cen 45 that has significantly higher recessional velocities, though these galaxies may be streaming towards the main cluster.
17.5" (4/7/89): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly
elongated ~E-W. Four mag 12-13
stars forming a parallelogram are roughly 4' NE. Located 15' ESE of NGC 4696 within the core of the Centaurus
cluster (AGC 3526) and the second brightest member. Forms a pair with
James Dunlop probably discovered NGC 4709 = h3428 = D 511? on 7 May 1826 and reported "pretty large faint nebula". His position (single observation) is 6.7' SW of NGC 4709.
John Herschel rediscovered NGC 4709 = h3428 on 7 May 1826 and recorded "pB; R; gradually brighter in the middle; 30"." (More nebulae hereabouts.)" His position was 1' too far northeast. Joseph Turner probably discovered nearby ESO 322-102 on 4 May 1880 while observing NGC 4709 with the 48" Melbourne telescope. MCG -07-26-057, a small companion 1' SE, was discovered at the Helwan observatory in 1921, based on a plate taken with the 30-inch Reynolds reflector in 1919-20.
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12 49 38.8 +15 09 55; Com
V = 11.0; Size 4.9'x1.2'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 27°
18" (5/14/07): bright, fairly large edge-on, nearly 7:1 SSW-NNE, ~3.5'x0.5' with tapered extensions. The core is small and round, ~25" in diameter. The galaxy is irregular in surface brightness and mottled with a brighter knot near the NNE end. A dust lane appears to slash across the galaxy to the NE of the core. A mag 13 star lies 1.5' E of the core.
17.5" (5/14/94): beautiful edge-on 5:1 SSW-NNE (PA
30°), bright bulging core.
Distinctly mottled with an irregular surface brightness and clearly
brighter along the NNE extension.
A mag 13 star is 1.4' E of center.
At 280x, the dimensions are 3.5'x0.6' and the galaxy appears to have a
sharper light cut-off along the preceding edge possibly due to dust. Very mottled with a couple of bright
and dark patches along the major axis.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4710 = H. II-95 = h1441 on 21 Mar 1784 (sweep 182) and noted "pB, vmE. The direction of extent is nearly in the meridian or perhaps about 5 or more degree sp and nf." His position was poor, but John Herschel observed the galaxy twice, noting "vB; vmE; pos = 28.5° by micrometer; bM; 90" long" and measured an accurate position.
A total of 12 observations were made at Birr Castle. On 16 Feb 1855, R.J. Mitchell wrote "vB ray, a dark band across on each side of nucleus, separating it from the extremities." The dark lane was commented on in each observation. His sketch made the next night was published on Plate 28, Fig. 27 in the 1861 Mongraph. On 16 Apr 1855, he wrote "My sketch exaggerates the dark lines, they should be broader and not so well defined. Mr. Johnstone Stoney [visiting between professorial duties] remarked a second dark line across the n branch near its extremity." On 13 Apr 1876, Dreyer logged "cB, pL, bM, no very defined Nucl, E 28.2°, about 230" long. On both side of Nucl are dark bands. The n end of neb is brighter than s one and the maximum of brightness is about 40" from the end. Maximum in s part is nearer the nucleus. Centre looks a little oval with higher power."
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NGC 4711 = IC 3804 = UGC 7973 = MCG +06-28-033 = CGCG 188-022 = PGC 43286
12 48 45.9 +35 19 58; CVn
V = 13.4; Size 1.5'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 40°
16" LX200 (4/14/07): fairly faint, moderately large, elongated 2:1 SW-NE, broad weak concentration. NGC 4687 lies 17' W. Located 6.2' W of a mag 7.8 star.
17.5" (4/28/89): fairly faint, elongated SW-NE,
gradually brighter middle. Located
6.2' WNW of mag 7.7
17.5": fairly faint, fairly small, elongated SSW-NNE, weak concentration. Located 7' W of mag 8 star.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4711 = H. II-412 = h1443 on
1 May 1785 (sweep 405) and recorded "F, S, E, er." His position is only 4 sec of RA east
of
Max Wolf found the galaxy on a Heidelberg plate on 21 Mar
1903, assumed it was new, and Dreyer recatalogued it as
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12 49 34.2 +25 28 12; Com
V = 12.8; Size 2.5'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 160°
13.1" (5/26/84): faint, diffuse, very elongated ~N-S,
even surface brightness. Located
11.9' WSW of
John Herschel discovered NGC 4712 = h1442 on 28 Mar 1832 and
noted "vF; pL." His
position matches
On 9 Mar 1850, George Stoney or LdR logged NGC 4725 as "another spiral. Another neb 15' p." The other nebula is NGC 4712, though it was assumed to be new and received the designation GC 3241 (LdR nova). Dreyer combined the two GC designations in the NGC. R.J. Mitchell sketched the galaxy on 17 Feb 1855 (included in LdR's 1861 monograph).
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12 49 57.8 +05 18 39; Vir
V = 11.7; Size 2.7'x1.7'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 100°
17.5" (4/21/90): fairly bright, fairly large, oval 3:2
E-W, weak concentration. A mag
12.5 star is 2.5' SE and a brighter mag 11.5 star 3.2' SSE. Located 11' NE of mag 7.4
William Herschel discovered NGC 4713 = H. I-140 = h1444 on 17 Apr 1786 (sweep 553) and recorded "cB, pL, mbM." John Herschel made 4 observations and recorded (sweep 153) "pB; L; lE; 60" l, 50" br; two stars sf; 2' dist."
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12 50 19.2 -13 19 28; Crv
V = 12.7; Size 1.6'x1.2'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 150°
18" (5/16/09): moderately bright, moderately large, very bright core 20"x15" surrounded by a much fainter elongated halo elongated NNW-SSE, 1.0'x0.6'. NGC 4722 lies 18' due east.
18" (5/28/06): fairly faint, small, round, 25"
diameter, fairly high surface brightness.
Even concentration to center with a fairly faint stellar nucleus. Located 18' SSW of mag 7.3
18" (4/9/05): fairly faint, small, slightly elongated, 0.5'x0.4'. There appears to be a small, much fainter envelope so my description probably applies to a sharply concentrated core with a very low surface brightness halo.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4714 = H. III-536 = h1445 on
27 Mar 1786 (sweep 548) and noted "eF, stellar." His position matches
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12 49 57.8 +27 49 20; Com
V = 13.1; Size 1.9'x1.7'; Surf Br = 14.2; PA = 20°
18" (5/8/04): fairly faint, fairly small, round, 0.8' diameter, weak even concentration to a small brighter core. A mag 13/14.5 double at 28" separation lies 4' S. Outlying member of AGC 1656.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4715 on 10 May 1863 with
the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His position (measured twice) matches
******************************
12 50 33.1 -09 27 04; Vir
V = 12.9; Size 1.1'x0.8'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 80°
48" (4/28/22): at 488x; bright, moderately large,
elongated nearly 2:1 WSW-ENE, 1.0'x0.5', strong concentration with an intensely
bright nucleus. Forms a very close
pair with
18" (4/9/05): fairly faint, small, round, 0.4' diameter. Sharply concentrated with a very small bright nucleus. Forms a double system with NGC 4717 just 0.8' SSE.
Édouard Stephan discovered NGC 4716 = T. 5-19a, along with 4717, on 2 May 1878. He gave a single position in his notebook that lands on this pair, though he never published the discovery and wasn't credited in the NGC.
Wilhelm Tempel rediscovered both of these galaxies on 12 Apr 1882 with the 11-inch Amici I refractor at Arcetri Observatory near Florence. He reported them as new in his 5th discovery paper (#19) with description "Double nebula; the position is that of the brighter, north preceding [NGC 4716], has a definite stellar nucleus. The small, fainter companion [NGC 4717] follows by 1 sec and is barely 3/4' south. A star 11-12m is 2' north." His micrometric position is accurate.
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NGC 4717 = MCG -01-33-023 = KTS 46C = LGG 312-002 = Holm 466a = PGC 43467
12 50 34.4 -09 27 47; Vir
V = 13.2; Size 1.5'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 12°
48" (4/28/22): at 488x; bright spiral, very elongated ~3:1 N-S, ~75"x25", small brighter nucleus. An obvious spiral arm extends south and curls a bit counterclockwise to the west. A lower surface brightness arm nearly brushes up against NGC 4716, which is centered 50" NNW.
Forms a trio (KTS 46) with MCG -01-33-022 3.5' due south. The last galaxy is a moderately bright, thin edge-on 6:1 NNW-SSE, 1.2'x0.2', very slightly brighter core. A mag 15.4 star is close to the NNW tip.
18" (4/9/05): faint, fairly small, elongated N-S, 0.7'x0.3'. Forms an 0.8' double system with NGC 4716 off the north side. MCG -01-33-022, a low surface brightness edge-on, lies 3.5' S (not noticed).
Édouard Stephan discovered NGC 4717 = T. 5-19b, along with NGC 4716, on 2 May 1878. He gave a single position in his notebook that lands on this pair, though he never published the discovery and wasn't credited in the NGC.
Wilhelm Tempel rediscovered the pair on 12 Apr 1882 and reported them as new in his 5th discovery paper (#19). See his description under NGC 4716.
******************************
NGC 4718 = MCG -01-33-020 = PGC 43463
12 50 32.6 -05 16 56; Vir
V = 13.9; Size 1.7'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.8; PA = 95°
24" (3/23/22): at 260x; fairly faint, moderately large, very elongated 3:1 ~E-W, slightly brighter core. Between a mag 11.5 star 2' E and a mag 13.5 star 3' W.
17.5" (4/4/92): faint, fairly small, elongated 3:2 E-W, low even surface brightness, collinear with a mag 13.5 star 2.9' W and mag 12 star 2.0' E. NGC 4718 lies 19' WNW.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4718 = h1446 on 19 Feb 1830 and
logged "eF; vS; between 2 stars 5' asunder." His position and description matches
******************************
12 50 08.7 +33 09 33; CVn
V = 13.2; Size 1.4'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.6
17.5" (4/28/89): faint, small, round, sharp stellar nucleus, small halo.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4719 = H. III-424 = h1448 on
3 May 1785 (sweep 407) and noted "vF, stellar or a little
larger." His position
(Caroline's reduction) is 2.5' southeast of
******************************
12 50 42.7 -04 09 21; Vir
V = 14.2; Size 1.0'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 120°
17.5" (4/4/92): fairly faint, small, round, weak concentration, fairly high even surface brightness. Located 3.7' SW of a mag 10 star.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4720 = H. III-611 = h1447 on 22 Feb 1787 (sweep 706) and noted "Suspected, vF, S. I did not stop to verify it." Nevertheless, his position is accurate and was verified on 11 Mar 1787 (sweep 709).
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12 50 19.9 +27 19 26; Com
V = 14.4; Size 0.8'x0.3'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 114°
18" (4/10/04): faint, small edge-on WNW-ESE, 0.6'x0.2',
very small brighter nucleus. Forms
a pair with brighter NGC 4721, 6.8' NNE.
A mag 11 star lies 3.6' NNE, midway between NGC 4721 and
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4721 on 24 Apr 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His single measurement is accurate.
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12 51 32.3 -13 19 48; Crv
V = 12.9; Size 1.5'x0.7'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 35°
18" (5/16/09): moderately bright, moderately large, elongated 5:2 SSW-NNE, 1.2'x0.5'. Contains a round bright core that increases to the center with direct vision.
17.5" (3/16/96): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated
2:1 SW-NE, 1.0'x0.4', small bright core.
A mag 14 star lies 1.1' E of center. In field with
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4722, along with
Bigourdan independently discovered this galaxy on 15 Apr
1895 and reported it as Big. 302 (later
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NGC 4723 = MCG -02-33-026 = Holm 471a = PGC 43508 = PGC 43510
12 51 02.9 -13 14 13; Crv
V = 14.2; Size 1.1'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 40°
18" (5/15/10): at 220x appeared extremely faint, very small, round, 20" diameter, requires averted to glimpse and too faint for any noticeable structure. A mag 15 star lies 34" NW. Located 9' NW of NGC 4722 and 12' NE of NGC 4714.
18" (5/16/09): not seen.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4723, along with NGC 4722, in 1882, and reported it in the narrative portion of paper V (AN 2439). He simply noted "Following [NGC 4714] are two class III nebulae that I sketched, but could not yet measure." One of these is likely IC 3833 = PGC 43560, which is 1.2 min of RA following NGC 4714, and NGC 4722 is equated with this galaxy. Herbert Howe could only find this object when he searched the field, so the identification of the second galaxy is very uncertain.
One possibility is the second galaxy is
The identification here is the one used in the NGC and PGC, but as Harold Corwin comments "It's clear, though, that we do not (yet) know which nebulae Tempel found."
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12 50 53.8 -14 19 54; Crv
V = 13.9; Size 0.9'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 95°
18" (5/16/09): faint, very small, round, faint stellar
nucleus (or a star is superimposed).
Forms a contact pair off the west side of brighter
18" (4/9/05): faint, very small, round, 20" diameter. Contains a faint, quasi-stellar nucleus. Located just off the west side of larger and brighter NGC 4727!
William Herschel discovered NGC 4724 = H. III-280 = h1449, along with NGC 4727. on 8 Feb 1785 (sweep 372). He recorded "About half a minute preceding [NGC 4727] is a vS star which I strongly suspect to be stellar, but could not verify it with 240." John Herschel made the single observation "F; R: the np of two, 1' distant."
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NGC 4725 = UGC 7989 = MCG +04-30-022 = CGCG 129-027 = Holm 468a = PGC 43451
12 50 26.3 +25 30 03; Com
V = 9.4; Size 10.7'x7.6'; Surf Br = 14.0; PA = 35°
48" (5/3/19): very bright, very large, oval 3:2 SSW-NNE, strong concentration with a very bright oval core and an intense nucleus. The inner ring (interpreted as spiral arms in my 18" observation) was very obvious and highlighted by bright arcs or "handles" at the southwest and northeast ends. The ring dimmed on the east side but could be traced between the two arcs. The western side, though, had a missing gap. At least one HII knot was seen on the SW end [2.1' WSW of center], perhaps NGC 4725:[BKB2006] 11, which is in the spiral arm immediately to the west. A faint HII region was also noted on the NE end of the ring, probably NGC 4725:[BKB2006] 4. These designations are from a 2006 catalog of HII regions by Bradley et al.
18" (5/12/07): very impressive spiral structure visible. Two arms emerge from the very bright oval core. One arm is attached at the northeast end of the core and sweeps to the north before hooking back to the west. Three faint stars are superimposed along this arm. A second broader arm is attached at the southwest end of the core. This arms heads south before hooking towards the east. Both arms have brighter patches or arcs near the ends of the major axis.
13.1" (5/26/84): very bright, impressive, very small bright core, elongated SW-NE, large halo. Structure suspected with the WSW edge possibly brighter. NGC 4712 lies 12' WSW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4725 = H. I-84 = h1451 on 6 Apr 1785 (sweep 393). He recorded "considerably bright, irregularly round, 7 or 8' the longest way, the brightness confined to a small spot; the rest being milky nebulosity."
George Johnstone Stoney, Lord Rosse's assistant, discovered spiral structure on 9 Mar 1850. NGC 4725 was included in the list of "Spiral or curvilinear" nebulae in LdR's 1850 PT paper. The following February, Bindon Stoney logged "Spiral, 2 arms and some stars in following arm." On 15 Apr 1858, R.J. Mitchell wrote "vL and vB. The centre itself it like an E neb with Nucl; the centre is enveloped is an irr ring or rings of nebulous light ..." His sketch clearly shows the inner ring surrounding an oval core or bar. On 3 May 1858, he added "The surrounding ring of nebulosity is of irregular shape, it curves gently at delta (south preceding end) but bends more sharply at gamma (north following end), where it is brightest. The centre seems to reach up to and to blend with the nebulosity at delta."
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12 50 46.1 -14 16 07; Crv
Size 1.0'x0.2'; PA = 76°
18" (5/16/09): extremely faint, very small, slightly
elongated, 15"x12".
Based on this description I only viewed the core region of this thin
edge-on. Located 1.2' SSE of a mag
12 star and 4.5' NW of the NGC 4724/4727 duo. The identification of this NGC number is uncertain and most
other sources equate it with
IC 3834 appeared faint, small, round, low even surface brightness. A mag 15 star lies 43" W of center. Located 11' NE of the NGC 4727/4724 pair.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4726 in 1882. In the narrative portion of his fifth
paper (AN 2439) he mentions "4' further north of the beautiful double
nebula [NGC 4724/4727] is a fainter companion." Dreyer's position is 4' north of the midpoint of NGC 4724
and 4727.
Herbert Howe searched unsuccessfully for this object at the NGC position in 1899 with the 20-inch refractor in Denver. But on two nights he measured an object which he assumed was NGC 4726. His position (repeated in the IC 2 Notes) matches IC 3834 = PGC 43559, a much brighter galaxy discovered by Bigourdan on 14 Apr 1895 and recorded as B. 303. This galaxy is nearly 11' northeast of NGC 4724/4727, so it doesn't match Tempel's object. But based on Dreyer's erroneous "corrected" position, modern catalogues (with the exception of NED) identify IC 3834 as NGC 4726.
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NGC 4727 = NGC 4740: = MCG -02-33-023 = Holm 470a = PGC 43499
12 50 57.2 -14 19 58; Crv
V = 13.0; Size 1.4'x1.1'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 130°
18" (5/16/09): moderately bright, fairly small, elongated 4:3 WNW-ESE, 0.7'x0.5', broad, weak concentration with no core but contains a quasi-stellar brighter nucleus with direct vision. Forms a close contact pair with NGC 4724 barely off the west side.
18" (4/9/05): moderately bright, fairly small, slightly elongated, 0.8'x0.6', broad concentration with a slightly irregular surface brightness though no defined core or nucleus. Forms a close, striking pair with NGC 4724 just 50" between centers. The V magnitude appears brighter than listed (13.6).
William Herschel discovered NGC 4727 = H. II-298 = h1450, along with NGC 4724, on 8 Feb 1785 (sweep 372) and recorded "F, pL, little brighter in the middle." His position is a very good match with the brighter, eastern component of this close pair. John Herschel made a single observation, noting "F; R; the sf and brighter of 2, dist 1'."
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NGC 4728 = MCG +05-30-098 = CGCG 159-087 = Holm 469a = PGC 43455
12 50 28.0 +27 26 05; Com
V = 14.0; Size 1.0'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 108°
18" (4/10/04): faint, small, round, 20" diameter, no noticeable concentration. Forms the north vertex of a thin triangle with a mag 11 star 3.3' S and a mag 13 star 3.8' SSW. Another 3.6' S of the mag 11 star is NGC 4721 (6.8' SSW). Located 18' WSW of mag 4.9 31 Comae Berenices and a similar distance ESE of mag 5.8 30 Comae!
17.5" (3/20/93): faint, small, round, even surface
brightness. A mag 11 star is 3.3'
SSW. This outlying member of AGC
1656 forms a trio with
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4728 on 3 Mar 1867 with the
11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His position, measured on two consecutive
nights, is accurate. This is the
brightest of three with (R)NGC 4728A = UGC 7992 at 2.2' ESE and (R)
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12 51 46.2 -41 07 57; Cen
V = 12.3; Size 1.5'x1.4'; Surf Br = 13.1
17.5" (4/7/89): very faint, small, oval NW-SE. A mag 13 star is 1.0' N. Forms a close pair with
John Herschel discovered NGC 4729 = h3430, along with NGC
4730 = h3431, on 8 Jun 1834. He
gave only a single approximate position (nearest minute of RA and nearest
minute of dec, both marked as +/-), although he mentions in his observation of
Helwan Observatory reported "No nebula here", based on photos taken with the 30" Reynolds reflector in 1919-20 but listed ESO 323-016 as a new nebula with description "pF, S, globular nebula." MCG does not label its two entries as NGC 4729 and 4730. RNGC misidentifies ESO 323-008 as NGC 4729. See Corwin's identificiation notes for the full story.
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NGC 4730 = ESO 323-017 = MCG -07-27-003 = PGC 43611
12 52 00.5 -41 08 49; Cen
V = 12.9; Size 1.2'x1.0'; Surf Br = 12.9
17.5" (4/7/89): very faint, small. A star lies off the south edge. Forms a close pair with
John Herschel discovered NGC 4730 = h3431, along with NGC 4729 = h3430, on 8 Jun 1834. See notes for NGC 4729.
Helwan Observatory reported "No nebula here", based on photos taken with the 30" Reynolds reflector in 1919-20 but listed ESO 323-017 as a new nebula with description "F, S, stellar nucleus."
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NGC 4731 = MCG -01-33-026 = UGCA 302 = Holm 472a = LGG 314-005 = PGC 43507
12 51 01.0 -06 23 33; Vir
V = 11.5; Size 6.6'x3.2'; Surf Br = 14.6; PA = 85°
48" (4/2/11 and 5/14/12): this is an amazing stretched barred spiral with a long, thin central bar oriented NW-SE and long extensions (spiral arms) at the northwest end gently curving west, along with one at the southeast end of the bar extending east. The entire galaxy forms a very distinctive integral sign outline, stretching 5' E-W! The bar is very bright and very elongated, ~4:1 NW-SE, 1.6'x0.4'. The arm on the east side is slightly brighter and longer. It seems to fan out and become patchy near the end. A 15th magnitude star is at or just beyond the tip. The western arm curves gradually to the south and faint haze extends from the arm to the south increasing the total size. A mag 14 star is just south of the bar and a small triangle of fainter stars is north of the bar. A faint, very small HII knot (NGC 4731:[HK83] 21/22) is squeezed between the triangle of stars and the bar.
17.5" (5/17/90): fairly faint, large, very elongated 3:1 WNW-ESE, low even surface brightness. A mag 14 star is just south of the nucleus. Forms a pair with NGC 4731A = MCG -01-33-027 10.5' SSE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4731 = H. I-41 = h1452 on 25 Apr 1784 (sweep 207) and recorded "B, L, little brighter middle, irr figure, resolvable." John Herschel made the single observation "vF; pL; E; third class; sky perfectly clear and fine." His position is accurate although Dreyer was concerned about the discrepant descriptions and positions. In the IC I notes he remarked "H in 1784 described it as "lbM" not "sb M: as in GC. There has apparently not been any change; it is diffused, without concentration. The RA in NGC [from] is correct (Armagh, 2 observations)."
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NGC 4732 = UGC 7988 = MCG +09-21-053 = CGCG 270-026 = PGC 43430
12 50 07.1 +52 51 00; UMa
V = 13.8; Size 1.2'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 8°
18" (7/1/03): faint, small, elongated 2:1 ~N-S, 0.6'x0.3'. Contains a large, brighter middle with faint extensions. A mag 12 star lies 2.3' ENE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4732 = H. II-814 on 26 Apr
1789 (sweep 929) and noted "F, S, very suddenly mbM." Caroline's reduced position is 2.5'
north of
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12 51 06.8 +10 54 43; Vir
V = 11.8; Size 1.9'x1.8'
17.5" (3/28/92): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly elongated E-W, weak concentration. A mag 13.5-14 star is 30" off the west edge and 1' from center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4733 = H. II-73 = h1453 on 15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174) and noted "F, not vS." John Herschel made 5 observations (earliest on 11 Apr 1825, sweep 3). On 13 Mar 1826 (sweep 22) he recorded, "F; R: has a * 12m immediately p."
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12 51 12.9 +04 51 32; Vir
V = 13.5; Size 1.0'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 145°
18" (4/29/06): fairly faint, fairly small, round, 0.5' diameter, weak concentration. Appears brighter on the north edge or the core is asymmetrical on the north side. Located 33' NE of NGC 4713.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4734 = h1454 on 7 Apr 1828 and noted "vF; vS; R." His position is good.
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12 51 01.7 +28 55 40; Com
V = 14.5; Size 0.6'x0.3'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 95°
17.5" (5/14/94): faint, small, elongated 2:1 E-W,
0.6'x0.3', very little central brightening. The major axis is collinear with a mag 13.5 star 2.2' W of
center which has a mag 15 companion.
On line with mag 8.5
Guillaume Bigourdan discovered NGC 4735 = Big. 56 on 9 May 1885. His position is accurate.
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12 50 53.0 +41 07 12; CVn
V = 8.2; Size 11.2'x9.1'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 105°
13.1" (4/12/86): very bright, very impressive, fairly large, oval WNW-ESE, very bright core containing a stellar nucleus.
Pierre Méchain discovered M94 = NGC 4736 = h1456 on 22 Mar 1781. William Herschel recorded (sweep 717 on 18 Mar 1787) "very brilliant. A large, luminous nucleus of more than 20" diameter with faint chevulure and branches extending 6 or 8'." Again on 9 Apr 1787 (sweep 725), he logged "Very brilliant, with much F nebulosity on the [south preceding] and more on the following side." As with other known Messier objects, Herschel didn't include M94 in his catalogs. John Herschel made 6 observations and a sketch (Plate XIII, figure 41). In May 1828 (sweep 150) he wrote, "vB; R; pretty suddenly very much brighter middle to a nipple; with 240x, resolvable; glimpses of stars seen. A fine object. 90" or 2' in diam."
Bindon Stoney reported it as a new spiral in his observation at Birr Castle on 9 Apr 1852. On 13 Apr 1855, R.J. Mitchell logged "vlE pf, dark ring round the nucleus, the bright ring exterior to this. The annulus, however, is not perfect, but broken up and patchy, and the object will probably run out to be a spiral."
Heber Curtis described the appearance based on a Crosley photograph at Lick: "A beautiful object. From the very bright, large nucleus spring many bright, closely packed whorls, formling a bright inner oval 2' x 1.5' in p.a. about 110°. These inner whorls show many stellar condensations..Fainter, closely packer, rather uniform outer whorls bring the nebula to a size of 5'x3.5'.
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12 50 52.9 +34 09 24; CVn
V = 13.8; Size 0.9'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 49°
17.5" (4/28/89): faint, very small, slightly elongated brighter core, faint stellar nucleus.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4737 = H. III-496 = h1457 on 2 Jan 1786 (sweep 508) and recorded "eF, vS, pmE."
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NGC 4738 = UGC 7999 = MCG +05-30-103 = CGCG 159-092 = FGC 1510 = PGC 43517
12 51 08.9 +28 47 17; Com
V = 13.4; Size 2.1'x0.3'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 34°
17.5" (5/14/94): faint, small, very thin edge-on 6:1 SSW-NNE, 1.2'x0.2', slightly brighter along major axis. Forms a very close pair with a mag 14.5 star 50" SE of center. NGC 4735 lies 8.6' NNW. Forms the vertex of an isosceles triangle with mag 8.4 SAO 82534 4.9' NNE and mag 9 SAO 82535 5.7' ENE.
George Johnstone Stoney, Lord Rosse's assistant, discovered NGC 4738 = Big. 57 on 1 Mar 1851. He simply noted "nova, Nucl, E" and gave a rough position. Guillaume Bigourdan independently discovered this galaxy on 9 Mar 1885 and noted "elongated in PA 30°." The NGC position from Bigourdan is accurate.
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12 51 37.1 -08 24 37; Vir
V = 12.6; Size 1.5'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.3
17.5" (5/17/90): fairly faint, fairly small, round,
gradual central brightening, possibly contains faint stellar nucleus. Located 10' NW of mag 8.8
William Herschel discovered NGC 4739 = H. III-515 = h1455 on
3 Mar 1786 (sweep 536) and reported "vF, S, E." His position is at the southeast edge
of
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NGC 4740 = NGC 4727: = MCG -02-33-023 = PGC 43499
12 50 57.2 -14 19 58; Crv
V = 13.0; Size 1.4'x1.1'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 130°
See observing notes for NGC 4727.
Lewis Swift discovered NGC 4740 = Sw. 6-49 on 27 Apr 1887 and recorded "pF; pS; R; mbM." There is nothing at this position, but 50 sec of RA west is NGC 4727 and this relatively bright galaxy is a good match in description. The closest galaxy to Swift's position, though, is IC 3834, which is located 6' north and 14 sec of RA preceding. So, there are two possible candidates.
Herbert Howe, examining the area in 1899 with the 20-inch refractor at the Chamberlin Observatory in Denver, commented "I cannot see anything in the NGC place for NGC 4740. Under date of 1899 August 9 Dr. Swift writes, in reply to a query: "I have examined the record of 4740, and find that it was made 1887 April 27, with position 12 46, -13 41. The right ascension is for 1890, the declination for date of discovery. I have no recollection about it." This position agrees so well with NGC 4726 that I assume them to be identical." But Howe couldn't find NGC 4726 at Tempel's location 4' north of NGC 4724/4727 but found IC 3834, which he assumed was NGC 4726.
Malcolm Thomson feels NGC 4740 is IC 3834, but Harold Corwin argues that NGC 4740 is more likely a duplicate observation of NGC 4727.
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12 50 59.5 +47 40 17; CVn
V = 13.7; Size 1.3'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 165°
18" (7/1/03): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 4:3 ~N-S, broad concentration. Form the west vertex of an equilateral triangle with sides ~3' with a mag 14 star to the NE and a mag 12.5 star to the SE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4741 = H. III-721 = h1458 on 9 Mar 1788 (sweep 816) and noted "vF, S." John Herschel made the single observation "vF; R; pretty suddenly brighter in the middle" and measured an accurate position.
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12 51 48.0 -10 27 17; Vir
V = 11.3; Size 2.6'x1.5'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 75°
17.5" (3/23/85): moderately bright, small, bright
stellar nucleus. A mag 12 star
lies 1.3' SE of center. Situated
9' SE of ∑1682, a bright unequal double star with components 6.4/9.7 at
30". In a group with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4742 = H. I-133 = h3432 on
25 Mar 1786 (sweep 546) and logged "cB, vS, BN." His position matches
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12 52 16.0 -41 23 26; Cen
V = 13.0; Size 1.3'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.4; PA = 176°
17.5" (4/7/89): very faint, small, elongated N-S. Located 15' S of NGC 4729 and NGC 4744 within the Centaurus cluster (AGC 3526).
John Herschel discovered NGC 4743 = h3429 on 8 Jun 1834 and
logged "F; R; gradually brighter in the middle." His position is
accurate, though MCG does not label its entry (
Pietro Baracchi discovered and sketched nearby
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NGC 4744 = ESO 323-022 = MCG -07-27-006 = LGG 298-019 = PGC 43661
12 52 19.5 -41 03 37; Cen
V = 12.6; Size 2.1'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 122°
25" (3/31/19 - OzSky): at 244x; nearly moderately
bright, fairly small, slightly elongated, 24"x18", brighter core.
Located 8' E of mag 9.1
17.5" (4/7/89): extremely faint, small, very low surface brightness. Third of three and located about 7' NE of the NGC 4729/NGC 4730 pair within the Centaurus cluster (AGC 3526).
John Herschel discovered NGC 4744 = h3433 on 8 Jun 1834 and
recorded "F; L; E; gradually brighter in the middle; has two more nebulae
preceding, a little to south [NGC 4729 and 4730]." His position is is just
off the southeast side of
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NGC 4745 = MCG +05-30-105A = CGCG 159-094 = Holm 474a = PGC 43539
12 51 26.1 +27 25 16; Com
V = 14.3; Size 0.8'x0.8'
17.5" (5/14/94): faint, small, round, well-defined edge
to halo, no concentration. A mag
14 star is 1.4' ENE of center. The
view is hampered by 31 Comae Berenices (V = 4.9) located 8.0' NNE and mag 9 SAO
82532 5.3' SSW. NGC 4728 is at the
edge of the field 13' W. There
were several brief impressions of an extremely faint companion galaxy 1.7' WNW
(
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4745 on 24 Apr 1865 with
the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His mean position on two nights is at the
northeast edge of
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12 51 55.2 +12 04 59; Vir
V = 12.6; Size 3.8'x1.1'; Surf Br = 14.0; PA = 120°
17.5" (3/28/92): fairly faint, fairly small, very elongated 3:1 WNW-ESE, weak concentration with no well-defined nucleus. A mag 11 star lies 3.5' WSW and a mag 13 star is 2.3' N of center.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4746 = h1460 on 29 Mar 1830 and
logged "pB; mE; r.' His
position is just off the south side of
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12 51 45.5 +25 46 30; Com
V = 12.3; Size 3.5'x1.2'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 30°
13.1" (5/26/84): fairly faint, moderately large, very elongated 3:1 SW-NE, 3'x1', diffuse, low even surface brightness. Located 22' NE of NGC 4725.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4747 = H. II-344 on 6 Apr
1785 (sweep 393) and noted "F; pL; lE." Caroline's reduction is 1'
south of
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NGC 4748 = MCG -02-33-034 = PGC 43643
12 52 12.6 -13 24 49; Crv
V = 13.5; Size 0.9'x0.7'; Surf Br = 12.7
17.5" (3/16/96): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1 N-S, very small bright core. Located 3' NNW of a mag 10 star. Pair with similar NGC 4722 11' NW. Appears double on the POSS with smaller component at the north side.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4748 = H. III-537 = h1459 on 27 Mar 1786 (sweep 548) and noted " vF, vS, iF."
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NGC 4749 = UGC 8006 = MCG +12-12-020 = CGCG 335-026 = LGG 303-002 = PGC 43527
12 51 12.4 +71 38 05; Dra
V = 13.5; Size 1.8'x0.4'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 158°
18" (6/28/03): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated
5:2 NNW-SSE, 0.8'x0.3', brighter core.
A distinctive "kite" asterism of mag 12-13 stars is close
NW. Four mag 8-9 stars are in the
20' field around the periphery including mag 7.9
William Herschel discovered NGC 4749 = H. III-907 on 7 Apr 1793 (sweep 1037). He noted "very faint, extended from np to sf, about 1 1/2' long and 1/2' broad." His RA (Caroline's reduction) is ~ 1.0 tmin too small (same error as NGC 4250 in the sweep). Bigourdan measured an accurate position used in the NGC.
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12 50 07.2 +72 52 28; Dra
V = 11.2; Size 2.0'x1.9'; Surf Br = 12.5
18" (5/8/04): fairly bright, moderately large, slightly elongated, 1.4'x1.2', well concentrated with a prominent 30" core which increases to a distinct stellar nucleus with direct vision.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4750 = H. IV-78 = h1463 on 8 Nov 1801 (sweep 1101, under the pole). He recorded "considerably bright, round, brighter middle, about 1 1/2' diam. Somewhat approaching to a planetary nebula, with a strong hazy border." Based on his impression, NGC 4750 was catalogued as in class IV for planetary nebulae and misc. types. John Herschel (probably working with his father's description) made the single observation "pF; L; R; 40" diameter; the central portion up to diam 30" is nearly uniform, so as to give an approach to the appearance of a planetary nebula." His position is accurate.
The 1967 Perek and Kohoutek "Catalogue of Galactic Planetary Nebulae" includes NGC 4750 in a list of "Objects Omitted", likely based on the Herschel descriptions.
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12 52 50.7 -42 39 36; Cen
V = 11.8; Size 3.0'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 175°
18" (3/28/09): this member of AGC 3526 appeared fairly
faint, moderately large, elongated 2:1 N-S, 1.0'x0.5', small bright core. Located on the SE side of AGC 3526
(Centaurus cluster), 1.5° SE of NGC 4696 and 30' NW of mag 5.5
John Herschel discovered NGC 4751 = h3434 on 15 Mar 1836 and
recorded "B; R; first very gradually, then very suddenly brighter in the
middle; 50" diameter."
His position matches
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12 51 29.1 +13 46 55; Com
V = 14.3; Size 0.9'x0.3'; PA = 154°
18" (5/12/07): very faint, very small, elongated 3:2 SW-NE, 0.3'x0.2', visible continuously with averted vision. Located 43' SE of 5.7-magnitude 29 Coma.
The NGC identification with this galaxy seems unlikely due to a poor match with William Herschel's position.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4752 = H. III-82 on 12 Apr 1784 (sweep 189) and recorded "vF, S, E, r." There is nothing near his position -- 4.05 min of RA east and 15' south of NGC 4689. Bigourdan searched unsuccessfully for this object.
Karl Reinmuth, using Heidelberg plates, identified NGC 4752 as a mag 12 star close to Herschel's position with "no nebulosity, *13.5 nf 2.8', S double star sf 3.0'." Dorothy Carlson, repeated this identification in her 1940 NGC Correction paper and it was followed by the RNGC. But Herschel's comments "vF" and "elongated" wouldn't apply to a single 12th mag star.
Harold Corwin suggests that NGC 4752 may refer to CGCG
71-58. This galaxy is a very poor
match in position -- 38 seconds of time preceding and 15' N of Herschel's
position -- so the identification is very uncertain. Seligman suggests
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12 52 22.0 -01 11 58; Vir
V = 9.9; Size 6.0'x2.8'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 80°
48" (5/12/18): very bright and large, irregular oval, ~5'x3'. Sharply concentrated with an extremely bright core that increased to an intense stellar nucleus. The halo was irregular, particularly on the east side, which had a tattered appearance due to dusty intrusions. NGC 4753 is an unusual I0 galaxy (amorphous irregular) with dust filaments from the shredded remains of a small spiral galaxy that was captured by a much larger elliptical galaxy.
18" (5/28/06): very bright, very large, the halo increases to a large bright core. The halo appears irregular in shape with averted vision with a strong impression of a low surface brightness extension on the southeast side and a less-defined extension to the northwest. On images, this distorted galaxy has very unusual chaotic, twisted dust lanes and disc, with a much fainter outer halo inclined to the main body.
17.5" (4/21/90): bright, large, oval 2:1 E-W, the halo
brightens down to a small very bright core. Overall, an impressive galaxy. Mag 9
William Herschel discovered NGC 4753 = H. I-16 = h1461 on 22 Feb 1784 (sweep 153) and recorded "a fine nebula, brightest in the M; pL; 4 or 5' extent. It is not quite R, but a little compressed. The middle though vB does not resemble the nucleus of a comet." John Herschel made a single obervation and measured an accurate position.
Knox-Shaw, at the Helwan observatory in 1924, described "two lanes of absorption in the nebula, north and south of centre meeting in the preceding end."
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NGC 4754 = UGC 8010 = MCG +02-33-030 = CGCG 071-062 = Holm 478b = PGC 43656
12 52 17.5 +11 18 50; Vir
V = 10.6; Size 4.6'x2.5'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 23°
17.5" (4/13/91): bright, fairly small, slightly
elongated halo SSW-NNE, 3' diameter.
Sharply concentrated with a very bright, small round core that contains
a substellar nucleus. Located in
the center of a group of six faint mag 14 stars. A brighter mag 11 star lies 3.1' SW of center. Forms a pretty pair with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4754 = H. I-25 = H. II-74 =
h1462 on 15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174).
He recorded I-25 as "bright, small, in a line with two
stars." Caroline's reduced
position is 18 seconds of RA preceding
Wolfgang Steinicke analyzes the sweep in his book on William Herschel: "When Herschel saw I 25 (NGC 4754), the companion was out of the field (to the east). While describing his find, it moved towards the center. Then the tube was move up a whole field and to turn back abruptly about the same distance. Now two nebulae entered the field: II 74 and II 75. Herschel did not realize that the western one (II 74) was actually I 25. The eastern, II 75 (NGC 4762) was indeed new. Thus, NGC 4754 was found twice."
John Herschel made four observations (noting the equivalence of I-25 and II-74) and six observations were made at Birr Castle.
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12 53 37 -60 21 24; Cru
V = 4.2; Size 10'
13.1" (2/20/04 - Costa Rica): at 105x, 120-150 stars
are resolved in the Jewel Box cluster with careful viewing. A huge number of mag 13-14 stars form a
rich carpet in the background of a half-dozen very bright stars in the
cluster. The three brightest mag
6-7 stars form a 4.4' NW-SE string with orange-red DU Crucis (V = 7.2-7.7)
40" NE of the 'central mag 7
This small naked-eye cluster is just north of the Coalsack and roughly 1° SE of mag 1.3 Mimosa (Beta Crucis).
12.2" (6/29/02 - Bargo, Australia): the Jewel Box cluster is a beautiful, naked-eye cluster about a degree SE of Beta Crucis. At 186x, the cluster includes a half-dozen very bright stars (mag 6-7.5) set over a rich background of scores of mag 9-13 stars within a compact 10' diameter. A line of three mag 6-7 crosses the center of cluster from NW to SE with a striking orange-red variable star (DU Crucis = SAO 252073) near the center. Other stars have a blue-white and yellow-white tint, though these colors are subdued. South of the cluster is the remarkable 6°x4° dark Coalsack, which sits adjacent to the SE side of the Southern Cross.
10x30mm Canon IS (3/27/19 - Tasmania): the Jewel Box is bright naked-eye cluster close to Beta Crucis (Mimosa). Several very bright stars were resolved and some fainter stars using the 10x30 binoculars.
Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille discovered NGC 4755 = Lac II-12 = D 301 = h3435 in 1751 through a 1/2" telescope during his expedition to the Cape of Good Hope. He classified it as a nebulous star cluster and noted "5 or 6 small stars between two of sixth magnitude". The cluster was observed at the Parramatta Observatory during regular meridian work and described as "a cluster of 12 or 14 small stars, in the form of a rhomboid, very close together. Part of this cluster forms a very perfect cone of mixed stars."
On 26 May 1826 at Parramata, James Dunlop described "(Kappa Crucis, Bode) is 5 stars of the 7th magnitude, forming a triangular figure with a star of the 8 or 9th magnitude between the second and the third, with a multitude of very small stars congregated around the 4th or most southerly star on the south side." Based on 6 observations with his 9" speculum reflector, he noted "Figure 13 [sketch] is a very correct representation."
John Herschel first observed the cluster on 14 Mar 1834 and recorded "the central star (extremely red) of a most vivid and beautiful cluster of from 50 to 100 stars. Among the larger there are one or two evidently greenish; south of the red star is one 13th mag, also red; and near it is one 12th mag, bluish." In preparation for his meticulous sketch of the cluster, he drew up a catalogue of 110 stars, accompanied by the following explanation: "Though set down by Lacaille as nebulous, and on that authority entered as a nebula in Bode's Catalogue, no nebula is perceptible in any part of the extent of this cluster, which though neither a large nor a rich one, is yet an extremely brilliant and beautiful object when viewed through an instrument of sufficient aperture to show distinctly the very different colour of its constituent stars, which give it the effect of a superb piece of fancy jewelery. The area occupied by it is about one-forty-eighth part of a square degree, within which area I have laid down, partly from micrometric measures (as regards the large stars) and partly from intertriangulation by the eye (as respects the small ones) the stars (110 in number) of the following catalogue." Herschel listed eight stars in which the "colour is conspicuous"; 3 are described as "greenish-white, 2 are green, 1 blue-green, 1 red and 1 ruddy. These colors are phenomenological and not physical, as only orange-red DU Crucis has a distinct color.
In May 1862, English-Australian amateur astronomer and meteoroligist Francis Abbott constructed a map of 75 stars (from Hobart, Tasmania), five of which Abbott thought were not shown by Herschel. He commented "certain changes are apparently taking place in the number, position, and colours of its component stars." In 1872 Henry Chamberlain Russell, director of the Sydney Observatory, decided to investigate Abbott's claim and carefully measured the positions of the stars using the observatory's 7.25-inch Merz refractor and creating a catalog of 130 stars. He also mistakenly noted change and thought several stars had changed their positions based on Herschel's sketch. He also criticized Herschel by remarking that he missed several of the fainter stars that he (Russell) measured with a smaller telescope. Russell later took perhaps the first photograph of the cluster in 1891.
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12 52 52.6 -15 24 48; Crv
V = 12.4; Size 1.6'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 50°
18" (5/28/06): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated
4:3 SW-NE, 1.0'x0.7', broad mild concentration. A mag 14.5-15 star is at the NE edge. Brightest in a cluster
(LGG 306) superimposed on
18" (4/29/06): moderately bright, moderately large, elongated 5:3 SW-NE, 1.3'x0.8', broad concentration. Brightest galaxy in a galaxy group (LGG 306) superimposed on AGC 1631 and situtated near the center of the cluster. Several faint galaxies are visible in the field including a trio ~8' SW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4756 = H. III-281 = h1464 on
8 Feb 1785 (sweep 372) and noted "vF, pS, resolvable." Caroline's reduction is less than 2'
southwest of
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12 52 50.0 -10 18 37; Vir
V = 14.3; Size 1.5'x0.4'; Surf Br = 12.3; PA = 58°
17.5" (5/17/90): faint, small, round. An extremely faint star is at the NW
edge. Forms a pair with
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4757, along with NGC 4766, in
1882. In the narrative portion of
his fifth paper (AN 2439) he mentions finding two nebulae about 10' north of
Winnecke's GC 5674 [NGC 4760].
Although no positions were given there, Tempel probably later measured
them and communicated the results to Dreyer, as the NGC position is just 1.6' S
of
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12 52 44.1 +15 50 54; Com
V = 13.1; Size 3.1'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.8; PA = 160°
18" (5/30/03): fairly faint, fairly large, very
elongated ~3:1 NNW-SSE, 2.2'x0.6'.
Fairly low surface brightness, but appears irregular or slightly
mottled. A mag 14 star is 40"
N of center, just off the eastern flank.
Located 17' SSE of mag 6.3
William Herschel discovered NGC 4758 = H. III-70 = h1465 on
21 Mar 1784 (sweep 182) and noted "vF, not S." Caroline's reduced position is 6 sec of
RA too far west. John Herschel
made three observations and his mean position matches
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12 53 05.2 -09 12 08; Vir
V = 12.0; Size 1.8'x1.8'
18" (6/17/06): NGC 4759 is a striking double system
consisting of the two brightest members of
17.5" (4/13/96): the brightest object in HCG 62 is a
double system with southeast component
17.5" (5/17/90): double system consisting of NW
component
William Herschel discovered NGC 4759 = H. II-559 on 25 Mar 1786 (sweep 546) and simply noted "F, S". His position corresponds with this double system . John Herschel resolved the pair and assigned them two designations - h3437 (later NGC 4776) and h3438 (later NGC 4778), although his RA was 1.0 minute of time too large. In the General Catalogue, JH equated H. II-559 with h3437 (assuming his father's position was poor).
Heinrich d'Arrest measured an accurate position with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen on 30 Mar 1867 and noted a mag 10 star 1.5' south and 1-2 seconds of time preceding, but only saw a single (unresolved) nebula. Wilhelm Tempel, later using an 11-inch refractor at Arcetri Observatory, confirmed d'Arrest's position but described it as double. Dreyer gave H. II-559 = NGC 4759 a separate (accurate) designation in the NGC, noting it as double, assuming H. II-559 must be different from JH's pair.
RNGC and MCG misidentify the components of the double system as NGC 4759 and NGC 4761, while ESGC identifies the pair as NGC 4776 and 4778.
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NGC 4760 = MCG -02-33-041 = PGC 43763
12 53 07.3 -10 29 40; Vir
V = 11.4; Size 2.0'x1.9'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 10°
17.5" (3/23/85): moderately bright, moderately large,
fairly weak broad concentration, irregularly round. Located between mag 8.7
Friedrich August Winnecke discovered NGC 4760 on 30 Mar 1876 with a 6.5-inch comet-seeker by Reinfelder & Hertel at the Strausberg Observatory. The NGC position is accurate.
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NGC 4761 = HCG 62C = (R)NGC 4764 = MCG -01-33-039 = Holm 477b = PGC 43768
12 53 09.8 -09 11 52; Vir
V = 13.8; Size 0.4'x0.3'; Surf Br = 11.6; PA = 80°
18" (6/17/06): faint, small, this small spindle in HCG 62 is elongated 3:1 N-S, 30"x10". Contains a faint stellar nucleus with direct vision. Located just 1' following the double system NGC 4759.
17.5" (4/13/96):
17.5" (5/17/90): very faint, very small, slightly elongated N-S. Located 1' ENE of the double system NGC 4759. Fourth of four in a group.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4761, along with NGC 4764, in
March 1882 and reported it in his 5th discovery paper, near NGC 4776 and
4778. The NGC description reads
"eF, eS, 1' f D neb II 559 [NGC 4759]". As Tempel didn't mention any
direction in the AN paper, this information must have been communicated
directly to Dreyer. At his
position, is
HyperLEDA, MCG and RNGC mislabel NGC 4761 as NGC 4764 and misidentify NGC 4778 (the eastern component of NGC 4759) as NGC 4761. The identifications are discussed in Malcolm Thomson's "Catalogue Corrections" as well as in Harold Corwin's NGC identifcation notes.
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NGC 4762 = UGC 8016 = MCG +02-33-033 = CGCG 071-065 = Holm 478a = PGC 43733
12 52 55.9 +11 13 50; Vir
V = 10.3; Size 8.7'x1.7'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 32°
48" (4/4/13): extremely bright, stunning thin edge-on SW-NE, ~6.0'x0.6'. An extremely thin bright streak extends along the major axis, brightening at the center to a remarkably bright core and stellar nucleus. Beyond the tips of the very high surface portion of the edge-on disc, the galaxy has diffuse extensions at both ends that flare out and appear like water being sprayed out the end of a hose. The extensions increase the length to at least 8'. The bright disc has a sharp edge, particularly on the west side, but a low surface brightness glow is visible on both sides, increasing the width to at least 1' and the overall dimensions to 8'x1'. The southern side of the galaxy is flanked by two mag 9.5 stars and a mag 10.5 star is directly south. NGC 4754 lies 11' NW.
17.5" (4/13/91): very bright, fairly large, beautiful
edge-on 12:1 SW-NE, 6.0'x0.5', small intensely bright core, stellar
nucleus. The unusually thin arms
taper at the ends. The galaxy
appears to have a sharper light cut-off, possibly due to a dust lane along the
west side. Located almost midway
between two 9th magnitude stars (
William Herschel discovered NGC 4762 = H. II-75 = h1466, along with NGC 4754, on 15 Mar 1784 (sweep 174). He recorded them together as "Two pB nebula; the preceding [NGC 4754] of them is almost R. The following [NGC 4762] very much extended; they are not far from the same parallel and about 8 or 10' distant." His position is between the two galaxies. But NGC 4754 was recorded twice (I-25 and II-74) within 45 seconds! See that number.
In February 1863, Lord Rosse's assistant Samuel Hunter reported "I strongly suspect the ends to be twisted."
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12 53 27.2 -17 00 20; Crv
V = 12.6; Size 1.2'x0.8'; Surf Br = 12.4; PA = 130°
18" (4/29/06): moderately bright, fairly small, slightly elongated NW-SE, 1.0'x0.8', broad concentration. A mag 11.5 star lies 2.5' NNE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4763 = H. III-489 on 31 Dec
1785 (sweep 503) and recorded "vF, S, little brighter in the
middle." Not observed by
JH. His position is 9 sec of time
preceding and 1' north of
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NGC 4764 = HCG 62D = PGC 43760
12 53 06.6 -09 15 27; Vir
V = 15.0; Size 0.8'x0.4'
18" (6/17/06): extremely faint and small, round,
10"' diameter. Located 1.9'
SSE of mag 9.5
17.5" (4/13/96):
17.5" (5/17/90): extremely faint and small, round, almost stellar, glimpsed for moments only. Located in a compact galaxy group 3.5' S of double system NGC 4759 and 2' S of mag 9.1 SAO 139019. A mag 14 star is 1.5' SW.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4764, along with NGC 4761, in March 1882, and reported it in his 5th paper near NGC 4776 and 4778. The NGC description reads "eF, eS, sf Dneb 4759." As Tempel didn't mention any direction in the Astronomische Nachricten article, this information was perhaps communicated directly to Dreyer.
NGC 4764 is probably
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12 53 14.6 +04 27 48; Vir
V = 13.0; Size 1.1'x0.8'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 80°
17.5" (4/4/92): moderately bright but fairly small, elongated 4:3 WSW-ENE, 1.2'x0.9', broad concentration with no nucleus, fairly high surface brightness.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4765 = H. III-544 = h1467 on 17 Apr 1786 (sweep 553) and noted "vF, vS." John Herschel made the single observation "pB; S; R: gradually brighter in the middle; 20"." Both positions are reasonably accurate.
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NGC 4766 = MCG -02-33-042 = PGC 43766
12 53 08.1 -10 22 41; Vir
V = 14.5; Size 0.7'x0.2'; Surf Br = 12.2; PA = 130°
17.5" (5/17/90): faint, very small, slightly elongated NW-SE, small bright core. A mag 12 star is 1.0' ENE.
NGC 4766 forms a close pair with
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4766, along with NGC 4757, in
1882. In the narrative portion of
his fifth paper (AN 2439) he mentions finding two nebulae about 10' north of
Winnecke's GC 5674 [NGC 4760].
Although no positions were stated, they were probably measured and
communicated later to Dreyer, as the NGC position is 20 seconds of RA west of
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12 53 52.9 -39 42 52; Cen
V = 11.5; Size 2.6'x1.2'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 130°
17.5" (2/28/87): moderately bright, fairly small, oval NW-SE, bright core. Located 26' N of n Centauri (V = 4.3) in the Centaurus cluster (AGC 3526).
John Herschel discovered NGC 4767 = h3436 on 21 Apr 1835 and recorded "B; S; lE; pretty suddenly much brighter middle; 25"."
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12 53 17.2 -09 31 54; Vir
V = 13.5
18" (4/29/06): appears as a mag 13 star located 3.7' W
of
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4768, along with NGC 4769, in 1882. He simply noted in paper V (AN 2439) finding two faint nebula close preceding III 525 [NGC 4770]." Dreyer gives only a rough position in the NGC due west of NGC 4770. The only object preceding NGC 4770 is a 20" pair of mag 13.5 stars. Harold Corwin assigns NGC 4768 to the northwestern component and NGC 4769 to the southeastern component, which is a merged double star on the DSS and a resolved pair on the PanSTARRS image.
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12 53 18.0 -09 32 10; Vir
18" (4/29/06): this is a close double star 3.5' W of NGC 4770. In poor seeing it appeared as a single mag 13 star. Forms a pair with NGC 4768, a mag 13 star 20" NW.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4769, along with NGC 4768 in 1882. These two numbers probably apply to a 20" pair of mag 13.5 stars. NGC 4769 appears to be a merged double star on the DSS but is cleanly resolved on the PanSTARRS image. See NGC 4768.
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NGC 4770 = MCG -01-33-040 = PGC 43804
12 53 32.1 -09 32 29; Vir
V = 13.0; Size 1.5'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 90°
18" (4/29/06): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 3:2 E-W, 0.8'x0.5'. Contains a moderately bright, round core, ~20" diameter with faint extensions. Located 12' W of mag 5 Psi Virginis.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4770 = H. III-525 on 25 Mar 1786 (sweep 546). and simply noted "very faint, extremely small." Due to the sweep motion he didn't record nearby Psi Virginis. Édouard Stephan made an observation on 2 May 1878.
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12 53 21.2 +01 16 10; Vir
V = 12.3; Size 3.9'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 133°
17.5" (2/28/87): moderately bright, fairly large, elongated 3:1 NW-SE, only a weak concentration. Located 2.7' E of a mag 10 star.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4771 = H. II-535 = h1468 on 24 Feb 1786 (sweep 532) and recorded "F, mE, 2' l and 3/4' br from np to sf." John Herschel made the single observation "F; mE; follows a * 9m in parallel; sky not quite clear." and measured an accurate position.
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12 53 29.1 +02 10 06; Vir
V = 11.0; Size 3.4'x1.7'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 147°
17.5" (2/28/87): moderately bright, elongated NW-SE, fairly small. Contains a bright core with faint extensions.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4772 = H. II-24 = h1469 on
24 Jan 1784 (sweep 122) and recorded "F, pL." His position is about 1 min of RA east
of
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12 53 36.0 -08 38 21; Vir
V = 14.1; Size 1.3'x1.0'; Surf Br = 14.2; PA = 95°
17.5" (5/17/90): fairly faint, small, slightly elongated E-W, small bright core.
Forms a contact pair with
NGC 4773 is located 6' NNW of mag 8.8
William Herschel discovered NGC 4773 = H. III-516 on 3 Mar
1786 (sweep 536) and noted "vF, S." Caroline's reduction is 2' south-southeast of
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12 53 06.6 +36 49 06; CVn
V = 14.3; Size 0.6'x0.4'; Surf Br = 12.5
48" (4/7/13): at 488x this collisional ring galaxy
appeared fairly bright, fairly small, slightly elongated E-W, irregular. It appeared slightly brighter on the
north side, which contained a faint stellar nucleus, but I didn't resolve the
darker center. Forms a close pair
with
NGC 4774 is nicknamed the "Kidney Bean Galaxy" by
Zwicky in his red book (
17.5" (4/28/89): very faint, small, round, even surface brightness. Appeared fainter than the CGCG mag of 14.6p.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4774 = H. III-618 = h1471 on 17 Mar 1787 (sweep 714) and noted "eF, vS." John Herschel logged "eF; S; R: bM. Sky perfectly clear" and measured an accurate position.
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12 53 45.8 -06 37 20; Vir
V = 11.1; Size 2.1'x2.0'; Surf Br = 12.5
17.5" (5/17/90): fairly bright, fairly large, elongated
3:2 SSW-NNE, weak concentration, mottled appearance. A mag 13.5 star is off the SW edge 1.3' from center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4775 = H. II-186 = h1470 on 25 Apr 1784 (sweep 207) and logged "rather F, cL, R, r." John Herschel made the single obwervation "vF; L; R; 90"; very gradually little brighter middle. Its companion [NGC 4786] looked for but not seen."
Based on a photograph taken at the Helwan observatory between 1927-31 with the 30-inch Reynolds reflector, NGC 4775 was described in the 1935 bulletin as an "open spiral, pF complicated central region with an almost stellar nucleus and many stellar condensations n.p. and s.f. of centre."
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NGC 4776 = NGC 4759nw = HCG 62B = MCG -01-33-036 = Holm 477a NED1 = PGC 43754
12 53 04.5 -09 12 00; Vir
V = 13.0; Size 0.9'x0.9'; Surf Br = 12.7
18" (6/17/06): NGC 4776 = HCG 62B is the northwest component of the striking double system NGC 4759. At 225x it appeared fairly faint but very small, round, 20"-24" diameter. NGC 4761 = HCG 62c lies just 1.3' following. Nearly tangent to the southeast edge is slightly brighter NGC 4778 = HCG 62A, just 28" between centers.
17.5" (4/13/96): NGC 4776 is virtually attached to the northwest edge of NGC 4778 and is slightly fainter smaller, round, 20" diameter, faint stellar nucleus. Mag 9 SAO 139019 is just 1.5' SSW of the pair.
17.5" (5/17/90): the northwest component of this double system appears faint, very small, slightly elongated N-S, bright core. The contact companion NGC 4778 = HCG 62A is attached at the SE end (see notes). Located 2' N of mag 9.1 SAO 139019. Second of four with NGC 4761 1' ENE and NGC 4764 4' S.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4776 = h3437, along with NGC 4778, on 5 May 1836 and recorded "vF; S; R; very little brighter middle; the preceding of a double nebula [with NGC 4778]." This is an unusual situation as his father's H. II-559 = NGC 4759 refers to this double system, though William did not resolve the two galaxies. John resolved the pair, and each component has its own GC and NGC designation, although his RA is exactly 1.0 minute of time too large. See Harold Corwin's notes.
******************************
12 53 58.5 -08 46 32; Vir
V = 13.7; Size 1.8'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.9; PA = 8°
17.5" (5/17/90): faint, fairly small, elongated SSW-NNE, small bright core. Located 4' SE of mag 8.8 SAO 139029. Third of four in a group.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4777 = H. III-517 on 3 Mar
1786 (sweep 536) and noted "vF, S." Caroline's reduction is 6 sec of RA following
******************************
NGC 4778 = HCG 62A = NGC 4759se = MCG -01-33-037 = Holm 477a NED2 = PGC 43757
12 53 05.7 -09 12 17; Vir
V = 12.5; Size 1.8'x1.4'
18" (6/17/06): NGC 4778 = HCG 62A is the southeast component of the striking double system NGC 4759 and the slightly larger and brighter of the duo. At 225x it appeared fairly faint, fairly small, round, 0.8' diameter. Contains a small bright core surrounded by a lower surface brightness halo. Located 1.5' N of a mag 9.5 star that detracts somewhat. NGC 4776 = HCG 62B is nearly tangent to the northwest edge (28" between centers).
17.5" (4/13/96): this is the brighter southeast component of the double system NGC 4759 (see notes) and listed as HCG 62A. At 220x, it appears fairly faint, round, 1.0' diameter, increases to a small bright core. HCG 62B is virtually attached to the northwest edge. Mag 9 SAO 139019 is just 1.5' SSW of the pair.
17.5" (5/17/90): the southeast member of this double system is slightly larger and brighter and appears faint, small, slightly elongated E-W, bright core. Located 2' N of mag 9.1 SAO 139019. Second of four with NGC 4761 1' ENE and NGC 4764 4' S.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4778 = h3438, along with NGC 4776, on 5 May 1836 and recorded "vF; S; R; very little brighter middle; 15"; has a * sf; the following of two [with NGC 4776]." He later added the note "II 559 is not noticed as double in Sir W. Herschel's description." See notes for NGC 4476. RNGC, PGC and SIMBAD misidentify this galaxy as NGC 4761.
******************************
12 53 50.9 +09 42 36; Vir
V = 12.4; Size 2.1'x1.8'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 70°
17.5" (3/28/92): faint, fairly small, elongated 3:2 SW-NE, broad concentration.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4779 = H. III-106 = h1472 on
15 Apr 1784 (sweep 194) and logged "vF, pL, rather bM, r." Caroline's reduction is within 1.5' of
******************************
NGC 4780 = MCG -01-33-045 = Holm 482a = LGG 313-003 = PGC 43870
12 54 05.1 -08 37 16; Vir
V = 13.8; Size 1.9'x1.3'; Surf Br = 14.4; PA = 10°
17.5" (5/17/90): faint, small, slightly elongated, low
even surface brightness. Unusual
appearance as a mag 14 is at the west edge and the galaxy extends to the east
of this star.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4780 = T. 5-20 in 1880 and reported it in the narrative portion of his 5th discovery paper. He mentions there are two nebula in the field to the north of NGC 4777, the western object being NGC 4773 and the following one new. His position was 2' too far south but accurately placed this object 27.5 sec of RA following and 1' 10" north of NGC 4773.
******************************
NGC 4781 = MCG -02-33-049 = Holm 483a = LGG 307-009 = PGC 43902
12 54 23.6 -10 32 11; Vir
V = 11.1; Size 3.5'x1.5'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 120°
17.5" (3/23/85): bright, large, very elongated ~E-W,
high surface brightness but weak concentration. A mag 12.5 star is embedded in the preceding side 1.0' W of
center and two comparable stars lie 2.0' W and 3.6' ESE of center. Forms a pair with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4781 = H. I-134 on 25 Mar
1786 (sweep 546) and logged "cB, 7 or 8' long, about 3' broad." His position matches
******************************
12 54 35.7 -12 34 07; Crv
V = 11.7; Size 1.8'x1.7'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 155°
48" (4/21/17): at 813x; bright, moderately large,
slightly elongated, ~45" diameter, well concentrated with a small bright
core. Forms a striking N-S contact
pair (halos form a dumbbell or dogbone outline) with
17.5" (3/23/85): moderately bright, very small, round. Forms an extremely close contact pair with NGC 4783 in a common halo 0.6' NNE of center.
8" (3/28/81): faint, very small. Contact pair with NGC 4783 oriented SSW-NNE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4782 = H. I-135, along with NGC 4783, on 27 Mar 1786 (sweep 548). He recorded them together as "Two, both cB, R, cS, mbM in the direction of the meridian., nearly within 1' of each other, and the chevelure [halo] mixing." His position is accurate (landing on the southern galaxy). See Harold Corwin's NGC notes on problems with the identifications of the two components.
******************************
NGC 4783 = VV 201b = Holm 485b = MCG -02-33-051 = 3C 278 = LGG 316-001 = PGC 43926
12 54 36.6 -12 33 28; Crv
V = 11.5; Size 1.8'x1.7'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 105°
48" (4/21/17): NGC 4783 is the northern galaxy of a
striking contact pair with NGC 4783 [39" between centers]. The merged halos of the two galaxies
form a dogbone or dumbbell outline. At 813x, it appeared bright, moderately
large, round, ~40" diameter, well concentrated with a small bright
nucleus. A mag 14.5 star is 30" SE of center (just outside the combined
halos). An extremely faint
"knot", roughly 5" diameter, is at the northwest edge of the
halo. Checking later, I found this
is a nearly stellar galaxy, catalogued in HyperLeda as
17.5" (3/23/85): moderately bright, very small, round. Forms an interesting contact pair with NGC 4782 0.6' SSW within a common halo.
8": faint, very small. The pair is elongated SSW-NNE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4783 = H. I-136, along with NGC 4782, on 27 Mar 1786 (sweep 548). See notes on NGC 4782.
******************************
NGC 4784 = MCG -02-33-053 = Holm 483b = PGC 43929
12 54 37.0 -10 36 47; Vir
V = 14.2; Size 1.2'x0.3'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 101°
17.5" (3/23/85): faint, small, slightly elongated. Fainter of pair with NGC 4781 5.7' NNW. Forms the SE vertex of an isosceles triangle with two mag 11/12 stars 2.1' W and 2.0' N.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4784 = H. III-526 on 25 Mar
1786 (sweep 546) and noted "eF, eS, some little doubt." Despite the doubt, his position is a
good match with
******************************
12 53 27.4 -48 44 58; Cen
V = 12.4; Size 1.9'x1.0'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 81°
14" (4/2/16 - Coonabarabran, 160x): moderately bright, elongated 3:1 ~E-W, 0.9'x0.3', high surface brightness. Contains a small bright core and a bright stellar or quasi-stellar nucleus (this is a Sy2 galaxy). A mag 13.8 star is just off the west side [58" from center] and a mag 15 star is 1.3' SW.
Several brighter stars are to the north of the galaxy
including a mag 10.8 star 4.5' NW, a mag 10.6 star 6' N and a mag 11 star 4.3'
NNE. Located 12' NNE of mag 4.3 HD
111915. It helped to place this
annoyingly bright star outside the field.
NGC 4785 is situated 2° NW of the large spiral
John Herschel discovered NGC 4785 = h3439 on 1 Mar 1835 and
recorded, "vF; S; R; gradually little brighter middle." There is nothing at his single
position, but 1.75 minutes of time to the west is
******************************
NGC 4786 = MCG -01-33-046 = PGC 43922
12 54 32.4 -06 51 34; Vir
V = 11.7; Size 1.6'x1.3'; Surf Br = 12.4; PA = 170°
17.5" (5/17/90): moderately bright, fairly small, oval 3:2 N-S, increases to a small bright core. A mag 12 star is 2.5' N. Forms a pair with NGC 4775 18.4' NW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4786 = H. II-187 on 25 Apr 1784 (sweep 207) and recorded "pF, pL, r." John Herschel noted in his observation of NGC 4775 that he looked for this nebula without success.
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12 54 05.5 +27 04 06; Com
V = 14.4; Size 1.1'x0.3'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 2°
17.5" (3/20/93): very faint, fairly small, very
elongated 3:1 N-S, low but uneven surface brightness. A mag 10 star lies 2.9' WSW. Forms a pair with
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4787 on 3 Apr 1867, measured an accurate position and noted it was 13.6 sec of RA preceding NGC 4789. This galaxy was missed by both Herschels when they observed nearby NGC 4789.
******************************
12 54 16.0 +27 18 12; Com
V = 14.3; Size 0.8'x0.3'; PA = 140°
17.5" (5/14/94): faint, very small, round, 20"
diameter. Located 1.3' E of a mag
10.5 star.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4788 on 23 Apr 1865 with
the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His position is 4 sec of RA west of
******************************
NGC 4789 = UGC 8028 = MCG +05-30-124 = CGCG 159-113 = CGCG 160-008 = PGC 43895
12 54 18.9 +27 04 04; Com
V = 12.1; Size 1.9'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 0°
17.5" (3/20/93): fairly faint, very small, slightly
elongated N-S. A mag 10 star is
just 40" N of center. Forms a
pair with close NGC 4787 3.0' W.
Located 18' NNE of mag 6.9
William Herschel discovered NGC 4789 = H. II-345 = h1473 on 6 Apr 1785 (sweep 393) and noted "F. Just south of a pB star." Both Herschels missed nearby NGC 4787, which was discovered by d'Arrest.
******************************
NGC 4790 = MCG -02-33-056 = LGG 307-010 = PGC 43972
12 54 51.8 -10 14 52; Vir
V = 12.1; Size 1.7'x1.1'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 85°
17.5" (3/23/85): moderately bright, fairly large, broad and pretty weak concentration, elongated ~E-W. NGC 4781 lies 18' SSW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4790 = H. II-560 on 25 Mar 1786 (sweep 546) and noted "pF, pS, iR." John Herschel didn't record this galaxy but Édouard Stephan made an observation on 2 May 1878. Harold Knox-Shaw identified this galaxy as an "open spiral" in 1915, based on a photograph taken with the 30" reflector at the Helwan Observatory between 1912-14.
******************************
12 54 44.0 +08 03 12; Vir
V = 14.2; Size 0.5'x0.35'; PA = 70°
17.5" (4/4/92): very faint, very small, round, broad
concentration. A wide double star
is 2' SE (mag 11/12.5 at 39" separation N-S). The double system
Albert Marth discovered NGC 4791 = m 243 on 25 Mar 1865 and noted "eF, vS, lE, very little brighter middle." His position is accurate.
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12 55 03.6 -12 29 50; Crv
V = 14.2; Size 0.7'x0.3'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 140°
17.5" (3/23/85): faint, extremely small, slightly elongated NW-SE. Forms an equilateral triangle with NGC 4794 7' SSE and the NGC 4782/NGC 4783 duo 8' SW.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4792 in 1882. I can't find his description in paper V
(AN 2439), but the NGC description reads "vS, R, 7' nnp of II 538 [NGC 4794]"
and at this position is
******************************
12 54 40.6 +28 56 17; Com
V = 11.6; Size 2.8'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 50°
17.5" (5/14/94): fairly bright, moderately large, elongated 2:1 SW-NE, 2.0'x1.0', fairly high irregular surface brightness, broad concentration with no well-defined core. A mag 15 star lies about 1' off the SW edge and 1.7' WSW of center. Located 1.8' S of a mag 9.5 star which detracts from viewing. At 280x, a very small bright nucleus is visible and there is an impression of a dark patch or dust along the NE extension.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4793 = H. I-93 = h1475 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396). His description reads, "cB, pL, about 1.5' south of a [mag 9-10] star." John Herschel made two observations and measured an accurate positon.
******************************
NGC 4794 = MCG -02-33-060 = PGC 44012
12 55 10.5 -12 36 30; Crv
V = 13.7; Size 1.5'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 150°
17.5" (3/23/85): very faint, small. A mag 14 star is at the WSW edge 33" from center and a mag 13 star is at the ENE end. In a group with NGC 4792 7' NNW and the NGC 4782/NGC 4783 pair 9' WNW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4794 = H. III-538 on 27 Mar 1786 (sweep 548) and recorded "2 or 3 small stars with very faint nebulosity." His position is just 1' too far SE, and the description applies. Less than 1/2 min prior he discovered the galaxy pair NGC 4782/84. The H-designation of II-538 in the NGC was a typo.
******************************
NGC 4795 = UGC 8037 = MCG +01-33-024 = CGCG 043-064 = PGC 43998
12 55 02.8 +08 03 56; Vir
V = 12.1; Size 1.9'x1.6'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 115°
17.5" (4/4/92): moderately bright, fairly small,
slightly elongated NW-SE, bright core, high surface brightness. Located 3.9' S
of a mag 10 star. NGC 4791 lies
4.7' W and
Forms an interacting contact pair with NGC 4796 attached at the east end, 27" from center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4795 = H. II-21 = h1474 on
23 Jan 1784 (sweep 107) and recorded "A nebula, vF and of an irregular
shape. 1/2° sp the following star
[
John Herschel made three observations, recording it on 27 Dec 1827 (sweep 117) as "bright; round; pretty gradually brighter in the middle; 30"; a very small * included, following" and measured an accurate position. The "very small *" applies to NGC 4796!
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12 55 04.6 +08 03 58; Vir
V = 14.4; Size 0.2'x0.2'
17.5" (4/4/92): contact pair with brighter NGC 4795. Very faint, extremely small, slightly elongated, faint stellar nucleus. This object is attached at the east side of the halo of NGC 4795.
Albert Marth discovered NGC 4796 = m 244 on 25 Mar 1865 and noted "eF, eS, alm stell, close to [NGC 4795]." The SDSS shows an extremely compact galaxy with extensions WSW-ENE, superimposed on the eastern arm of NGC 4795. The Deep Sky Field Guide to the Uranometria 2000 Atlas refers to this object as "star or very bright patch 0.5' E of center", but does not refer to this object as NGC 4796.
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12 54 55.2 +27 24 44; Com
V = 13.2; Size 1.2'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 30°
17.5" (5/14/94): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly
elongated N-S, very weak concentration.
A mag 14 star is 1.0' S of center and a mag 10 star 7.5' E. Member of AGC 1656 with NGC 4788 10.9'
SW,
Heinrich d'Arrest found NGC 4797 on 21 Apr 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. There is nothing at his position, but 4.8' north is NGC 4798, discovered by William Herschel on his most productive night of 11 Apr 1785. d'Arrest observed and accurately measured NGC 4798 on two nights, but not the one in which he recorded NGC 4797 as new. As a result, Corwin equates NGC 4797 = NGC 4798. Because of d'Arrest's poor position, Karl Reinmuth or Max Wolf reported that NGC 4797 was not found on Heidelberg plates.
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NGC 4798 = NGC 4797 = UGC 8038 = MCG +05-31-004 = CGCG 159-118 = CGCG 160-013 = WBL 426-002 = PGC 43981
12 54 55.2 +27 24 44; Com
V = 13.2; Size 1.2'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 30°
17.5" (5/14/94): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly elongated N-S, very weak concentration. A mag 14 star is 1.0' S of center and a mag 10 star 7.5' E. Member of AGC 1656 with NGC 4788 10.9' SW, NGC 4807 9.9' NE and IC 3900 14.5' SE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4798 = H. II-382 = h1477 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and noted "F, pS." WH was rapidly on his way to discover 74 galaxies in this sweep, so for the next several objects he gave very brief descriptions. John Herschel made two observations and measured an accurate position.
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12 55 15.5 +02 53 47; Vir
V = 13.3; Size 1.3'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 91°
17.5" (4/4/92): fairly faint, small, elongated 2:1 E-W,
weak concentration. A mag 13 star
is attached at the south edge 1' from center. Located 9' S of mag 7.9
William Herschel discovered NGC 4799 = H. III-548 = h1476 on 30 Apr 1786 (sweep 558) and recorded "vF, cS, near a vS star. 240x confirmed, and showed it lE." His position matches UGC 8043. John Herschel called this galaxy "F; S; close to a *."
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12 54 37.8 +46 31 52; CVn
V = 11.5; Size 1.6'x1.2'; Surf Br = 12.0; PA = 25°
13.1" (4/12/86): fairly bright, fairly small, fainter
halo with large bright core containing a stellar nucleus. A mag 13.5 star is just 0.8' WNW from
center. Located 15' SE of mag 7.6
William Herschel discovered NGC 4800 = H. I-211 = h1478 on 1 Apr 1788 (sweep 823) and recorded "pF, vS, bM." On 29 Apr (sweep 836) he logged "pB, pS, R, bM, following a small star." John Herschel made two observations but the position was only measured once. Heinrich d'Arrest noted the mag 13 star, which he measured 4.7 seconds of time preceding and the mag 13 star 19.6 seconds of time following and a little south.
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12 54 37.7 +53 05 24; UMa
V = 14.4; Size 0.8'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 138°
18" (6/27/03): very faint, very small [core only viewed], irregularly round, 0.5'x0.4', low surface brightness. A fairly even pair [47"] of mag 12/13 stars lie 7' WSW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4801 = H. III-816 = h1479 on
26 Apr 1789 (sweep 929) and noted "eF, S, lE." His position (Caroline's reduction) is
2.5' northeast of
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12 55 49.8 -12 03 19; Crv
V = 11.8; Size 2.3'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 20°
17.5" (3/23/85): fairly faint, very small, weak concentration to a virtually stellar nucleus. A mag 11 star is just off the SE edge. Located 30' NE of the NGC 4782/NGC 4783 pair.
Wilhelm Tempel found NGC 4802 = T. 5-21 on 20 Apr 1882. His micrometric position is an exact
match with
William Herschel probably discovered this galaxy on 27 Mar
1786. It was recorded as H. IV-40
(later
******************************
NGC 4803 = MCG +02-33-036 = CGCG 043-069 = CGCG 071-073 =
12 55 33.7 +08 14 25; Vir
V = 14.4; Size 0.6'x0.4'; Surf Br = 12.7
17.5" (4/4/92): very faint, very small, elongated 3:2 SW-NE. Overpowered by a mag 9.5 star at a SE edge 0.7' from center. The NGC 4795/NGC 4796 pair is 13' SW.
Albert Marth discovered NGC 4803 = m 245 on 25 Mar 1865 and noted "eF, eS, R, little brighter in the middle." His position is accurate.
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12 55 49.8 -13 02 19; Crv
=*, Steinicke. = **, Gottlieb.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4804 = H. IV-40 on 27 Mar 1786 (sweep 548). He "suspected a pB star, with a seeming brush to the north preceding. May be a small nebula close to it, but there was no time to verify it." There is nothing near his position except of 20" pair of 14th mag star oriented NW-SE (matching Herschel's description).
But exactly 1° north of Herschel's position is NGC 4802
(found later by Tempel) and Harold Corwin suggests NGC 4804 might be this
galaxy. Herschel's description is
appropriate since the galaxy is just NW of an 11th mag star. The equivalence of NGC 4804 and 4802
was first proposed by Herbert Howe when he examined the field in 1899-00. It was later suggested by Harold
Knox-Shaw, based on a plate taken with the 30" reflector at the Helwan
Observatory in 1912-14. But Wolfgang Steincke states this identification is
ruled out based on the sweep data (direction and northern limit of the
sweep). Instead he identifies NGC
4804 with the mag 9.8 star
******************************
12 55 24.2 +27 58 48; Com
V = 15.0
= *, Corwin
Guillaume Bigourdan discovered NGC 4805 = Big. 59 on 11 May 1885. There is nothing non-stellar at his position, and Harold Corwin states "NGC 4805 is a [15th mag] star positively identified by Bigourdan's two observations. In spite of the accuracy of his measurements, he comments that "... near it is a star 13.4-13.5, but it's impossible to tell which direction it is from the nebula's center.'' This must be the object itself as there is nothing else in the area that he could have seen."
LEDA misidentifies
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12 56 12.5 -29 30 11; Hya
V = 12.7; Size 1.2'x1.0'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 50°
18" (5/16/09): faint, diffuse glow, moderately large, irregularly round, 45"x40". A kite-shaped asterism of 4 stars (one is a double) is close SW.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4806 = h3440 on 30 Mar 1835 and recorded "F; R; gradually very little brighter middle; 40"." His position is accurate.
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NGC 4807 = UGC 8049 = MCG +05-31-006 = CGCG 160-017 = Holm 488a = WBL 426-006 = PGC 44037
12 55 29.1 +27 31 15; Com
V = 13.5; Size 1.0'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.1
17.5" (5/14/94): fairly faint, round, 0.8' diameter,
bright core. A mag 13 star is 3.2'
NNW. Member of AGC 1656 with NGC
4798 9.9' SW and
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4807 on 23 Apr 1865 with
the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His position, measured 3 times, matches
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12 55 49.0 +04 18 15; Vir
V = 11.7; Size 2.8'x1.1'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 127°
18" (5/29/05): moderately bright, fairly large, elongated 5:2 NW-SE, 2.0'x0.8'. Broadly concentrated with a mottled nuclear region but no well-defined core or nucleus. A mag 14 star is off the NW side, 1.9' from center. Located 54' N of mag 3.4 Delta Virginis. Picked up while viewing Comet Tempel (9P) 30' S. The Comet will be impacted by a spacecraft in just over one month! (July 4).
17.5" (4/4/92): fairly bright, fairly large, elongated 2:1 NW-SE, 2.5'x1.2', broadly concentrated with no nucleus, tapered ends. A mag 14 star lies 1.9' WNW of center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4808 = H. I-141 = h1480 on
17 Apr 1786 (sweep 553) and recorded "vB, cL, E from np to sf." His position is at the southeast end of
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12 54 51.1 +02 39 14; Vir
V = 13.8; Size 1.7'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.8; PA = 68°
48" (5/4/16): at 610x; moderately bright, elongated 7:2
WSW-ENE, ~1.2'x0.35'. This galaxy
has an unusual irregular "banana" shape with a patchy appearance; it
bends slightly south on the east-northeast end and has a blunter west-southwest
end that also twists slightly south. There is a slightly brighter patch that is
offset just north of the geometric center. I assumed this was the core region, but on the SDSS it
appears to be a large HII region and there is no central core. A second slightly brighter patch is at
the west-southwest end and this is clearly an active star-forming complex on
the SDSS. NGC 4809 is the larger
member of an interacting pair with
18" (3/30/05): very faint, very small, slightly elongated. This galaxy is nearly attached to the north side of NGC 4810. Although smaller (must have viewed only a portion as the size is larger on the DSS), it may have a higher surface brightness.
R.J. Mitchell, Lord Rosse's assistant, discovered NGC 4809,
along with NGC 4810, on 18 Apr 1855 while looking for h1509 [
Mitchell's description pins down the identification of the pair, but John Herschel and Dreyer could only list a single (rough) position in the GC and NGC. The identification of NGC 4809 with the northern component is from the RC2 and repeated in the NGC 2000.0 and RNGC. But UGC reverses these identifications and has a typo with the RA (1 minute of time too large). The data (size, PA and possibly magnitudes) listed under NGC 4810 in the RC3 applies to NGC 4809. The position angle listed under NGC 4809 probably applies to NGC 4810.
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NGC 4810 = Arp 277 NED2 = VV 313b = Holm 486b = MCG +01-33-023 = CGCG 043-061 = LGG 292-056 = PGC 43971
12 54 51.2 +02 38 25; Vir
V = 14.3; Size 0.8'x0.55'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 162°
48" (5/4/16): at 610x; moderately bright and large, elongated 2:1 ~N-S, 0.8'x0.4', irregular surface brightness with only a slightly brighter core. This galaxy is the southern member of an interacting pair of dwarf irregulars (Magellanic types) with NGC 4809 just 45" N.
18" (3/30/05): very faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1
~N-S, 0.8'x0.4'. Forms a double
system with NGC 4809, which is nearly attached at the north end. Located 10' E of mag 8.4
R.J. Mitchell discovered NGC 4810, along with NGC 4809, on 18 Apr 1855. See notes on NGC 4809.
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12 56 52.3 -41 47 51; Cen
V = 13.0; Size 1.3'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 35°
14" (4/2/16 - Coonabarabran, 160x): slightly brighter
of a close pair with
John Herschel discovered NGC 4811 = h3441, along with NGC 4812, on 8 Jun 1834 and recorded "eF; R; gradually brighter in the middle; 40". The preceding of 2 [with NGC 4812]. His position is accurate. MCG doesn't label MCG -07-27-019 as NGC 4811.
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NGC 4812 = ESO 323-048 = MCG -07-27-018 = AM 1254-413 NED02 = PGC 44204
12 56 52.7 -41 48 49; Cen
V = 13.1; Size 1.1'x0.4'; Surf Br = 12.1; PA = 36°
14" (4/2/16 - Coonabarabran, 160x): slightly fainter of a close pair with NGC 4811 1' N. Fairly faint to moderately bright, fairly small, elongated 2:1 SW-NE, 0.6'x0.3', sharply concentrated with a small bright core and stellar nucleus. Located 6' N of mag 8.2 HD 112404 in a fairly rich star field.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4812 = h3442, along with NGC
4811, on 8 Jun 1834 and recorded "eF; R; gradually brighter in the middle;
30"; 90" dist from the foregoing [NGC 4811] pos = 170.9°." MCG doesn't label
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12 56 36.1 -06 49 04; Vir
V = 13.7; Size 1.3'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 35°
17.5" (5/17/90): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1 SW-NE, small bright core, stellar nucleus. Located 11' NE of a mag 9.5 star.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4813 = H. II-777 = h1482 on
23 Mar 1789 (sweep 916) and recorded "F, S, R, bM." John Herschel reported "S; R: bM;
wind violent.". Harold Corwin
suggests
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12 55 22.0 +58 20 39; UMa
V = 12.0; Size 3.1'x2.3'; Surf Br = 14.0; PA = 135°
17.5" (5/19/01): moderately bright, moderately large, elongated 3:2 NW-SE, 1.6'x1.2'. Increases to a brighter core and quasi-stellar nucleus. A pretty 19" pair of mag 9/10 stars (oriented E-W) lies 11' S. A third mag 9.5 star is just 2' following the closer pair.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4814 = H. I-243 = h1483 on 17 Mar 1790 (sweep 947) and recorded "cB, S, R, gradually brighter in the middle." John Herschel made two observations, recording on sweep 323 "pB; L; lE; very gradually brighter middle; 90" l, 75" br."
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12 57 58 -64 57 42; Mus
V = 8.6; Size 3'
13.1" (2/20/04 - Costa Rica): at 105x, two mag 10 stars are surrounded by a number of very faint stars within 3'. The cluster is superimposed on a fairly bright milky background of unresolved stars. A third mag 10 star is apparently outside the border off the SW edge. At 200x, the unresolved glow is most prominent at the following end and 12-15 mag 13 stars are sprinkled over the backround glow (the cluster was viewed at a very low elevation which probably detracted from the view). This reddened cluster is heavily obscured and is located just within the SE border of the Coalsack and barely over the border into Musca, 1.1 degrees ENE of the bright double star Theta Muscae (5.9/7.7 at 5"). The two brighter mag 10 stars (separated by 1.3') may be foreground stars and not actual cluster members.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4815 = h3443 on 13 Mar 1834 and recorded "Class VI, p rich, irregular fig, gradually brighter in the middle, 3', stars vS, comparatively insulated; has two bright stars 8-9th mag and 9-10th mag." On a second observation he described a "Cluster, R, pS, resolved; irreg; gradually brighter in the middle, 3', stars 13..18th mag."
Robert Innes observed the cluster in 1898 using the 7-inch refractor at the Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope, and reported "[Herschel calls this a cluster. It now looks like an irregular nebula surrounding two stars." In 1901 he stated again "it is doubtful if this [which Herschel calls a cluster] is resolvable in the 7-inch. It is involved with, but to the south of the two stars.." (MN, 62, 469).
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12 56 12.2 +27 44 43; Com
V = 12.8; Size 1.3'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 84°
18" (5/12/07): faint, small, elongated 4:3 ~E-W,
0.4'x0.3', broad weak concentration.
A mag 13.5-14 star is just off the NE end. The brighter of a close pair with
17.5" (5/14/94): fairly faint, small, elongated 4:3
E-W, brighter core, diffuse halo.
Confusing appearance at low power as a mag 13.7 star is close off the NE
edge 34" from center creating the appearance of elongation. Also forms a close pair with CGCG
160-023 1.8' ENE. The three
objects are well resolved at 280x.
This member of AGC 1656 is located 14' E of mag 8
William Herschel discovered NGC 4816 = H. II-383 = h1481 on
11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and noted "F, pL." His position is 10 seconds of time west of
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12 56 29.8 +27 56 23; Com
V = 14.8; Size 0.6'x0.6'
18" (5/12/07): very faint and small, round, 20"
diameter. A mag 14 star lies 1.5'
NE. Located on the west side of
AGC 1656 about 45' W of the core.
A similar galaxy,
Guillaume Bigourdan discovered NGC 4817 = Big. 60 on 11 May
1885. There is nothing at his
position, but Harold Corwin notes his Comptes Rendus position (repeated in the
NGC position) is incorrect and Bigourdan's offsets from a mag 11.7 star
situated 5' WNW points to
Max Wolf reported NGC 4817 was not found on a Heidelberg plate, likely due to Bigourdan's poor position (stated in the IC 2 notes), and RNGC erroneously listed the number as nonexistent.
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12 56 48.9 -08 31 32; Vir
V = 11.1; Size 4.3'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 3°
17.5" (5/17/90): fairly bright, fairly large, very elongated 4:1 N-S, broad concentration. A mag 13 star is just off the south edge and a fainter mag 14 star is 1.4' E of center. A double star lies 5' SW (mag 11/13 at 19" separation). A mag 10 star lies 6.5' WNW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4818 = H. II-549 = h1484 = h3445 on 3 Mar 1786 (sweep 536). He recorded it as "pretty bright, very large, little brighter middle, irregular figure." A sketch, showing the central region, was included in his 1811 PT paper (fig. 14) under the head of "Nebulae that are gradually a little brighter in the middle".
John Herschel observed this galaxy from Slough: "pretty bright; pretty large; little elongated in the meridian; very gradually brighter in the middle". And later from the Cape of Good Hope:"bright; large; much extended in the meridian; gradually pretty much brighter in the middle; 3' length."
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12 56 27.9 +26 59 14; Com
V = 13.2; Size 1.2'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 160°
17.5" (5/14/94): brighter of pair with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4819 = H. II-346 = h1487 on
6 Apr 1785 (sweep 393) and logged "vF, pS, irr." Caroline's reduction was 6 seconds of
time preceding and 2.5' south of
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12 57 00.5 -13 43 10; Vir
V = 14.8; Size 1.0'x0.2'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 105°
17.5" (5/17/90): very faint, fairly small, very
elongated 4:1 WNW-ESE. Forms a
pair with
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4820 in 1882, along with NGC
4823 and 4829, while observing nearby NGC 4825. No position was given in the discovery note (list V), but
the NGC position (communicated directly to Dreyer?) matches
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NGC 4821 = MCG +05-31-015 = CGCG 160-024 = Holm 490b = WBL 426-012 = PGC 44148
12 56 29.2 +26 57 25; Com
V = 14.5; Size 0.5'x0.3'; Surf Br = 12.4
17.5" (5/14/94): fainter and smaller of pair with NGC
4819 2.0' N. Faint, small,
slightly elongated 4:3 N-S, no concentration. A mag 14.5 star is 1.5' WSW and a mag 13.5 is 3.5' W (this
star forms the western vertex of an isosceles triangle with NGC 4821 and NGC
4819).
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4821 on 6 Apr 1864 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen while observing and measuring nearby NGC 4819. His position is fairly accurate.
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12 57 03.7 -10 45 43; Vir
V = 13.3; Size 1.2'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 90°
18" (5/28/06): faint, small, round, 25" diameter,
weak concentration. A mag 13 star
lies 2' NE and a similar mag star is 3.4' WNW. Located 7.5' NNE of mag 8.9
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4822 = T. 5-22 on 21 Apr 1882 and recorded "class III, stellar nucleus, +6 sec [of time] and +7.5' [dec] from Lamont 1239 [mag 9 star]." His micrometric position in the main table is accurate.
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NGC 4823 = PGC 44305 = (R)
12 57 25.5 -13 41 56; Vir
V = 16.6; Size 0.8'x0.2'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 175°
24" (5/25/14): extremely or very faint, small, elongated 3:1 N-S, 20"x6", low even surface brightness. Located 3.8' SE of NGC 4825. NGC 4829 lies 2.4' S. Observed at 27° elevation (nearly 3 hrs past the meridian).
17.5" (5/17/90): not found.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered the trio of NGC 4820, 4823 and
4829 in 1882, just south of NGC 4825.
In Tempel's list V (AN #2439), he only mentions "three more faint
nebulae south of 3320 [NGC 4825]" found with the 11" refractor at
Arcetri and no positions are given.
The NGC position (probably communicated directly to Dreyer) for NGC 4820
matches MCG -02-33-067, and the position for NGC 4829 matches
The position for NGC 4823, though, is close southwest of NGC 4820 and must be erroneous. Harold Corwin assigns NGC 4823 = PGC 44305, which is 18 sec of RA east and 1'-2' south of the NGC position.
The PGC reverses the identifications of NGC 4829 and 4823. RNGC misclassifies NGC 4823 as nonexistent and misidentifies NGC 4823 as NGC 4829. See my RNGC Corrections #5 and Harold Corwin's identification notes.
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12 56 36.4 +27 25 57; Com
V = 15.0
= *, Corwin.
RNGC, PGC, HyperLeda, SIMBAD, MegaStar and more misidentify
Guillaume Bigourdan discovered NGC 4824 = Big. 61 on 19 Apr 1885. His Comptes Rendus position is close to a single mag 15.0 star at 12 56 36.4 +27 25 57 (J2000) and Harold Corwin verifies that Bigourdan's offsets point to this star.
PGC, RNGC, HyperLeda, SIMBAD, Uranometria 2000 Atlas (1st edition), MegaStar etc. misidentify PGC 44162 as NGC 4824. This galaxy is located 6' N of Bigourdan's star. I included the identification error in most modern sources in my 7th list of RNGC Corrections.
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NGC 4825 = MCG -02-33-070 = PGC 44261
12 57 12.2 -13 39 54; Vir
V = 11.7; Size 1.9'x1.2'; Surf Br = 12.5; PA = 135°
17.5" (5/17/90): moderately bright, fairly small, oval 3:2 NW-SE, large prominent core, faint halo. Forms a trio with NGC 4820 5' SW and NGC 4829 5.3' SSE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4825 = H. II-563 on 27 Mar 1786 (sweep 548) and recorded "pB, bM, iF." JH did not make an observation. Wilhelm Tempel discovered 3 "novae" to the south (NGCs 4820, 4823 and 4829).
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12 56 43.6 +21 40 57; Com
V = 8.5; Size 10.0'x5.4'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 115°
13.1" (4/24/82 and 4/28/84): very bright, large, oval 2:1 WNW-ESE, 6'x3', small bright core, almost stellar nucleus. The famous curved dark patch or "Black Eye", located just northeast of the core, was quite prominent and visible with direct vision. Located 55' NE of the tight double star 35 Comae.
German astronomer Johann Bode is generally considered the
discoverer of
William Herschel first observed M64 on 13 Apr 1785 (sweep 398): "vB, E from np to sf, about 7 or 8' long and 2' broad. A vB nucleus in the middle, but moonlight and haziness probably lessen its appearance considerably. The nucleus is very small in proportion to the rest and is not round, but irreg elongated in the same direction." M64 was observed on 6 sweeps with the nickname "Black-eye" originating with his observation on 13 Feb 1787 (sweep 699): "A very remarkable object, much extended about 12' long, 4 or 5' broad, contains one lucid spot like a star with a small black arch under it, so that it gives one the idea of what is called a black eye, arising from fighting." Six nights later was first light for the 40-ft, with a view of the Orion Nebula. He also showed the "black arch under the bright point" to visitor Charles Blagden (British doctor and Secretary of the Royal Society).
John Herschel described his sketch as follows: "The dark semi-elliptic vacancy (indicated by an unshaded or bright portion in the figure) which partially surrounds the condensed and bright nucleus of this nebula, is of course unnoticed by Messier. It was however seen by my Father, and shown by him to the late Sir Charles Blagden, who likened it to the appearance of a black eye, an odd, but not inapt comparison. The nucleus is somewhat elongated, and I have a strong suspicion that it may be a close double star, or extremely condensed double nebula." So perhaps Blagden first mentioned the term and William liked the analogy used it in his description.
At least 18 observations of the "Black eye" were made at Birr Castle. On 11 Mar 1848 (one of the earliest descriptions): "curious circular-shaped nebula, with a dark and large spot at one side, around which is a close cluster of well-defined little stars." William Lassell sketched the galaxy on 22 Apr 1862 with his 48-inch on Malta. The sketch showed the "remarkable dark space" as distinctly crescent-shaped. Hee wrote that it appeared "as dark as any part of the surrounding sky."
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NGC 4827 = UGC 8065 = MCG +05-31-016 = CGCG 160-028 = PGC 44178
12 56 43.6 +27 10 43; Com
V = 12.9; Size 1.4'x1.2'; Surf Br = 13.4
17.5" (5/14/94): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly elongated, sharply concentrated with a faint halo and a very small bright core. The NGC 4819/NGC 4820 pair is 12.0' SSW. Outlying member of AGC 1656.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4827 = H. II-384 = h1485 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and noted "F, pL." John Herschel made a single observation and his RA was 6 seconds too small. NGC 4827 wasn't found on two attempts at Birr Castle in the 1850's (on one the sky was noted as hazy) but d'Arrest reported observing it on 10 May 1863 using the 11" refractor at Copenhagen, as well as 3 later observations.
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NGC 4828 = MCG +05-31-017 = CGCG 160-029 = PGC 44176
12 56 42.9 +28 01 13; Com
V = 14.2; Size 0.6'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.7
18" (5/12/07): very faint and small, round, 20" diameter. Located on the west side of AGC 1656 about 45' W of the core. Forms a similar pair with NGC 4817, located 5.6' SW.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4828 on 22 Apr 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His single position is accurate. d'Arrest's mentioned there are others nearby to the southwest -- so perhaps he noticed NGC 4817, although it was not measured.
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12 57 24.4 -13 44 15; Vir
Size 0.5'x0.3'
24" (5/25/14): very faint, extremely small, round, 12" diameter. Located 5.3' SE of NGC 4825 and second brightest of 3 faint companions, with NGC 4823 2.4' N and NGC 4820 6.0' WNW. Observed at 27° elevation (nearly 3 hrs past the meridian).
17.5" (5/17/90): extremely faint and small, glimpsed for moments with averted. A mag 13.5 star is 1.8' S and a mag 12.5 3.6' SSW. Third of three and 5.3' SSE of NGC 4825. NGC 4823 is 2.4' N but was not seen.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4829 in 1882, along with NGC 4820 and 4823. In list V (AN 2439), he mentions "Quite close to the south [of N4825] are three more faint nebulae.", although no positions were measured. The NGC position matches PGC 44299 at 12 57 24.4 -13 44 15 (2000), so the position may have been communicated directly to Dreyer.
The PGC reverses the identifications of NGC 4829 and 4823. RNGC misidentifies NGC 4823 (2.3' north) as NGC 4829. This error was listed in my RNGC Corrections #5.
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12 57 27.9 -19 41 29; Vir
V = 12.1; Size 1.9'x1.2'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 157°
18" (5/15/04): moderately bright, moderately large,
elongated 4:3 NNW-SSE, 1.0'x0.7'. Well-concentrated with a small, high surface
brightness core which increases to a well-defined, bright stellar nucleus. Forms the NW vertex of a trapezoid with
three mag 8-10 stars! The closest
is a mag 10.5 star 2' S with mag 8.3
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4830 = T. 4-9 = T. 5-23 on 26 May 1880. His micrometric position is accurate.
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12 57 36.7 -27 17 32; Hya
V = 12.5; Size 1.7'x0.9'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 178°
18" (4/29/06): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated
2:1 N-S, 0.8'x0.4', weak concentration, very small slightly brighter
nucleus. Located 13' NE of mag 7.2
John Herschel discovered NGC 4831 = h3447 on 22 Mar 1836 and logged "faint, round, gradually brighter middle, 25" diameter." His position is accurate.
According to Wolfgang Steinicke, William Herschel made the original discovery during a 10-minute sweep of the ecliptic with his 40-foot telescope (48-inch mirror) on 9 Apr 1793. The discovery (3rd of 3 objects) was never published, but found by analyzing his sweep records with the 40-foot.
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12 57 48.5 -39 45 40; Cen
V = 12.2; Size 1.9'x1.2'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 25°
17.5" (4/7/89): fairly faint, small, oval NW-SE, bright
core. Located 7.6' ENE of mag 8
John Herschel discovered NGC 4832 = h3446 on 5 Jun 1834 and
recorded "pF; vS; R; suddenly brighter in the middle to a * 17m; pos from
* 10m (distant 60") = 250.3°."
His position is 1' northeast of
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12 59 34.9 -70 52 28; Mus
V = 7.0; Size 13.5'; Surf Br = 1.0
24" (4/12/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): at 260x this is a gorgeous highly resolved globular with several hundred stars splashed across the core and within a loose, well-resolved halo. The center is strongly compressed with a very bright 3' core surrounded by a large halo, roughly 10' in diameter. Beyond 5' or 6' from the center the halo becomes scraggly but continues further out in loops and strings. A brighter mag 8.7 star is superimposed in the halo, 2.5' N of center.
18" (7/10/02 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): This
was a surprising find for a little known globular! At 171x, it appeared as a bright, fairly large globular of
low concentration class. The loose
halo was highly resolved and numerous stars were splashed across the brighter core. Many of the stars formed large loops
and chains. A single bright star
(mag 8.7
10x30mm Canon IS (3/27/19 - Tasmania): moderately bright and large globular, round. Contains a brighter star on the N edge.
Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille discovered NGC 4833 = Lac I-4 = D 164 = h3444 in 1751-1752 with a 1/2-inch telescope at 8x during his expedition to the Cape of Good Hope. He included it in his 1755 catalogue as I-4, classifying it as a nebula, and noting it resembled "a small faint comet."
James Dunlop observed this globular with his 9-inch f/12 speculum reflector on 29 Apr 1826 (second night he recorded objects). His summary description reads "a pretty bright round nebula, about 4' diameter, moderately condensed to the centre. This, with the sweeping power, has the appearance of a globe of numerous matter with very small stars in the north following margin. But with a power sufficient to resolve it, the globular appearance vanishes in a very considerable degree; and the brightest and most condensed part is to the preceding side of the centre, with the stars considerably scattered on the N.f. side. Resolvable into stars of mixt small magnitudes." He observed the cluster on 5 nights.
John Herschel first recorded "globular cluster, B, L, R, gradually brighter in the middle, stars 14th mag, and one 7th mag north-preceding the centre; a fine object." On a second sweep he logged "globular cluster, pB, L, p rich, at first gradually, then very suddenly pretty much brighter middle; diameter of the bright part 3', of the loose stars 10'; stars 12..16th mag, and one large one 7th mag, 3' or 4' north of the centre."
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12 56 25.3 +52 16 45; CVn
V = 14.5; Size 0.9'x0.4'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 110°
18" (6/27/03): faint, small, slightly elongated, 0.5'x0.4'. Forms the east vertex of an equilateral triangle with two mag 12/12.5 stars 4' SW and 4' WNW. Either contains a very faint stellar nucleus or a faint star may be superimposed.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4834 = H. III-817 = h1488 on
26 Apr 1789 (sweep 929) and noted "cF, S, iF." Caroline's reduced position is 1' north
of
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12 58 07.8 -46 15 51; Cen
V = 11.7; Size 4.0'x0.9'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 150°
13.1" (2/19/04 - Costa Rica): at 166x, appears fairly
bright, fairly large, very elongated 3:1 NNW-SSE, 2.5'x0.7', slightly brighter
bulging core. A mag 13 star is at
the SSE tip. Located 5.4' NW of a
mag 9.6 star and 10' N of mag 7.5
John Herschel discovered NGC 4835 = h3448 on 3 Jun 1834 and recorded "B; L; mE; gradually little brighter middle; 2 1/2' or 3' l, 1' br; pos = 157° +/-." On 20 Apr 1836, a second observation reads "F; mE; very gradually brighter middle; 90" l, 25" br."
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12 57 34.3 -12 44 39; Vir
V = 12.5; Size 1.3'x1.1'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 5°
17.5" (3/29/89): faint, very small, round. Located 4.1' N of mag 8.4 SAO 157621! This galaxy has a very low surface brightness on the POSS.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4836 = T. 5-24 on 19 Apr 1882
and recorded a "L, vF nebula class III; 4' north of Lamont 1421 [HD
112546]." His position and
description matches
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12 56 49.1 +48 17 55; CVn
V = 13.6; Size 1.2'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 70°
48" (5/1/22): The two nuclei of this merged interacting
pair were easily resolved at 488x.
The SW galaxy (
18" (7/1/03): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 5:2 WSW-ENE, 1.0'x0.4', nearly even surface brightness. This double system was not resolved. The NGC identification is uncertain.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4837 = h1489 on 7 Mar 1831 and recorded "a rather doubtful object; haze". There is nothing near his position, but 30' south is UGC 8026, a reasonable candidate assuming he made a digit error in recording the North Polar Distance. Four nights later, he also apparently made a 1° error in declination recording a position.
Malcolm Thomson feels this number is best left "Not
Found", although Harold Corwin equates NGC 4837 with
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12 57 56.1 -13 03 37; Vir
V = 12.7; Size 1.7'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 45°
17.5" (3/29/89): faint, small, round, weak
concentration, faint stellar nucleus.
Located 5' NNE of a mag 9 star (double star mag 8.8/9.0 at
2").
John Herschel discovered NGC 4838 = h1490 = T. 5-25 on 9 May
1831 and recorded "vF; has 3 small stars south-preceding." His RA was 7 seconds too large. Wilhelm Tempel found it again on 19 Apr
1882 and listed it in his 5th discovery paper. In the same observation, he also mentions a small nebulous
star follows on the same parallel.
Dreyer catalogued this object as
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NGC 4839 = UGC 8070 = MCG +05-31-025 = CGCG 160-039 = WBL 426-024 = PGC 44298
12 57 24.4 +27 29 52; Com
V = 12.1; Size 4.2'x2.1'; Surf Br = 14.3; PA = 65°
17.5" (5/14/94): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated
3:2 WSW-ENE, 1.0'x0.7', weak even concentration to a brighter core. Lies exactly midway between a mag 11.5
star 2.5' NE and a mag 14 star 2.4' SW.
Forms a close "pair" with
Also in the field are
William Herschel discovered NGC 4839 = H. II-386 = h1494 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and simply noted "F, pL". His position is 3' south of UGC 8070. Heinrich d'Arrest measured the position on 5 nights and noted the discrepancy in position (he calls it 5' in declination).
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NGC 4840 = MCG +05-31-029 = CGCG 160-042 = PGC 44324
12 57 32.9 +27 36 37; Com
V = 13.7; Size 0.9'x0.8'; Surf Br = 12.9
17.5" (5/14/94): faint, small, round, 0.4' diameter, symmetrical appearance with an even concentration. Member of the AGC 1656 with NGC 4839 7.0' S.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4840 = H. II-385 on 11 Apr
1785 (sweep 396) and simply noted "F, pL." His position is 17 seconds of time west of
Courtney Seligman comments that the IC 2 "Notes and Corrections" appendix contains a corrected NPD from Max Wolf third "Nebelliste", but there is nothing at Wolf's "corrected" position and whatever he noticed on the Konigstuhl plate, it was not NGC 4840.
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12 57 32.0 +28 28 37; Com
V = 12.8; Size 1.5'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.8
17.5" (5/14/94): very close double system located 3.1'
NNE of mag 9.5
William Herschel discovered NGC 4841 = H. II-387 = h1493 on
11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and noted "F, pL." On 13 Apr 1831, John Herschel recorded "pF; double, nf,
dist 20"." On a second
observation on 20 Apr 1832, he wrote "pB; R; a very small star makes it
elongated. In his summary
description in the GC, John Herschel commented there was a "vS * att"
and didn't refer to the object as double.
Dreyer followed the GC and as a result, the fainter northeastern galaxy
(
Gerard de Vaucouleurs used the letter suffixes NGC 4841A and
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NGC 4842 = MCG +05-31-030 = CGCG 160-046n = PGC 44337
12 57 35.9 +27 29 35; Com
V = 14.2; Size 0.4'x0.4'
17.5" (5/14/94): very faint, very small, very small
bright core, possible stellar nucleus.
Forms a close pair with NGC 4839 just 2.6' W. At 280x, this galaxy is resolved into a double system with
an extremely faint, nearly stellar companion (
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4842 on 24 Apr 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen, while observing and measuring NGC 4839. With respect to NGC 4839 his position is 11-12 seonds of time following (east) and 0.4' N. The actual offset is 11.5 seconds of time and 0.3' S (to the brighter northern component), so he apparently confused the offset sign in declination. As a result the NGC position is off from d'Arrest's usual accuracy. The two components are listed separately in the MCG.
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12 58 00.9 -03 37 18; Vir
V = 13.0; Size 2.1'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 87°
17.5" (4/4/92): fairly faint, fairly small, very elongated 3:1 ~E-W, small bright core seems offset to the east side. A mag 13 star is just south of the east end.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4843 = H. III-613 = h1492 on
11 Mar 1787 (sweep 709) and noted "vF, E, easily resolvable." Caroline's reduction is 4' south of
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12 58 08.2 -13 04 49; Vir
= * superimposed 3.2' ESE of NGC 4838, Corwin.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4844 = T V 25b on 19 Apr 1882 near NGC 4838, which he apparently didn't realize was discovered earlier by John Herschel. He recorded "following on the parallel with [NGC 4838] is another faint, nebulous star." No position or even offset was mentioned, so the NGC position must have been communicated directly to Dreyer, but only faint stars are near this position. Harold Corwin suggests NGC 4844 may apply to a mag 14 star 3.2' ESE of the center of NGC 4838, but this is uncertain as it is still 1' from the NGC position.
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12 58 01.2 +01 34 33; Vir
V = 11.2; Size 5.0'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 89°
17.5" (2/28/87): very bright, very large, very
elongated 3:1 E-W, bright core, mottled and dusty appearance (due to equatorial
dust lane). A mag 11.5 star is
north of the east edge 2.0' from center and a mag 13 star is 1.3' SSE of
center. Located 12' NE of mag 7.0
William Herschel discovered NGC 4845 = H. II-536 = h1491 on
24 Feb 1786 (sweep 532) and recorded "pB, mE, about 2 1/2' l and 1' br;
mbM." His position is pretty
accurate. John Herschel made the
single observation "F; pL; E; has a * 30" dist, 45° sf,
12m."
******************************
12 57 47.7 +36 22 15; CVn
V = 13.5; Size 1.3'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 62°
17.5" (4/28/89): faint, small, elongated SW-NE, almost even surface brightness.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4846 = h1495 on 11 Mar 1831 and
simply noted "eF". There
is nothing near his position. The
nearest possible candidate is
******************************
12 58 29.0 -13 08 26; Vir
V = 16.7; Size 0.2'x0.2'; Surf Br = 13.1
17.5" (6/11/88): extremely faint and small or stellar. This galaxy hides on the SW side of mag 13.5-14 star which makes detection very difficult and just suspected several times. Located 10' E of a mag 9 star (double star 8.8/9.0 at 2" separation).
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4847 on 19 Apr 1882. The NGC position matches
******************************
NGC 4848 = UGC 8082 = MCG +05-31-039 = CGCG 160-055 = PGC 44405
12 58 05.6 +28 14 32; Com
V = 13.7; Size 1.6'x0.5'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 158°
17.5" (4/21/90): faint, small, very elongated 4:1 NW-SE, even surface brightness. Member of AGC 1656.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4848 on 21 Apr 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His position, measured 3 times, is accurate.
******************************
12 58 12.7 +26 23 49; Com
V = 12.8; Size 1.7'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 175°
24" (6/3/19): at 322x; fairly bright, moderately large,
sharply concentrated and dominated by a very bright core. The halo has a very low surface
brightness and it was difficult to determne a distinct edge as it faded
away. The core increased to a very
small very bright nucleus.
24" (5/22/17): at 375x; moderately bright and large, slightly elongated. Sharply concentrated with a 25" core containing a small bright nucleus. The very low surface brightness halo is slightly elongated N-S and extends perhaps 1.0'x0.8'. Forms a close double (Holmberg 495) with IC 838 1.8' NNE. The companion appeared extremely faint and small (V = 15.0), just 10" diameter.
17.5" (5/14/94): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly elongated, weak even concentration down to a brighter core. A faint double star is 7' N with components mag 12.3 and 13.6 at 16". Forms a close pair with IC 838 1.9' NNE (not seen). Outlying member of AGC 1656.
Truman Safford discovered NGC 4849 = Sf. 23 = Spitaler 61 on
16 May 1866 and noted "pB".
His RA was 8 seconds too large, but his declination matches. Heinrich d'Arrest independently
discovered the galaxy on 4 Mar 1867 with the 11-inch refractor at
Copenhagen. There is nothing at
his position, but 3.5' north is
Rudolph Spitaler also found this galaxy in 1892 with the 27-inch refractor at Vienna and wasn't sure if it was new. He noted, "Brightness and appearance like Nova 58. Probably identical with the Nova d'Arrest. Northeast of this nebula, at 1.5', there is still another nebula, but much faint; Both together form a pretty double nebula." Spitaler's position for NGC 4849 (given in the IC 1 notes) is still 1.5' too far south!
Finally, Stephane Javelle found the galaxy again on 12 Jun
1895 with the 30-inch refractor at Nice and reported it as new in his third
discovery paper (#1230) and later became
******************************
12 58 21.8 +27 58 04; Com
V = 14.4; Size 0.7'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.2
17.5" (4/28/90): very faint, very small, round, very
small bright core. Forms pair with
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4850 on 22 Apr 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His single position is 6 sec of time too small, a relatively large error, but matches in declination.
******************************
12 58 21.7 +28 08 55; Com
V = 14.2; Size 0.5x0.3'; PA = 112°
24" (6/3/19): at 322x; faint, fairly small, elongated SSW-NNE (the orientation of this close pair) but it was difficult to resolve. An offset stellar nucleus was sometimes visible on the south side (brighter galaxy) and possibly a fainter nucleus to the north.
17.5" (4/21/90): very faint, very small, elongated
N-S. This is a double system
oriented SSW-NNE (not resolved) in AGC 1656.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4851 on 21 Apr 1865 with
the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His single position is less than 3 seconds of time west of CGCG
160-061. This is a close double
system (faint companion close northeast), which CGCG and PGC labeled as NGC
4851 + IC 839. HyperLEDA
mistakenly applies both of these labels to the fainter northern galaxy (as of
2021) and labels the southern galaxy as
******************************
13 00 04 -59 36 36; Cen
Size 11'
24" (4/12/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): I'm surprised I didn't look for this cluster previously from Australia or Costa Rica as it is located just 1.1° NE of the Jewel Box and 1.6° east of mag 1.3 Beta Crucis! At 200x it was a pretty impressive collection of ~150 stars mag 10-16 in a 10' region including several mag 10-10.5 stars. One subgroup makes a neat "zig-zag" or "M" outline while another set of stars forms a "V" shaped group. There are no real rich subgroups but still it forms a nice cluster.
James Dunlop discovered NGC 4852 = D 311 = h3449 on 30 Apr 1826. His summary description (based on 4 observations) reads "a very faint pretty large nebula about 6' or 8' diameter, round figure, resolvable into very minute stars. Several stars of some considerable magnitude appear scattered among the minute stars of the nebula, but they are only the continuation of a branch of small stars which run over the place where the nebula is; the stars in the nebula are very gradually, but not much, compressed to the centre."
On 31 Mar 1834 (sweep 434), John Herschel recorded "a very poor cluster of about 70 stars 11..15th magnitude, very loosely scattered over a space about 15' long and 8' br." On 7 Jun 1837 (sweep 790) he wrote "Cluster VII. p rich, L, irr R, 10' diameter, 80 or 100 stars, 10, 11, 12 mag, with a stippling of much smaller ones."
******************************
12 58 35.2 +27 35 47; Com
V = 13.6; Size 0.8'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.0
17.5" (4/28/90): fairly faint, small, round, bright
core. Forms a pair with
John Herschel discovered NGC 4853 = h1496 on 13 Apr 1831 and
recorded "vF; R; pretty suddenly little brighter middle;
20"." His two
observations match
******************************
NGC 4854 = MCG +05-31-049 = CGCG 160-070 = PGC 44502
12 58 47.4 +27 40 29; Com
V = 13.9; Size 0.9''x0.6'; PA = 40°
17.5" (4/28/90): very faint, small, slightly elongated SW-NE. Member of AGC 1656 with NGC 4853 5.2' SW.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4854 on 24 Apr 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His RA from a single position is 6 seconds too small.
******************************
12 59 18.4 -13 13 52; Vir
V = 12.3; Size 1.7'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 5°
17.5" (6/11/88): fairly faint, small, round, bright core, fairly bright stellar nucleus.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4855 = T. 5-26 on 19 Apr 1882. His micrometric position in the main table is accurate.
******************************
12 59 21.2 -15 02 32; Vir
V = 10.5; Size 4.3'x1.2'; Surf Br = 12.1; PA = 37°
17.5" (5/17/90): bright, fairly large, dominated by a very bright core, fairly large faint halo elongated 3:1 SSW-NNE. A mag 13 star is superimposed on the halo just east of the core 0.4' from center.
8" (5/21/82): fairly bright, bright core, slightly elongated. A mag 7.5 is in the field 20' W.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4856 = H. I-68 = h1497 on 8 Feb 1785 (sweep 372) and logged "cB, mbM, irr R." John Herschel made two observations, recording on sweep 352 "pB; R; pretty suddenly brighter middle; 20"; a * 13m pos 140° [southeast]; dist 1 diam by diagram."
******************************
12 57 18.3 +70 12 13; Dra
V = 13.8; Size 1.3'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 110°
18" (6/28/03): faint, small, slightly elongated ~E-W, 0.7'x0.5', broad concentration to a brighter middle. A mag 13 star lies 3' ESE (with a mag 15 companion).
William Herschel discovered NGC 4857 = H. III-908 on 7 Apr 1793 (sweep 1037). He noted "extremely faint, very small, irregularly round, very little brighter middle."
******************************
12 59 02.0 +28 06 55; Com
V = 15.2; Size 0.5'x0.4'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 36°
18" (4/20/12): very faint, extremely small, round,
12"-15" diameter.
Fainter of a close pair with
17.5" (4/21/90): extremely faint and small, round, requires averted. Forms a very close pair with NGC 4860 34" NE. Member of AGC 1656.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4858, along with NGC 4860, on 21 Apr 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. He described these as a double nebula. NGC 4858 is the faintest of the 34 members in the Coma cluster that d'Arrest discovered. Based on my own observations with 17.5" and 18" scopes, in which I called it "very faint" and "extremely faint", I'm impressed that d'Arrest noticed it through the 11-inch Fraunhofer, though there are other similar examples!
******************************
12 59 01.8 +26 48 56; Com
V = 13.6; Size 1.3'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 95°
17.5" (5/14/94): faint, small, slightly elongated E-W, 0.6'x0.5', very weak concentration. A mag 13.5 star is 1.8' SE. Outlying member of AGC 1656.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4859 on 21 Apr 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His single position is accurate.
******************************
NGC 4860 = MCG +05-31-054 = CGCG 160-215 = PGC 44539
12 59 03.9 +28 07 25; Com
V = 13.5; Size 1.4'x1.2'; Surf Br = 14.1; PA = 126°
18" (4/20/12): at 322x appeared fairly faint, fairly
small, oval 4:3 NW-SE, small bright core, 0.4'x0.3'. Brighter of a very close pair with NGC 4858 38"
SW. Located 12' NW of
17.5" (4/21/90): faint, small, round, bright core. Forms a close pair with NGC 4858
34" SW within AGC 1656. IC
4943 lies 5' W and
13.1" (5/14/83): faint, very small, round. Located 4' NW of NGC 4865.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4860, along with NGC 4858, on 21 Apr 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His single position is 25" northwest of center. Hemann Kobold also measured an accurate position in 1895.
******************************
12 59 01.8 +34 51 39; CVn
V = 12.3; Size 4.0'x1.5'; Surf Br = 14.1; PA = 15°
48" (4/7/13): very unusual appearance at 488x as the
galaxy is dominated by a very high surface brightness HII region (
17.5" (1/23/93): faint, very elongated SSW-NNE, even
low surface brightness. Located
between two mag 12 stars at low power.
The "star" at the SSW end is slightly nebulous at 166x and
appears as a definite nonstellar knot at 332x. UGC and CGCG misidentify this HII region as NGC 4861 (and
the galaxy as
13.1" (2/23/85): faint, elongated streak SSW-NNE. Stretches between two 12th magnitude "stars". The star at the south end is actually a giant HII region (Mrk 59) and it appears slightly fuzzy at 166x and clearly nonstellar at 312x.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4861 = H. IV-30 = h1499 on 1 May 1785 (sweep 405) and logged, "two stars at about 3' distance connected with a vF narrow nebulosity." The "star" at the south end is an unusually bright HII knot. He made a more detailed obervation on 2 Jan 1786 (sweep 508): "A star with a very faint milky ray to the north following; about 2 or 3' long; it almost reaches up to another star in that direction. The star with the ray, is situated about the middle of a quartile [rhombus], of which that star, to which the ray is directed, is the north following."
John Herschel made three observations. On 11 Mr 1828 (sweep 131): "a vF neb; E nf to sp, between 2 stars, the southern of which is ill-defined. Both seem to belong to the nebula." So, he felt the HII knot was perhaps non-stellar. Birr Castle assistant R.J. Mitchell observed the galaxy on 17 Apr 1855 and described it as "vF, mE sp nf, has a plain star in the north extremity and either a star or what looks more like a bright little knot involved in the south end."
Max Wolf found the galaxy in 1903 on a Heidelberg plate and his position for W. V-103 is on the center of the galaxy. Despite an accurate position and description, Dreyer recatalogued NGC 4861 as IC 3961.
UGC and CGCG identify the main galaxy as IC 3961 and the bright HII knot as NGC 4861 (Webb Society Quarterly Journal #45, July 1981). Although LdR noted a "bright little knot" at the south end, the HII complex was not given a separate designation in the NGC or IC.
******************************
12 59 30.8 -14 07 56; Vir
V = 14.9; Size 1.2'x0.9'; Surf Br = 14.8; PA = 120°
24" (6/1/13): extremely faint to very faint, small,
round, 20" diameter, low surface brightness, no details though no
difficult. A mag 14 star lies 1.8'
NW. Located 6.8' SW of NGC 4862 (exactly on a line with the major axis of this
edge-on) and 4.7' E of mag 9.8
18" (5/15/10): not found.
Francis Leavenworth discovered NGC 4862 = LM 1-194, along
with
******************************
NGC 4863 = MCG -02-33-081 = PGC 44650
12 59 42.3 -14 01 47; Vir
V = 13.9; Size 1.8'x0.4'; PA = 23°
24" (6/1/13): at 282x appeared fairly faint, fairly small, very elongated 7:2 SSW-NNE, 1.1'x0.3', well concentrated with a very small, well-defined, small bright nucleus. NGC 4862 lies 6.8' SW.
18" (5/15/10): at 285x appeared faint, fairly small, elongated 5:2 SSW-NNE, 40"x18", fairly low evens surface brightness. A mag 15 star lies 1' SE of center.
Francis Leavenworth discovered NGC 4863 = LM 1-195, along with NGC 4862, on 26 Feb 1886. His rough position (given to the nearest min of RA) is a good match with MCG -02-33-081 = PGC 44650, and his comment "vE 45°" (as well as sketch examined by Corwin) clinches this identification, though the PA is 23°.
******************************
12 59 13.1 +27 58 37; Com
V = 13.6; Size 0.7'x0.7'; Surf Br = 11.8
18" (4/20/12): fairly faint to moderately bright,
small, round, 24" diameter, well concentrated with a bright core that
increases to a stellar nucleus. On
the DSS there is a faint star superimposed, so perhaps this is the stellar
nucleus I noted. Forms a very
close double with
17.5" (4/21/90): faint, very small, round. Forms a double system with NGC 4867 off
the SE edge just 40" from center and
13.1" (5/14/83): faint, very small, round, very close pair with NGC 4867.
William Herschel probably discovered NGC 4864 = H. II-388 =
h1500, along with NGC 4874, on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396). He simply noted, "Two, the time
taken between them." His
single position is 2.5' NW of NGC 4874, which is certainly one of the two
objects. John Herschel assigned
his father's second object (H. II-388) to
John Herschel independently discovered this galaxy on 13 Apr 1831, and noted "The first of 5 south of a * 7m. Place by configuration with the others." His position is noted as very rough, but his sketch (emailed by Wolfgang Steinicke) verifies h1500 = NGC 4864. Heinrich d'Arrest first observed NGC 4864 on 10 May 1863 and measured the position on 3 nights. He marked the equivalence with h1500 as uncertain.
******************************
NGC 4865 = UGC 8100 = MCG +05-31-064 = CGCG 160-224 = PGC 44578
12 59 19.8 +28 05 03; Com
V = 13.7; Size 0.9'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 115°
18" (4/20/12): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated
3:2 WNW-ESE, 27"x18".
Contains a relatively high surface brightness core that has a modest
concentration to the center and faint extensions. Located just 3.1' NW of mag 7.1 HD 112887 in the Coma cluster. Forms a pair with
17.5" (4/21/90): faint, small, slightly elongated. Located in the core of AGC 1656 3.1'
WNW of mag 7.1 SAO 82595 which detracts from viewing. Nearby are
13.1" (5/14/83): very faint, small. Located 3' NW of a mag 7 star in AGC 1656. NGC 4860 lies 3' NW.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4865 on 22 Apr 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His single position is 5 seconds of time too far west, but his offset of 12.6 seconds of time from mag 7 HD 112887 is accurate. Hermann Kobold measured an accurate position in 1895 (published in 1907)
******************************
12 59 27.1 +14 10 16; Vir
V = 11.2; Size 6.3'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 87°
48" (4/2/11): extremely bright, very large, beautiful edge-on 7:1 E-W, ~4'x0.6'. Sharply concentrated with a small extremely bright nucleus. The central region bulges slightly (spindle-shaped). A bright star (mag 12?) is superimposed on the NW edge, ~50" from the center. GR 8 = UGC 8091, a low surface brightness Local Group member, lies 12' WNW. At 375x, GR 8 appeared fairly faint, moderately large, round, ~1.2' diameter. It contains a very small brighter core and stellar nucleus.
17.5" (3/20/93): fairly bright, large, edge-on 5:1 E-W, 5.0'x1.0', prominent core, stellar nucleus. A mag 13 star is embedded on the west side 0.8' WNW of center. The core appears slightly offset towards the star or the extension west of the core may appear less prominent due to the glare.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4866 = H. I-162 = h1498 on
14 Jan 1787 (sweep 691) and recorded "vB, E from sp to nf. A small star in the extent of it, near
the brightest part, preceding it about 1/2'." His position and description matches
******************************
NGC 4867 = MCG +05-31-062 = CGCG 160-222 = PGC 44568
12 59 15.2 +27 58 14; Com
V = 14.5; Size 0.6'x0.4'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 30°
18" (4/20/12): faint, small, round, 16" diameter. Fainter of a close pair with NGC 4864 36" NW. The pair is located about 5' WNW of NGC 4874 in the core of the Coma cluster.
17.5" (4/21/90): very faint, extremely small, round. Forms a double system with NGC 4864 off the NW edge 40" from center. Located 4.5' W of NGC 4874 in the core of AGC 1656.
13.1" (5/14/83): very faint, small, round, very close pair with NGC 4864. Located 5' WNW of NGC 4874, AGC 1656.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4867 = Big. 62 on 10 May 1863 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. In d'Arrest's description of NGC 4864, he mentions it forms a close double, though no position was given. Bigourdan independently found this galaxy on 28 Apr 1885 and noted it was very close to GC 3343 [NGC 4864] but easily distinguishable. Bigourdan's Comptes Rendus position was 1.4' too far north and as a result the position is northeast of NGC 4864 in the NGC, instead of southeast. Hermann Kobold measured an accurate position in 1895, though it wasn't published until 1907. Harold Corwin proposes that William Herschel may be the original discoverer of NGC 4864/4867.
******************************
NGC 4868 = UGC 8099 = MCG +06-29-004 = CGCG 189-008 = PGC 44557
12 59 09.0 +37 18 37; CVn
V = 12.2; Size 1.6'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.0
13.1" (2/16/85): moderately bright, small, almost
round. A mag 12 star is on the
north edge 1.2' from center. Forms
a pair with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4868 = H. II-644 on 17 Mar
1787 (sweep 714) and recorded "pB or cB, S, R, mbM. Among some scattered star." Caroline's reduced position is 9 sec of
RA west of
******************************
NGC 4869 = MCG +05-31-065 = CGCG 160-225 = PGC 44587
12 59 23.3 +27 54 41; Com
V = 13.8; Size 0.7'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.1
18" (4/20/12): fairly faint, small, round, 20" diameter. A mag 14.4 star is attached at the NW edge. This Coma cluster member is situated 4' SW of NGC 4874, on a line with a mag 12.3 star that is 2' SW the center of NGC 4874.
17.5" (4/21/90): faint, small, round, weak
concentration. A mag 14 star is
attached at the NW edge 16" from the center and a mag 12 star is 2.0'
NNE. Located in the core of AGC
1656 4.0' SW of NGC 4874 with a number of galaxies near including
13.1" (5/14/83): faint, small, round. A mag 13 star is attached at the NW edge. Located 5' SW NGC 4874 in AGC 1656.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4869 = h1501 on 13 Apr 1831 and
noted "The second of 5, south of * 7m." Although only a very rough polar distance was given, his
sketch (emailed by Steinicke) verifies h1501 = CGCG 160-225 = PGC 44587. This is the second of the five
brightest galaxies in the core of the cluster (with NGC 4864, NGC 4874, NGC
4889 and
Heinrich d'Arrest measured the position of NGC 4869 accurately on 6 nights, first recording it on 10 May 1863. He questioned if this object was equivalent to H. II-388 = h1501, but H. II-388 more likely applies to NGC 4864.
******************************
12 59 17.8 +37 02 54; CVn
V = 14.6; Size 0.9'x0.3'; PA = 1°
16" LX200 (4/14/07): extremely faint, very small,
slightly elongated N-S, 0.4'x0.3'.
Situated between two mag 11 stars 1' NW and 1.9' ESE. Located 12' SE of
Lawrence Parsons, the 4th Earl of Rosse, discovered NGC 4870 on 1 Apr 1878 during the observation of the NGC 4914 field. He noted "About 10' p and 10' s of last [NGC 4893] is a third neb, pF, lE ns, bet 2 st 10m, one about 1.5' npp and the other 2' f." His description is an exact match with this faint edge-on. The PGC declination is 3' too small.
******************************
12 59 29.9 +27 57 23; Com
V = 14.1; Size 0.7'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 174°
18" (4/20/12): this close companion of NGC 4874 is located just of the west side of the halo, 1.3' between centers. At 322x it appeared faint, very small, round, 15" diameter, very small bright nucleus. One of the swarm of small galaxies hovering around NGC 4874.
17.5" (4/21/90): very faint, extremely small,
round. Located 1.3' W of the
center of NGC 4874 in the core of AGC 1656. A mag 12 star lies 1.2' S. Numerous galaxies are nearby including
13.1" (4/28/84): very faint, very small, round, very close companion of NGC 4874 just 1' W of center.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4871 = Big. 62 on 10 May
1863 and placed it 5 sec of time preceding NGC 4874, in the same parallel. This offset matches
******************************
NGC 4872 = MCG +05-31-068 = CGCG 160-230 = PGC 44624
12 59 34.1 +27 56 49; Com
V = 14.4; Size 0.8'x0.6'; PA = 115°
18" (4/20/12): this is the closest of the swarm of small galaxies surrounding NGC 4874, situated just 48" SSW of center at the edge of the halo. At 322x it appeared similar to NGC 4871 (1.1' NW); faint, very small, round, 12"-15" diameter, very small brighter nucleus.
17.5" (4/21/90): this is the closest companion of NGC 4874 just off the SW edge of NGC 4874 in the core of AGC 1656. Very faint, very small, irregularly round, small bright core. A mag 12 star lies 1.3' SW. Located just 52" SW of the center of NGC 4874. A swarm of galaxies in the field with NGC 4871 1.1' NW, NGC 4873 2.2' N and NGC 4875 2.5' SSE.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4872 on 21 Apr 1865. In his description of NGC 4874, he
mentioned finding another nebula 45" to the south and preceding, which
matches the offset to
Dreyer equated William Herschel's H. II-389 and John Herschel's h1502 with NGC 4872, but these two designations apply to much brighter NGC 4874. Hermann Kobold independently discovered NGC 4872 in 1895 while measuring positions in the cluster with the 18-inch Merz refractor at Strasbourg. He labeled it Kobold 9 (his 9th "nova").
******************************
NGC 4873 = MCG +05-31-069 = CGCG 160-229 = PGC 44621
12 59 32.8 +27 59 01; Com
V = 14.1; Size 0.8'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 103°
18" (4/20/12): this member of the Coma cluster is
located just 1.6' NNW of NGC 4874, within the halo of faint galaxies
surrounding the giant elliptical.
At 322x appeared faint, small, round, 18" diameter, very small
brighter nucleus. Just slightly larger
than nearby
17.5" (4/21/90): close companion of NGC 4874 in the core of AGC 1656. Very faint, very small, slightly elongated, very small bright core. Located 1.6' NNW of NGC 4874. Nearby galaxies include NGC 4871 1.7' SSW and NGC 4864/NGC 4867 pair 4.3' W.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4873 = Big. 64 on 10 May
1863 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen and placed it 1 1/2' north of NGC
4874 and about 1 sec of time preceding.
This offset matches
Guillaume Bigourdan independently discovered this galaxy on 16 May 1885 with the 12-inch refractor at Paris and recorded "mag 13.4-13.5; 20" dia, no nucleus." His position is accurate, but because of the confusion with the identifications in the densely packed Coma Cluster, NGC 4873 wasn't included in the GC or GC Supplement and first appeared in the NGC.
******************************
NGC 4874 = UGC 8103 = MCG +05-31-070 = CGCG 160-231 = PGC 44628
12 59 35.7 +27 57 33; Com
V = 11.7; Size 1.9'x1.9'; Surf Br = 13.1
18" (4/20/12): at 322x this giant elliptical cD
appeared moderately to fairly bright, moderately large, round, ~1.2' diameter,
sharply concentrated with a very bright core and fainter halo. Surrounded by a dense swarm of faint
companions; 16 have been observed within a 5' radius! Located 6.4' S of mag 7.1 HD 112887.
17.5" (4/21/90): second brightest galaxy in the core of
AGC 1656. Fairly faint, fairly
small, slightly elongated, bright core.
Located 6.4' S of mag 7.2 SAO 82595. A mag 12 star lies 2.5' WSW. Surrounded by a halo of faint galaxies including NGC 4872
52" SSW, NGC 4871 1.3' W, NGC 4873 1.6' NNW,
13.1" (5/14/83): fairly faint, round, fairly small, 2nd brightest in AGC 1656. A mag 7 star lies about 6' N and a mag 12.5 star 2' SW. Numerous companions are nearby in the field.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4874 = H. II-389 = h1502, along with NGC 4864, on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396). He recorded both as "Two, the time taken between them." His position (Caroline's reduced position) is 2.5' NW of NGC 4874, similar to his offset for NGC 4889 (3.5' NW). Dreyer misassigned II-389 = h1502 to nearby NGC 4872, but this is a much fainter companion that was discovered by Heinrich d'Arrest. John Herschel simply noted "The third of 5; place by configuration", but he associated it with II-389 and his sketch confirms h1502 = NGC 4874. Also, his first two observations under h1501 on sweeps 64 and 65 probably apply to NGC 4874. Heinrich d'Arrest made 7 observations of this galaxy and questioned if it was H. II-389? Dreyer credited d'Arrest with the discovery in the NGC.
Heinrich d'arrest discovered 34 galaxies in the Coma cluster with an 11" refractor and Steinicke mentions he was the first to recognize the Coma assemblage of galaxies as a cluster (see NGC 4889 for his description), although Max Wolf is generally given credit in the literature based on his photograph in 1901 using the 16-inch Bruce double astrograph at the Heidelberg Observatory and following announcement "An extraordinary cluster of nebulae" (AN, 155, 127) .
"On two Bruce telescope photographs from March 24 of this year [1901] which depict the region surrounding 31 Comae Berenices, there is a very interesting area of the sky. There are numerous small nebulae so crowded together that when you look at the area you are startled by the strange appearance of this "cluster of nebulae". I have determined there are at least 108 nebulae in a circle of 30' diameter around the specified location, so in an area about the size of the full moon. Among them are four or five larger, centrally compressed nebulae [ellipticals], as well as several elongated ones [spirals]. The vast majority have roundish shape and are smaller."
Based on a photograph taken with the Crossley reflector, Heber Curtis (1918) wrote "this region contains the most remarkable aggregation of closely packed small nebulae known to me. About 30 are catalogued in this area in the NGC and some 25 more are given in the IC. In reality there are more the 300 small nebulae in an area about 50' x 40', a large proportion of which are probably spirals. None of them are conspicuous objects." An image in the paper highlights "249 small nebulae in an area 38' x 29'."
******************************
NGC 4875 = CGCG 160-232 = PGC 44640
12 59 37.9 +27 54 26; Com
V = 14.8; Size 0.4'x0.3'
18" (4/20/12): at 322x this member of the Coma cluster
appeared very faint, very small, round, 15" diameter. Forms a similar pair with
17.5" (4/21/90): companion of NGC 4874 in the core of AGC 1656. Located 3.1' S of NGC 4874. Appears extremely faint and small, slightly elongated. Second of three and located between IC 3973 2.1' SW and NGC 4876 1.5' E. A mag 12 star is 2.7' NW.
Guillaume Bigourdan discovered NGC 4875 = Big. 65, along
with NGC 4876, on 16 May 1885. His
Comptes Rendus position is 1' north of
******************************
NGC 4876 = MCG +05-31-073 = CGCG 160-234 = PGC 44658
12 59 44.4 +27 54 44; Com
V = 14.5; Size 0.6'x0.4'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 20°
18" (4/20/12): very faint, very small, slightly elongated, 18"x14". Forms a similar pair with NGC 4875, just 1.5' WSW. Situated 3.4' SE of NGC 4874 in the core of Coma cluster. A mag 14.9 star is 0.9' NW.
17.5" (4/21/90): very faint, very small, elongated N-S. Located in the core of AGC 1656 3.4' SE of NGC 4874. Third of three with NGC 4875 1.5' WSW and IC 3973 3.4' SE.
13.1" (4/28/84): extremely faint, very small, round. Located 4' SE of NGC 4874 in AGC 1656.
Guillaume Bigourdan discovered NGC 4876 = Big. 66, along with NGC 4875, on 16 May 1885. His Comptes Rendus position is 1' northeast of CGCG 160-232 = PGC 44640 (similar offset as NGC 4875).
******************************
13 00 26.3 -15 17 00; Vir
V = 12.4; Size 1.9'x0.9'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 6°
17.5" (5/17/90): moderately bright, fairly small,
elongated 2:1 N-S, bright core.
Located 2.8' SE of mag 9
William Herschel discovered NGC 4877 = H. III-299 on 8 Feb
1785 (sweep 372) and logged "pB, pL, mbM." There is nothing near his position, but 54 sec of RA due
east is
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13 00 20.1 -06 06 14; Vir
V = 13.7; Size 1.3'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.9; PA = 10°
48" (4/2/11): this bright galaxy forms a prominent pair
with
17.5" (5/22/93): fairly faint, small, round, prominent core, almost stellar nucleus, small halo. Forms a close pair with NGC 4888 4.3' ENE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4878 = H. III-758, along
with NGC 4879, on 23 Mar 1789 (sweep 916) and recorded "Two, both vF,
vS." His single position is 7
sec of RA west of
******************************
13 00 25.6 -06 06 40; Vir
48" (4/2/11): this number may refer to a mag 14.5-15 star located 1.4' ESE of NGC 4878.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4879 = H. III-759, along with NGC 4878, on 23 Mar 1789 (sweep 916) and recorded "Two, both vF, vS." There is only a single galaxy at his position (NGC 4878 = MCG -01-33-064 = PGC 44747) and Harold Corwin suggests NGC 4879 may apply to a faint star 1.5' SE of NGC 4878. RNGC classifies NGC 4878 as nonexistent and misidentifies NGC 4888 as NGC 4879.
******************************
13 00 10.5 +12 29 00; Vir
V = 11.4; Size 3.2'x2.5'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 165°
17.5" (4/4/92): moderately bright, fairly large, elongated 3:2 NNW-SSE, 3.0'x2.0', broad weak concentration with no core or nucleus, fairly low surface brightness.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4880 = H. III-83 = h1503 on
12 Apr 1784 (sweep 189) and noted "vF, S, irr, resolvable." JH's mean position (two sweeps) matches
******************************
12 59 57.7 +28 14 48; Com
V = 13.6; Size 1.0'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.5
17.5" (4/21/90): faint, very small, round, bright
core. Located 5' E of mag 8.1 SAO
82596. Forms a pair with
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4881 on 22 Apr 1865 with
the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His position (measured on two consecutive nights) is accurate and he
mentions that mag 8
******************************
13 00 04.4 +27 59 15; Com
See observing notes for
Heinrich d'Arrest found NGC 4882, along with
The RNGC places NGC 4882 is 0.2 min of RA west of NGC 4886 but there is no galaxy near that position. This error was mentioned in my RNGC Corrections #1 and the Webb Society Observer's Handbook #5, p158.
******************************
12 59 56.0 +28 02 04; Com
V = 14.3; Size 0.5'x0.3'; PA = 90°
18" (4/20/12): this member of the Coma cluster is relatively isolated, roughly halfway between NGC 4889 (4.4' SE) and the mag 7.2 star (5.4' NW) in the core of the cluster. At 322x it appeared faint to fairly faint, small, oval 5:4 E-W, 18"x14", slightly brighter core. The bright star is somewhat of a nuisance.
17.5" (4/21/90): located in the central core of AGC 1656 4.4' NW of NGC 4889 and 6.4' NE of NGC 4874. Very faint, very small, round. Mag 7.2 SAO 82595 5.4' WNW hinders observation of this galaxy.
Guillaume Bigourdan discovered NGC 4883 = Big. 67 on 16 May 1885. His Comptes Rendus position (nearest min of dec) is 45" too far northeast. Dreyer (as well as Wolfgang Steinicke) credits d'Arrest with the discovery (on 22 Apr 1865), but I can't identify his observation in his compilation Siderum Nebulosorum.
******************************
NGC 4884 = NGC 4889 = UGC 8110 = MCG +05-31-077 = CGCG 160-241 = PGC 44715
13 00 08.1 +27 58 37; Com
V = 11.5; Size 2.9'x1.9'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 80°
See observing notes for NGC 4889.
Henrich d'Arrest found NGC 4884, along with NGC 4882, on 22 Apr 1865 and noted "principal one of multiple nebulae. One precedes [NGC 4882] by 2 or 3 sec." His position is 7.5 seconds of RA preceding NGC 4889, the only bright galaxy in the immediate vicinity, and his position for NGC 4882 is 7 sec of RA preceding NGC 4886. So, NGC 4884 = NGC 4889 and NGC 4882 = NGC 4886. d'Arrest listed 7 observations of NGC 4889, so NGC 4884 was an 8th observation. Karl Reinmuth, in his photographic survey based on Heidelberg plates, states "not found; = NGC 4889".
******************************
13 00 33.8 -06 51 11; Vir
V = 14.0; Size 0.5'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.1
18" (5/16/09): faint, small, round, 24" diameter, very weak concentration.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4885 = h1504 on 19 Feb 1830 and logged "vF; vS; E." His position is accurate.
******************************
NGC 4886 = NGC 4882 = MCG +05-31-076 = CGCG 160-239 = PGC 44698
13 00 04.4 +27 59 15; Com
V = 13.9; Size 0.6'x0.6'; Surf Br = 14.0
18" (4/20/12): this galaxy is the closest NGC galaxy (1.0' NW) to NGC 4889 in the core of the Coma cluster. At 282x it appeared faint or fairly faint, small, round, 15" diameter, contains a small bright nucleus.
17.5" (4/21/90): close companion to NGC 4889 in the
central core of AGC 1656. Very
faint, very small, slightly elongated.
Located just 1.0' NW of the core of AGC 1656. Nearby galaxies surrounding NGC 4889 includes
13.1" (4/28/84): very faint, very small, round. Close companion 1' NW of NGC 4889 in the central core of AGC 1656.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4886 on 6 Apr 1864 with the
11-inch refractor at Copenhagen and measured it on two nights. His position, 4-5 sec of time preceding
NGC 4889, matches
******************************
13 00 39.1 -14 39 58; Vir
V = 13.7; Size 0.9'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 155°
17.5" (5/17/90): faint, oval 2:1 NW-SE, small bright
core. Forms a pair with
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4887 = T. 5-27 on 21 Apr
1882. His micrometric position in
the main table is an exact match with
******************************
NGC 4888 = MCG -01-33-066 = VV 680 = PGC 44766
13 00 36.3 -06 04 31; Vir
V = 14.2; Size 1.2'x0.5'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 110°
48" (4/2/11): very bright, moderatly large, very elongated 3:1 WNW-ESE, brighter along the major axis. Well concentrated with a very bright core. A bright, wide double star is 1' W of center (separation of ~35"). A mag 15 star is between the pair and the galaxy, ~30" WSW of center.
17.5" (5/22/93): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1 WNW-ESE, small bright core. Almost exactly collinear with a nice double star mag 12/13 just 1' WNW of core. The double star has the same position angle as the galaxy. Forms a pair with NGC 4878 4' SW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4888 = H. II-778 = h1505 on 23 Mar 1789 (sweep 916) and noted "F, S, south following a double star." John Herschel recorded "pF; vS; E; pretty suddenly brighter in the middle." and measured a good position.
RNGC mislabels NGC 4888 as NGC 4879.
******************************
NGC 4889 = NGC 4884 = UGC 8110 = MCG +05-31-077 = CGCG 160-241 = PGC 44715
13 00 08.1 +27 58 37; Com
V = 11.5; Size 2.9'x1.9'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 80°
82" (5/5/19, McDonald Observatory): at 613x; extremely
bright, large, oval 4:3 ~E-W, very strong concentration with a very bright core
and an intensely bright nucleus.
The halo extends ~1.8'x1.4' and fades out slowly.
18" (4/20/12): NGC 4889 is the dominant cD galaxy in the Coma cluster, although NGC 4874 is surrounded by a much richer retinue of small companions. At 282x it appeared fairly bright, moderately large, slightly elongated E-W, ~1.5'x1.2'. Strongly concentrated with a very bright, slightly elongated core that increases to the center. The closest NGC companion is NGC 4886, situated 1.0' NW. A mag 13.5 star is a similar distance SE. With careful viewing, I caught glimpses of PGC 44708, a thin edge-on superimposed at the edge of the core just 27" from the center.
17.5" (4/21/90): largest and brightest galaxy in AGC
1656 = Coma I galaxy cluster. NGC
4889 and NGC 4874 9.2' W are both surrounded by a cloud of faint galaxies. Moderately bright, fairly small, oval
E-W, bright core. Several
companions near including NGC 4886 1.0' NW,
13.1" (5/14/83): fairly bright, fairly small, oval E-W. Largest and brightest in AGC 1656 = Coma I. NGC 4874 lies 7' W and several companions are near.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4889 = H. II-391 = h1507 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396). He simply noted "very faint". His position is 3.4' too far northwest, close to the same offset he made in the sweep with NGC 4874.
John Herschel made two observations under h1507 (sweep 64 and 343) with his RA is marked as very uncertain. On sweep 343, he recorded "B; pmE; bM. The fourth of 5, south of * 7m. His position is 4 seconds of RA too large but his sketch verifies the identity. Also, his observation listed under h1510 on sweep 65 refers to NGC 4889.
Heinrich d'Arrest's NGC 4884 is a duplicate observation. See that number for details. d'Arrest commented that "The nebulae are incredibly numerous and dense and despite being faint, they have a diversity one cannot imagine a priori. Sometimes, in the most favorable moments, I had the very definite impression that the nebulae, often only a few arcseconds in diameter, are intermingled with larger, roung, oblong, star-shaped or cometary ones, like oysters packed together in a barrel."
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13 00 39.0 -04 36 11; Vir
V = 11.9; Size 1.0'x0.8'; Surf Br = 11.5; PA = 100°
17.5" (4/4/92): fairly faint, fairly small, round,
fairly high almost even surface brightness, weak concentration. Forms a vertex of an isosceles triangle
with two mag 12.5 stars 2.7' NW and 2.5' SW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4890 = H. III-614 = h1506 on
11 Mar 1787 (sweep 709) and noted "cF, S, irr R." His position is less than 2' south of
******************************
13 00 47.0 -13 25 35; Vir
= * 2' NW
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4891 = T. 5-28 on 21 Apr 1882. Tempel mentioned a nebulous star was 2'-3' northwest of NGC 4897. At this offset is only a 14th magnitude star. See NGC 4897.
NGC 4897 is misidentified as NGC 4891 in many modern sources. See notes on NGC 4897.
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13 00 03.5 +26 53 53; Com
V = 13.9; Size 1.3'x0.3'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 13°
17.5" (5/14/94): very faint, thin edge-on SSW-NNE, 1.0'x0.2'. Followed by two mag 14-14.5 stars with separation 39" oriented SSW-NNE and parallel to the major axis (closer star is 0.6' E of center). NGC 4859 lies 14.6' SW. Outlying member of AGC 1656.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4892 = H. II-390 = h1508 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396). He simply noted "faint". His position was accurate, although John Herschel's RA was 11 seconds too large and as a result the RA order of NGC 4889 and NGC 4892 is reversed in the NGC.
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NGC 4893 = IC 4015 = VV 222b = Holm 498a = UGC 8111 NED1 =
12 59 59.6 +37 11 36; CVn
V = 14.6; Size 0.5'x0.4'; PA = 3°
24" (6/4/16): the two close components (
16" LX200 (4/14/07): faint, very small, round, 15"-20" diameter. A mag 13 star lies less than 1' E. This is a contact double system (IC 4015 + 4016 with a separation of 0.35'), though the components were not resolved. Located 11' SW of NGC 4914 and 82' SE of Cor Caroli (Alpha CVn).
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4893 on 24 Apr 1865 with the
11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His single position matches
Max Wolf gave separate entries for the two components, which Dreyer catalogued as IC 4015 and IC 4016 (essentially at d'Arrest's position). The two components were apparently seen by Dreyer ("elongated n-s") but not resolved. Corwin notes that the object Wolf identified as NGC 4893 is actually a plate defect, so he assumed the two separate components were new objects.
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NGC 4894 = NGC 4898 = MCG +05-31-082 = CGCG 160-248 = PGC 44736
13 00 17.8 +27 57 20; Com
See observing notes for NGC 4898. This number is misasigned to
82" (5/5/19, McDonald Observatory): at 613x; fairly bright, fairly small, elongated 5:2 SW-NE, 20"x8", brighter nucleus. Situated 0.8' NNW of NGC 4898 (double system) in the core of AGC 1656.
18" (4/20/12): this challenging galaxy is located just 45" NNW of brighter NGC 4898 and 1.9' ESE of NGC 4889 in the core of the Coma cluster. At 282x it appeared extremely faint, very small, round, 10" diameter. The small dimensions imply I only picked up the brighter core and missed the extensions SW-NE.
17.5" (4/21/90): located in the core of AGC 1656 just 1.9' SE of NGC 4889. Extremely faint, very small, round. Forms a very close pair with NGC 4898 45" SE. This is the third of four on line with NGC 4889 and NGC 4886 to the NE.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4894 = h1510 on 13 Apr 1831 and recorded "the last of 5, south of a * 7m; more suspected to the south." Since his 4th of 5 in the sweep (h1507) refers to NGC 4889, and he gave the declination as 1' south, Harold Corwin concludes that NGC 4894 is likely the earliest observation of NGC 4898, and not fainter CGCG 160-247 just 1' NW. All modern sources take CGCG 160-247 as NGC 4894, but there does not appear to be a pre-NGC observation of this galaxy.
Herschel listed a second observation of h1510 on 30 Mar
1827, but that observation applies to NGC 4889. He also attached his father's H. III-363 to h1510 in the GC
(3354), but H. III-363 likely applies to
Because of the density of galaxies in the Coma cluster, there was a great deal of confusion on the identities! Bigourdan and d'Arrest later measured an accurate position for NGC 4898 and both are credited in the NGC, so its identity is not in doubt.
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NGC 4895 = UGC 8113 = MCG +05-31-081 = CGCG 160-249 = PGC 44737
13 00 17.9 +28 12 08; Com
V = 13.2; Size 1.8'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 153°
18" (4/20/12): this is one of the brightest galaxies in
the Coma cluster and the middle of three in a near line with NGC 4881 5' NW and
17.5" (4/21/90): fairly faint, fairly small, very
elongated 3:1 NW-SE. Nearby
companions are NGC 4881 5.2' NW and
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4895 on 5 May 1864 with the
11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His position (measured on 3 nights) matches
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13 00 30.8 +28 20 47; Com
V = 13.9; Size 1.0'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 5°
18" (6/4/05): faint, small, round, 30"
diameter. Weak, even concentration
to a very faint stellar nucleus.
Located just north of the core of AGC 1656 with
Guillaume Bigourdan discovered NGC 4896 = Big. 68 on 12 May
1885. There is nothing at his
Comptes Rendus position, but 15 sec of time east and 2' north is
******************************
NGC 4897 = MCG -02-33-089 = UGCA 316 = PGC 44829
13 00 52.9 -13 26 58; Vir
V = 11.8; Size 2.6'x2.3'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 150°
17.5" (5/22/93): fairly faint, fairly small, round, halo gradually brightens, faint stellar nucleus. A mag 15 star is 2' NW (= NGC 4891). Incorrectly identified as NGC 4891 in modern catalogues.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4897 = T. V-28 on 21 Apr 1882 and reported it as new in his 5th discovery paper (#28). His micrometric position in the main table is accurate. The description mentions that 2' to 3' northwest is a fainter nebulous star, which Dreyer catalogued as NGC 4891. Only a mag 14 star is at the position of NGC 4891.
Édouard Stephan made an earlier discovery on 2 May 1878. His position lands directly on this galaxy, though he never published this discovery (probably as the position wasn't verified later) and lost credit in the NGC.
Shapley-Ames, RC1, RC2, RNGC, MCG, UGCA and PGC mislabel NGC 4897 as NGC 4891, but it is correctly identified in RC3. The RNGC RA is also 42 minutes too small. See Harold Corwin's identification notes.
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NGC 4898 = NGC 4894 = MCG +05-31-082 = CGCG 160-248 = PGC 44736
13 00 17.8 +27 57 20; Com
V = 13.5; Size 0.8'x0.5'; PA = 100°
82" (5/5/19, McDonald Observatory): at 613x; very easily resolved into two components [centers separated by 7" SW-NE]. The brighter southwestern component appeared bright, fairly small, round, very bright nucleus. The northeastern component was moderately bright, small, round, slightly brighter nucleus. Both galaxies were encased in a common halo.
18" (4/20/12): this double galaxy is the brightest
close-in companion to NGC 4889 in the heart of the Coma cluster. At 282x it appeared fairly faint to
moderately bright, small, oval 4:3 E-W, mild concentration to the center. Occasionally, the companion (
CGCG 160-247, just 45" NNW, is identified as NGC 4894 in modern sources. At 282x, this challenging galaxy appeared extremely faint, very small, round, 10" diameter. The small dimensions imply I only picked up the brighter core and missed the extensions SW-NE.
17.5" (4/21/90): located in the central core of AGC 1656 cluster 2.5' SE of brightest member NGC 4889. Faint, very small, slightly elongated. This is the last of four on a line with NGC 4894 just 45" NW, NGC 4889 2.5' NW and NGC 4886 3.5' NW.
13.1" (5/14/83): faint, small, slightly elongated. Located 3' SE NGC 4889 in AGC 1656.
John Herschel likely discovered NGC 4898 = h1510 on 13 Apr 1831 and recorded "the last of 5, south of a * 7m; more suspected to the south." Since the 4th object in the sweep (h1507) refers to NGC 4889, and he reported the declination as 1' south, Harold Corwin concludes that h1510 (later NGC 4894) is likely the earliest observation of NGC 4898, and not fainter CGCG 160-247 just 1' NW. Herschel catalogued a second earlier observation of h1510 on 30 Mar 1827, but that refers to NGC 4889. Heinrich d'Arrest made three fairly accurate measurements of this galaxy and questioned if it was h1510.
Because of the density of galaxies in the Coma cluster, there was a great deal of confusion on the identities! Bigourdan and d'Arrest later measured an accurate position for NGC 4898 and both are credited in the NGC, so its identity is not in doubt.
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13 00 56.5 -13 56 39; Vir
V = 11.9; Size 2.6'x1.4'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 15°
24" (6/1/13): fairly bright, fairly large, elongated 5:3 SSW-NNE, ~1.7'x1.0', broad concentration, large slightly brighter middle but no distinct core or nucleus. The central region increases to a vaguely defined nucleus. Hint of spiral structure in the halo. Located 8.2' WSW of mag 7.5 HD 112945. NGC 4863 lies 19' WSW.
17.5" (6/11/88): fairly faint, fairly large, oval ~N-S, fairly low surface brightness. Appears brighter at the south end.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4899 = H. II-300 on 8 Feb 1785 (sweep 372) and noted "Faintish, cL." John Herschel mistakenly assumed his two observations of h1517 = NGC 4924 were the same as H. II-300 = NGC 4899, and that his father made a 1° error in polar distance. He listed both objects correctly in the General Catalogue. Dreyer notes the NGC description should read "cL" instead of "eL".
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NGC 4900 = UGC 8116 = MCG +01-33-035 = CGCG 043-093 = PGC 44797
13 00 39.1 +02 30 00; Vir
V = 11.4; Size 2.2'x2.1'; Surf Br = 12.9
48" (4/7/13): this unusual galaxy visually appears like a barred ring. At 488x a bright nucleus is embedded with a weak bar, extending NW-SE. A slightly brighter knot is situated close northwest of the nucleus. A mag 11 star is attached at the southeast end of the galaxy, collinear with the "bar". A large, round halo extends 1.7' and is slightly brighter along portions of the outer edge, forming a weak ring with a slightly darker interior on either side of the bar.
17.5" (5/22/93): fairly bright, moderately large, round, 1.5' diameter. A mag 10.5 star is attached at the SE edge 41" from center. Even surface brightness except for a faint slightly elongated "knot" just NW of center which may be the central bar or an offset nucleus.
8" (5/21/82): fairly bright, small. Unusual appearance with a mag 10 star attached at the east edge and the galaxy extends to the west.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4900 = H. I-143 = h1509 on 30 Apr 1786 (sweep 558). He recorded it as "considerably bright, just north preceding a pretty bright star and joining it as to appear like a brush to it." In his 1814 PT paper he used this example (fig. 4) and others to demonstrate a supposed union or attraction between a star and the nebula. John Herschel made three observations and one description notes a "star 11m, with a fan or brush."
Birr Castle assistant R.J. Mitchell observed NGC 4900 on 18 Apr 1855: "Looks sometimes like the owl nebula when badly seen, with a B, E patch in centre and dark spots on each side of this; sometimes dark ring is seen all the way round, but blackest to [sp and nf]. Neby round is mottled." On 24 Apr 1857 he logged "B centre is elongated in the direction of the star on edge and on either side of centre there certainly exist dark spaces as before remarked, giving it the look of the owl-neb. Yet I sometimes thought I saw it as a spiral with a break in outer annulus npp." His sketch shows a barred ring structure with a relatively narrow bar that matches up well with the SDSS!
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NGC 4901 = UGC 8112 = MCG +08-24-019 = CGCG 245-009 = PGC 44684
12 59 56.4 +47 12 20; CVn
V = 14.4; Size 1.1'x1.1'; Surf Br = 14.4
18" (6/27/03): faint, small, round, 0.6' diameter, low
surface brightness. Increases slightly to a very small brighter core. Located 6.8' NNE of a mag 10 star.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4901 = h1512 on 7 Mar 1831 and recorded "vF; vS; E." His position is at the northwest edge of this galaxy.
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NGC 4902 = MCG -02-33-092 = UGCA 315 = PGC 44847
13 00 59.6 -14 30 48; Vir
V = 10.9; Size 3.0'x2.7'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 70°
48" (5/8/21): at 488x; very bright, fairly large, roundish, at least 2' diameter. Contains a very bright core that extended into a bar oriented ~E-W. Surrounding the bar was a brighter circular ring (mostly evident on the N and S side). An outer spiral arm is attached to the N side of the central ring and was visible extending counterclockwise towards the east. The outer halo was diffuse without other structure. A mag 10.3 star is 2' NW and a similar mag 10.0 star is 2.2' WSW.
17.5" (5/17/90): moderately bright and large, round, weak even concentration to a bright core. Forms the eastern vertex of an equilateral triangle with two mag 10 stars 2.0' NW and 2.2' WSW of center. NGC 4887 is at the edge of the 220x field 10.4' SSW.
8" (5/21/82): fairly faint, moderately large, round, diffuse.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4902 = H. I-69 = h1511 on 8
Feb 1785 (sweep 372) and noted "cB, pL, iR." Caroline's reduction is 10 sec of RA
west of
******************************
13 01 22.7 -30 56 06; Cen
V = 13.0; Size 1.5'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 73°
18" (3/17/07): largest of trio with
John Herschel discovered NGC 4903 = h3450, along with NGC 4905, on 30 Mar 1835 and recorded "vF; R; 30"; attached to a star; the preceding of 2 [with NGC 4905]." His dec was 1.3' too far south.
******************************
13 00 58.5 -00 01 39; Vir
V = 12.0; Size 2.2'x1.4'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 15°
17.5" (5/22/93): moderately bright, elongated 3:2 NW-SE, 1.5'x1.0', brighter bar along major axis, very small brighter core, slightly mottled. A mag 12 star is 1.8' NNW and a mag 14 star 2.2' WSW. On the POSS a very faint outer halo is elongated roughly N-S.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4904 = H. II-517 on 1 Jan 1786 (sweep 507) and noted "pB, S, R, bM." A few minutes later he commented in his logbook "twilight pretty strong."
******************************
NGC 4905 = ESO 443-031 = MCG -05-31-015 = PGC 44902
13 01 30.7 -30 52 06; Cen
V = 13.2; Size 1.4'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.8; PA = 26°
18" (3/17/07): fairly faint, fairly small, round, 0.7'
diameter, weak concentration with a slightly brighter core. In a trio with NGC 4905 4.3' SSW and
E443-034 3.5' SE. Located 4.3' SW
of mag 7.4
John Herschel discovered NGC 4905 = h3451, along with NGC
4903 = h3450, on 30 Mar 1835 and logged "vF; vS; R; slbM. The following of 2 [with NGC
4903]. His position is 3.3' south
of
******************************
13 00 39.7 +27 55 26; Com
V = 14.1; Size 0.6'x0.5'
18" (4/20/12): at 322x appeared faint, small, round, 18" diameter. A mag 14 star is close west, just 25" from the center. Located 7.7' SE of NGC 4889 in the Coma cluster.
17.5" (4/21/90): very faint, very small, round. A mag 14 star is just 25" W of
center. Located 7.6' SE of NGC
4889 in the core of AGC 1656. IC
4041 lies 4.4' due north and
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4906 on 6 Apr 1864 with the
11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His position (measured twice) matches
******************************
NGC 4907 = MCG +05-31-089 = CGCG 160-257 = WBL 426-112 = PGC 44819
13 00 48.8 +28 09 29; Com
V = 13.6; Size 1.1'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 42°
18" (4/20/12): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly
elongated SSW-NNE, even surface brightness (face-on barred spiral). A mag 13 star is close off the SW
end.
17.5" (4/21/90): faint, small, slightly elongated
SSW-NNE, even surface brightness.
A mag 13 star is just off the south end. Nearby galaxies include CGCG 160-251 3' WSW and
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4907 on 5 May 1864 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His single position is accurate and he noted the mag 13 star close south.
******************************
NGC 4908 = UGC 8129 = MCG +05-31-090 = CGCG 160-259 = PGC 44832
13 00 54.5 +28 00 27; Com
V = 13.4; Size 1.0'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.2
18" (4/20/12): fairly faint to moderately bright,
fairly small, slightly elongated, 25"x22", broad concentration. Just slightly brighter than
17.5" (4/21/90): faint, small, slightly elongated, small bright core. Located in the central region of AGC 1656 with NGC 4908 2.5' N and IC 4042 2.5' SW. This galaxy is identified as IC 4051 in most modern catalogues (except MCG).
William Herschel discovered NGC 4908 = H. III-363 on 11 Apr
1785 (sweep 396). He simply noted "vF" and Caroline's reduction
matches
Kobold and Bigourdan later observed both galaxies, but the position from Kobold for IC 4051 matches the brighter galaxy as he assumed the fainter galaxy was NGC 4908! To further confuse the issue, John Herschel misassigned his father's III-363 to h1510 = NGC 4894 -- see that number for additional problems! -- and this was copied into the General Catalogue (GC).
Since William picked up the slightly brighter south-southeastern galaxy (and presumably d'Arrest), NGC 4908 should apply to this galaxy, though modern catalogues (including HyperLEDA and SIMBAD, but not NED) reverse the identifications. See Corwin's notes for more on this confusing story.
******************************
13 02 01.8 -42 46 18; Cen
V = 12.7; Size 1.9'x1.7'; Surf Br = 13.8; PA = 28°
14" (4/2/16 - Coonabarabran, 160x): faint to fairly
faint, small, round, 25" diameter (this is the central core region on
images). With averted vision
increases to ~40" diameter. A
number of stars are nearby including a pair of mag 13 stars [11" separation]
1.6' SE and a mag 11.5 star is
2.3' E. In addition, a mag
12/13 pair at a similar separation is 2.9' SW. The latter is part of a distinctive arc of stars that begins
2.5' SW and sweeps clockwise, ending at mag 10
John Herschel discovered NGC 4909 = h3452 on 5 Jun 1834 and
recorded "eF; precedes 3 or 4 stars, 11..12m." His position and description matches
******************************
NGC 4910 = NGC 4845? = UGC 8078 = MCG +00-33-025 = CGCG 015-049 = PGC 44392
12 58 01.3 +01 34 33; Vir
See observing notes for NGC 4845. Identification very uncertain.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4910 = H. V-3 on 24 Jan 1784 (sweep 123). He recorded "very large but extremely failnt, or I believe they are very close and vS stars." The catalogue description for V. 3 reads "eF, vL, extremely resolvable, R, 7 or 8' dia." This observation was made on a fairly early sweep in which he was more prone to recording or equipment issues. In fact, in the 1912 revision of WH's catalogues, Dreyer mentioned a note from Herschel: "The place of this neb is not determined with accuracy." His sketch seems to shows a large, round cluster of very faint stars. There is nothing at his position, though, and no subsequent sightings by other observers.
Harold Corwin suggests that NGC 4910 may be a duplicate observation of NGC 4845 (about 2.5 min of RA and 4' south of WH's rough position) as it is the "only reasonable candidate."
******************************
13 00 56.1 +27 47 27; Com
V = 12.8; Size 1.4'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.3
18" (4/20/12): fairly faint, moderately large, oval
NW-SE, 45"x35", broad concentration. A mag 14.5 star lies 52" SE. Forms a close pair with
17.5" (4/21/90): fairly faint, fairly small, oval WNW-ESE, weak concentration. A mag 12 star is 2' NW.
13.1" (5/14/83): faint, small, round. A mag 13 star is close west. First of three in the field. Located 18' SE of core of AGC 1656.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4911 = H. II-392, along with
******************************
13 01 24.9 +29 18 40; Com
V = 13.0; Size 1.3'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 129°
See observing notes for
Lawrence Parsons, the 4th Earl of Rosse, found NGC 4912,
along with
Sue French suggested that Parsons' field is 8° south of NGC 4914, where a very similar configuration of 4 galaxies is found, including a wide pair of stars that matches the diagram. This implies NGC 4912 (labeled delta) = NGC 4922, NGC 4913 (labeled gamma) = IC 843, NGC 4916 (labeled epsilon) = CGCG 160-107 and the galaxy he assumed was NGC 4914 labeled beta) was IC 4088. Harold Corwin notes some errors with his descriptions (epsilson is called the brightest) but the configuration strongly suggests these identifications.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4922 = UGC 8135 just 5 days earlier than Parsons' observation, but the other three galaxies should be credited to Parsons. See Harold Corwin's identification notes.
******************************
NGC 4913 = IC 843 = UGC 8137 = MCG +05-31-100 = CGCG 160-099 = PGC 44908
13 01 33.6 +29 07 50; Com
V = 13.6; Size 1.1'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 134°
18" (4/30/11): fairly faint, very elongated 7:2 NW-SE,
45"x12", contains a very small brighter nucleus. IC 4088 lies 5.6' SSE, NGC 4916 is 10'
NE and NGC 4922 is 11' NNW. This
galaxy is identified as
Lawrence Parsons, the 4th Earl of Rosse, found NGC 4913, along with NGC 4912, NGC 4916 and IC 4088, on 24 Apr 1865. Parsons assumed he was observing the NGC 4914 field, but the discovery sketch, which shows 4 nebulae (and one suspected neb), is a reasonably good match with a field 8° further south. NGC 4913, labeled as Gamma in the diagram, matches IC 843. Sue French originally suggested this identification.
Truman Safford independently discovered this galaxy on 3 May 1866. The discovery list was not published until 1887 so Dreyer added this discovery in an appendix to the NGC and later included it as IC 843 = Sf. 3.
******************************
NGC 4914 = NGC 4912: = UGC 8125 = MCG +06-29-014 = CGCG 189-013 = PGC 44807
13 00 42.9 +37 18 54; CVn
V = 11.6; Size 3.5'x1.9'; Surf Br = 13.7; PA = 155°
16" LX200 (4/14/07): bright, fairly large, elongated 5:2 NNW-SSE, very bright core increases to a stellar nucleus. Brightest in a small group of galaxies ~80' SE of Cor Caroli.
13.1" (2/16/85): moderately bright, small, slightly elongated, stellar nucleus. NGC 4868 lies 19' W.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4914 = H. II-645 = h1514 on 17 Mar 1787 (sweep 714) and noted "pB, S, R, mbM." John Herschel made two observations, described it as "pB" and "eF". MCG labels the galaxy NGC 4912/4914. See identification notes for NGC 4912.
******************************
NGC 4915 = MCG -01-33-069 = UGCA 318 = PGC 44891
13 01 28.2 -04 32 48; Vir
V = 12.1; Size 1.6'x1.3'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 55°
18" (6/4/05): fairly bright, moderately large,
round. Contains a sharply
concentrated 0.6' core that increases to a bright, stellar nucleus. With caref viewing, the core appears to
be surrounded by a 1.2' very low surface brightness halo, doubling the initial
estimate of size.
17.5" (4/4/92): fairly bright, fairly small, round, bright core, high surface brightness. NGC 4890 lies 12' WSW. Forms a pair with NGC 4918 6.5' NE (not seen).
William Herschel discovered NGC 4915 = H. IV-47 = h1513 on
11 Mar 1787 (sweep 709) and recorded "pB, stellar, resembles a star with a
bur all around." Caroline's
reduction is 2' south of
******************************
NGC 4916 = MCG +05-31-106 = CGCG 160-107 = PGC 44973
13 02 04.2 +29 15 12; Com
V = 14.5; Size 0.9'x0.25'; PA = 159°
18" (4/30/11): fairly faint, very elongated 7:2 NNW-SSE, ~0.75'x0.25', contains a very small brighter nucleus. Overall this edge-on has a high surface brightness. NGC 4922 lies 9' NW and NGC 4914 = IC 843 is 10' SW.
This galaxy was probably discovered and sketched by Lawrence Parsons on 24 Apr 1865 along with NGC 4912 and NGC 4913 while observing the NGC 4914 field. It is not identified as NGC 4916 in any modern catalogue
Lawrence Parsons discovered NGC 4916, along with NGC 4912,
4913 and IC 4088, on 24 Apr 1865 at Birr Castle. His diagram, purportedly of the NGC 4914 field with NGC 4916
labeled epsilon, is a good match with
******************************
NGC 4917 = UGC 8130 = MCG +08-24-023 = CGCG 245-011 = PGC 44838
13 00 55.6 +47 13 19; CVn
V = 13.8; Size 1.4'x1.0'; Surf Br = 14.1; PA = 160°
18" (6/27/03): very faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1 NNW-SSE. Initially appeared only 0.4' diameter. But with averted vision, very low surface brightness extensions were glimpsed increasing the dimensions to 0.8'x0.4' with a rounder, brighter core. Located 10' E of NGC 4901.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4917 = h1515 on 20 Mar 1828 and recorded "eF; S; E; bM." His RA (marked as approximate) was 9 sec too small.
******************************
13 01 50.6 -04 30 02; Vir
V = 14.4; Size 0.9'x0.4'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 71°
18" (6/4/05): extremely faint, small, elongated 3:2? Requires averted and only glimpsed intermittently. A mag 10.8 star 1.8' NNW detracts from viewing. Located 6' NE of NGC 4915.
Francis Leavenworth discovered NGC 4918 = LM 2-457 in 1886
and noted "mag 15.7, 0.1' dia, R, brighter middle to a nucleus, GC 3366 [=
NGC 4915] sp 4'." His
position matches
******************************
NGC 4919 = UGC 8133 = MCG +05-31-097 = CGCG 160-094 = PGC 44885
13 01 17.6 +27 48 32; Com
V = 14.1; Size 1.1'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 140°
18" (4/20/12): this Coma cluster member is located 18' SE of NGC 4889, near two spirals -- NGC 4911 4.9' WSW and NGC 4921 5' NNE. At 322x it appeared faint, fairly small, oval 4:3 NW-SE, 27"x20", nearly even surface brightness. Two small faint companions, CGCG 160-092 and 160-093 lie 2' WNW and 1.6' WSW, respectively.
17.5" (4/21/90): situated between NGC 4911 4.8' WSW and
NGC 4921 5.1' NNE within AGC 1656.
Very faint, very small, elongated NW-SE. In a close trio with
13.1" (5/14/83): very faint, second of three with NGC 4911/4921. Located in the core of AGC 1656.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4919 on 5 May 1864 with the
11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His position (also measured on the next night) matches
******************************
13 02 04.2 -11 22 42; Vir
V = 13.5; Size 1.0'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 170°
18" (6/4/05): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly elongated, 0.7'x0.5'. MCG -02-33-097 lies 9' N.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4920 around 1882 while
observing
Guillaume Bigourdan found the galaxy on 16 Apr 1895, but
misidentified his offset star.
Once corrected (see Harold Corwin's notes for the details), his position
matches NGC 4920. So, NGC 4920 =
******************************
NGC 4921 = UGC 8134 = MCG +05-31-098 = CGCG 160-095 = PGC 44899
13 01 26.1 +27 53 09; Com
V = 12.2; Size 2.5'x2.2'; Surf Br = 13.8; PA = 165°
18" (4/20/12): fairly faint, moderately large,
irregularly round, ~1.5' diameter, sharply concentrated with a fairly faint,
slightly elongated core, ~24"x20", surrounded by a very low surface
brightness unconcentrated halo.
17.5" (4/21/90): fairly faint, fairly small, bright core, large low surface brightness halo surrounded core. This is one of the brighter members of AGC 1656 but it appears fainter than the integrated V magnitude suggests. Nearby are NGC 4923 2.7' SSE and NGC 4919 5.1' SSW.
13.1" (5/14/83): fairly faint, fairly small, round, 3rd of 3 in AGC 1656.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4921 = H. II-393 = h1516, along with NGC 4911 and 4923, on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396). He recorded them together as "Three, the two following [NGC 4921 and 4923] pretty near each other; the south preceding [NGC 4911] about 8' distance; the time was near that of the two." John Herschel made two observations and measured a fairly accurate position. d'Arrest made 6 observations.
******************************
NGC 4922 = UGC 8135 = MCG +05-31-099 = CGCG 160-096 = VV 609 = PGC 44896
13 01 24.9 +29 18 40; Com
V = 13.0; Size 1.3'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 129°
18" (4/30/11): fairly faint to moderately bright,
fairly small, elongated 3:2 N-S, ~50"x30", irregular shape, small
bright core. After careful viewing
this interacting system consists of a brighter component on the south side,
perhaps 30" diameter that is punctuated by a bright core. A very faint low
surface brightness glow (
18" (3/30/05): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 3:2 ~N-S, 0.7'x0.4'. On sustained viewing, what appears to be the core or a compact galaxy, ~0.3' diameter, is on the SSW end. A much lower surface brightness glow extends to the NNE, mimicking the appearance of a tiny comet. Member of AGC 1656 (Coma Galaxy Cluster). A mag 12 star lies 1.4' E.
Checking at home I found this was a double system (
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4922 on 19 Apr 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen and noted the mag 11-12 star that follows by 6 sec of RA. His mean position (3 observations) is accurate. The northern component of this double system is listed in NED as NGC 4922 NED02 and PGC 86794 in HyperLeda. The position given here is on the SW component of this double system.
Sue French found that Lawrence Parsons, the 4th Earl of Rosse, probably independently discovered this galaxy just 5 days later, while looking for NGC 4912. His field sketch does not match NGC 4912, but a quartet of galaxies 8° further south, including NGC 4922, IC 843, IC 4088 and CGCG 160-107. NGC 4912 (labeled delta) matches NGC 4922. See NGC 4912 for more.
******************************
NGC 4923 = MCG +05-31-101 = CGCG 160-097 = PGC 44903
13 01 31.8 +27 50 51; Com
V = 13.7; Size 0.8'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.1
18" (4/20/12): this Coma cluster member appeared fairly faint, fairly small, slightly elongated, ~28"x24", sharply concentrated with a small bright core. Located 2.6' SSE of NGC 4921 (giant spiral).
17.5" (4/21/90): very faint, very small, round, weak concentration. Forms a trio with brighter NGC 4921 2.7' NNW and NGC 4919 is 3.9' SW. Located within AGC 1656.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4923 = H. II-394 = h1518, along with NGC 4911 and 4921, on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396). He recorded the trio as "Three, the two following [NGC 4921 and 4923] pretty near each other; the south preceding [NGC 4911] about 8' distance; the time was near that of the two." John Herschel made a single observation and his position is 1.3' too far SW. d'Arrest made two accurate measurements.
******************************
13 02 12.8 -14 58 11; Vir
V = 12.8; Size 1.5'x1.4'; Surf Br = 13.8; PA = 60°
18" (6/4/05): fairly faint, small, 0.5' diameter, irregularly round, slightly brighter corre. With direct vision a very faint stellar nucleus is intermittently visible or an extremely faint star is superimposed. A small triplet of mag 13/14 stars lies 3.5'-4' SE and a mag 10.2 star is in the same direction 6.2' SE.
Forms a non-physical pair with
John Herschel discovered NGC 4924 = h1517 on 8 May 1831 and recorded "vF; R; bM." He confirmed the observation the next night and logged "vF; irreg R; very gradually little brighter middle." Because his position was 1° south of his father's H. II-300 = NGC 4899, he initially assumed h1517 was identical, but realized his error when compiling the General Catalogue of 1864.
******************************
13 02 07.4 -07 42 39; Vir
V = 13.1; Size 1.2'x0.7'; Surf Br = 12.5; PA = 135°
17.5" (5/22/93): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly elongated ~E-W, 1.0'x0.8', broad concentration, moderate surface brightness. Forms a pair with IC 4071 6.8' NNW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4925 = H. II-779 = h1519 on 23 Mar 1789 (sweep 916) and noted "F, S."
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13 01 53.7 +27 37 28; Com
V = 13.0; Size 1.2'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 57°
24" (5/20/17): at 375x; fairly faint to moderately
bright, round, ~40" diameter, fairly high surface brightness, small bright
core increases to a stellar nucleus.
Two 12th magnitude stars lie 4' W and 4' WSW.
13.1" (5/14/83): faint, small, round. Located 17' SSE of NGC 4921 and 16' SE of NGC 4911 in AGC 1656.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4926 on 6 Apr 1864 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His position (measured 4 times over 3 nights) is accurate and he noted the two mag 12 stars ~4' preceding.
******************************
13 01 57.6 +28 00 21; Com
V = 13.7; Size 0.8'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 10°
17.5" (4/28/90): very faint, very small, slightly
elongated N-S, very small bright core.
A mag 15 star is at the north edge 25" from center and a mag 13
star is 1.4' NE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4927 = H. III-364 on 11 Apr
1785 (sweep 396) and simply noted "vF". His position is poor but d'Arrest's position (used in the)
matches
******************************
13 03 00.5 -08 05 06; Vir
V = 12.5; Size 1.3'x1.0'; Surf Br = 12.6; PA = 50°
17.5" (5/22/93): moderately bright, fairly small, elongated 3:2 SW-NE, 1.0'x0.7', broad mild concentration. On a line with two mag 12-13 stars 1.5' ESE and 3' ESE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4928 = H. II-190 = H. III-760 = h3453 on 25 Apr 1784 (sweep 208). He recorded II-90 as "not very faint, considerably large, elongated, resolvable." Sweeps 208-210 were unusual in that initial pointing was unknown. The night was poor with "flying clouds" and "The moon very bright but in pursuit of nebulous stratum [of galaxies found in Virgo and Coma] I am in hopes of seeing some of the brighter nebula in it." At the start of sweep 208 is the warning: "to follow the direction of the stratum [of nebulae in Virgo and Coma]", the telescopes was lowered and the situation [clock reading and north polar distance] was not known and with much uncertainty. A single nebula [II-90] was found in this sweep which "precedes the supposed 39 Vir 3 minutes in time and is 56' more north." A note was added at the end of the sweep that 39 and 40 Vir and not the correct stars seen in the sweep. Fortunately, a confident observation was made on 3 Mar 1786 (sweep 536) resulting in an accurate position. Another was made on 23 Mar 1789 (sweep 916), but it was assumed to be a new object (although the position was only 3' SE) so it was catalogued again as H. III-760.
John Herschel assigned two GC designations for the two
Herschel numbers II-190 and III-760, but Dreyer correctly combined these into
II-190 = III-760 = NGC 4928.
William's following sweep created another problem identification, H.
VI-8, which may be
******************************
13 02 44.4 +28 02 43; Com
V = 14.0; Size 1.0'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.6
17.5" (5/19/01): faint, small, roundish,
25"x20", even surface brightness. Located 1' following a mag 13.5 star within AGC 1656.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4929 on 20 Apr 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His single position is accurate and he mentioned the mag 13.5 star (called 16th mag) less than 1' preceding.
******************************
13 04 05.3 -41 24 42; Cen
V = 11.1; Size 4.5'x3.7'; Surf Br = 14.0; PA = 40°
17.5" (4/7/89): faint, fairly small, oval SW-NE. Forms a thin isosceles triangle with
mag 8
John Herschel discovered NGC 4930 = h3454 on 8 Jun 1834 and recorded
"vF; R; precedes 2 stars 8-9th mag and 9th mag (with which it makes nearly
an equilateral triangle by diagram."
His position and description matches
******************************
NGC 4931 = UGC 8154 = MCG +05-31-114 = CGCG 160-118 = PGC 45055
13 03 00.8 +28 01 56; Com
V = 13.5; Size 1.7'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 78°
17.5" (5/19/01): fairly faint, fairly small, very elongated 3:1 ~E-W, 0.5'x0.15'. Contains a small bright core that occasionally appears stellar. A mag 13.5 star lies 1.6' NE. Situated nearly at the midpoint of NGC 4927 3.7' WNW and NGC 4934 3.4' E within AGC 1656.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4931 on 10 May 1863 with
the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His position matches
The RA in the RNGC is poor and this galaxy is misplotted in the first edition of the Uranometria 2000.
******************************
13 02 37.7 +50 26 18; CVn
V = 13.6; Size 1.5'x1.3'; Surf Br = 14.2
18" (6/27/03): very faint, small, round, 0.6' diameter, very weak concentration with no noticeable core. A mag 10.7 star lies 1.6' S.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4932 = H. III-818 on 26 Apr
1789 (sweep 929) and noted "cF, S, R, very gradually little brighter
middle." His position matches
******************************
NGC 4933 = IC 4176 = Arp 176 NED 2 = Holm 502a = (R)NGC 4933A = MCG -02-33-102 = PGC 45146
13 03 57.2 -11 29 52; Vir
V = 11.7; Size 1.8'x1.1'; Surf Br = 12.3; PA = 45°
48" (4/21/17): NGC 4933 is a double system consisting
of compact
NGC 4933A on the southwest end appeared bright, fairly
small, round, 15" diameter.
Strongly concentrated with a very small bright nucleus and thin
halo. A tidal tail extension
(either from NGC 4933A or 4933B) juts out towards the southwest an additional
20". The combined glow of A
and B extends at least 1.5' SW-NE.
17.5" (5/17/90): moderately bright, moderately large,
dominated by a bright core, faint extensions 2:1 SW-NE. Forms a contact pair with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4933 = H. II-191 on 9 May 1784 (sweep 210) and recorded "pF, pS, R, r. Near some small stars. Too much daylight to describe it fully." Caroline's reduced position is ~9 sec of RA west of this double system. In his fifth discovery paper, Wilhelm Tempel remarked that GC 3377 [NGC 4933] was certainly double, with a bright northeast component and a fainter stellar nebula on the southern edge, with a separation of 1'.
On 16 Apr 1895, Bigourdan claimed he searched unsuccessfully
for NGC 4933, but reported finding Big. 315 = IC 4173 and Big. 316 = IC 4176,
which he noted were in PA 225° (SW-NE) and a separation of 1'. His positions are wrong (over 2 min of
RA too far east) as he misidentified his offset star, but once corrected they
match the two components (nuclei) of NGC 4933! These IC identifications were sorted out in an e-mail
correspondence between Malcolm Thomson and Harold Corwin in April 1998. The RC3 labels IC 4173 = NGC 4933A and
******************************
NGC 4934 = UGC 8160 = MCG +05-31-115 = CGCG 160-120 = PGC 45082
13 03 16.3 +28 01 48; Com
V = 14.4; Size 1.0'x0.2'; Surf Br = 12.5; PA = 104°
17.5" (5/19/01): faint, small, very elongated 4:1 WNW-ESE, 0.4'x0.1', low even surface brightness. Slightly smaller and fainter than NGC 4931 3.4' W. Third of three on a line with NGC 4929 7' WNW within AGC 1656.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4934 on 20 Apr 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. He noted this object was situated 16 sec of RA following NGC 4931, which he also discovered, so the identification is certain.
******************************
13 03 21.2 +14 22 40; Com
V = 13.0; Size 1.2'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 75°
18" (3/30/05): fairly faint, small, round, 0.6' diameter, small bright core. Near the NE edge of the 19' field is a nice group of 5 stars with the three brightest stars forming a collinear string oriented NW-SE.
Lewis Swift discovered NGC 4935 = Sw. 6-50 on 17 Apr 1887
and recorded "vF; vS; R; 3 st. like belt of Orion nf." His position
is 6 sec of RA east and 1.6' north of
******************************
13 04 16.9 -30 31 36; Cen
V = 10.8; Size 2.7'x2.3'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 168°
18" (5/3/11): bright, moderately large, slightly elongated ~N-S, ~1.4'x1.1' , well concentrated with a large very bright core that increases to an intense nucleus. A mag 12 star is 1.3' E of center.
Brightest in a group with
18" (3/17/07): fairly bright, moderately large, elongated 4:3 NNW-SSE, 1.2'x0.9'. Contains a bright core that is moderately concentrated and a faint halo.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4936 = h3456 on 6 May 1834 and
recorded "pB; R; S; bM; 15"; has a * 6 seconds following." His
position and description matches
Brightest in a group of at least 12 members (Sandage 1975b, 1978) including IC 844 12' W with a mean redshift of ~3000 km/sec.
******************************
13 04 50.7 -47 13 11; Cen
Size 0.3'
14" (4/2/16 - Coonabarabran, 160x): this knot of faint
stars appeared as a very faint, very small glow (20"). Occasionally two extremely faint mag
15.2 and 15.7 stars "pop" within the glow. Located 2' NW of
John Herschel discovered NGC 4937 = h3455 on 3 Mar 1837 and recorded "eeF; S; R; the preceding of 2 [with NGC 4940]; a * 7m, just at the northern edge of the field." There is only a single galaxy here (NGC 4940), but just 1' east of his position and 2' NW of NGC 4940 is a small knot of faint stars within 20". ESO lists the number as "Not Found". RNGC calls it a "close double star". See Harold Corwin's identification notes.
******************************
13 02 57.6 +51 19 07; CVn
V = 14.3; Size 0.8'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 39°
18" (6/27/03): very faint, small, irregularly round, 0.6'x0.5', low nearly even surface brightness.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4938 = h1521 on 17 Feb 1831 and
recorded "eF; R; pretty suddenly brighter in the middle." His position matches
******************************
13 04 14.3 -10 20 24; Vir
V = 11.3; Size 5.5'x2.8'; Surf Br = 14.1; PA = 5°
17.5" (5/17/90): moderately bright, fairly large, large low surface brightness oval halo 2:1 SSW-NNE, increases to a brighter core. A mag 15 star is 1.4' NW of center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4939 = H. II-561 = h3458 on
25 Mar 1786 (sweep 546) and recorded "pB, pL, R, very gradually much
brighter middle." His
position matches
******************************
NGC 4940 = ESO 269-042 = PGC 45235
13 05 00.2 -47 14 12; Cen
V = 13.1; Size 1.2'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.2
14" (4/2/16 - Coonabarabran, 160x): fairly faint to
moderately bright, round, well-defined halo with a 30" diameter, moderately
high even surface brightness.
Situated 7.4' SSW of mag 6.4
John Herschel discovered NGC 4940 = h3457 on 3 Mar 1837 and recorded "F; S; R; 15". The following of 2 [with NGC 4937]." There is only a single galaxy here, which his position matches. See notes for NGC 4937.
******************************
13 04 13.0 -05 33 06; Vir
V = 11.1; Size 3.6'x1.9'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 15°
17.5" (5/17/90): moderately bright, moderately large, oval 2:1 SW-NE. Dominated by a small bright core with a stellar nucleus (Sy 2 galaxy), moderately large halo. A mag 11.5 star lies 2.6' S of center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4941 = H. I-40 = h1520 on 24 Apr 1784 (sweep 205). His description reads, "cL, r. It contains a vB small spot in the middle but the rest is pF. The nebula is near some stars." John Herschel made two observations and logged on 19 Feb 1830 (sweep 234), "pF; L; very gradually brighter middle; E; 60" long."
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13 04 19.1 -07 38 59; Vir
V = 13.8; Size 1.9'x1.4'; Surf Br = 14.7; PA = 145°
17.5" (5/17/90): very faint, fairly small, round, very
low surface brightness, weak concentration, no distinct edge.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4942 = H. III-761 on 23 Mar
1789 (sweep 916) and noted "vF, S." His position is 2' SE of
Harold Corwin suggests
******************************
13 03 44.9 +28 05 03; Com
V = 14.6; Size 0.5'x0.35'; PA = 110°
17.5" (5/19/01): very faint, very small, round, just
15" diameter, low surface brightness. This faint member of AGC 1656 is situated 6' S of
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4943 on 20 Apr 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His single position is accurate and he mentioned that h1522 [NGC 4944] was visible in the same field to the north.
******************************
NGC 4944 = UGC 8167 = MCG +05-31-118 = CGCG 160-124 = PGC 45133
13 03 49.9 +28 11 08; Com
V = 12.9; Size 1.7'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 89°
17.5" (5/19/01): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 5:2 E-W, 1.0'x0.4', very small bright core. Situated between two mag 11 stars 2' NE and 4' SW with NGC 4943 6' S. This is one of the brighter members of AGC 1656.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4944 = H. II-395 = h1522 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and noted "F, S." John Herschel recorded "F; R; bM; has * 9m 45° nf; 1' dist."
******************************
NGC 4945 = ESO 219-024 = LGG 344-001 = PGC 45279 = Tweezers Galaxy
13 05 27.5 -49 28 06; Cen
V = 8.6; Size 20.0'x3.8'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 43°
24" (4/11/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): remarkable spiral at 200x, extending southwest to northeast across 2/3 of the 30' field. I didn't take detailed notes on this observation but there was just a broad concentration with no well defined core region. The galaxy is very slightly wider through the center and only tapers towards the tips. Along the south edge, just southwest of center, is a brighter linear streak forming a sharp edge (the dust lane is just beyond). The main body of the galaxy fades a bit in this area and then brightens again further southwest. The major axis appears slightly warped or bent towards the north near the northeast tip, due to a large dust patch that bites a notch into the galaxy. On the south side of the northeast end, some very faint haze is visible. The DSS image reveals this is a portion of the galaxy beyond the dust lane. NGC 4945 is the second brightest member of the Centaurus A galaxy group and is situated 18' ENE of mag 4.8 Xi 1 Centauri.
13.1" (2/19/04 - Costa Rica): beautiful, huge edge-on spiral oriented SW-NE. At 166x, appears ~15'x2' with tapering tips that fade out towards the ends of the extensions. There is only a broad concentration with a gently bulging core, although the surface brightness is somewhat irregular or mottled due to dust. The galaxy fades a bit to the southwest of the core and then brightens slightly further southwest. The northeast extension seems a bit splotchy or mottled. I was very surprised that the view from Costa Rica was a bit better than from Bargo, outside of Sydney, with a similar aperture.
12.2" (6/29/02 - Bargo, Australia): this long edge-on
spiral is fairly bright and broadly concentrated with a slightly bulging core,
extending SW-NE ~14'x2.5'. The
surface brightness is relatively uniform with a weak central brightening and
dimming towards the tips. Set in a
rich star field peppered with faint stars. Located just north of a line connecting mag 4.8 Xi 1
Centauri 18' ESE and mag 4.3 Xi 2 31' SE.
10x30mm Canon IS (3/28/19 - Tasmania): faint, large, very elongated glow. Required a careful look to see off and on, but easy to identify as situated just 18' E of mag 4.8 Xi 1 Centauri.
James Dunlop discovered NGC 4945 = D 411 = h3459 on 29 Apr 1826. This is one of the first objects observed by Dunlop (2nd night in logbook) and the first galaxy he discovered, along with NGC 5128 the same night. His summary description reads, "a beautiful long nebula, about 10' long, and 2' broad, forming an angle with the meridian, about 30 [degrees] south preceding and north following; the brightest and broadest part is rather nearer the south preceding extremity than the centre, and it gradually diminishes in breadth and brightness towards the extremeties, but the breadth is much better defined than the length. A small star near the north, and a smaller star near the south extremity, but neither of them is involved in the nebula. I have strong suspicions that the nebula is resolvable into stars [on 4 June], with very slight compression towards the centre. I have no doubt but it is resolvable. I can see the stars, they are merely points. This is north following the first zeta Centauri." Dunlop made a total of 7 observations (sketch, Figure 17).
John Herschel observed the galaxy on 31 Mar 1835 and recorded "B; vL; vmE; very gradually little brighter middle. Length much more than a diameter of the field, or than 15'. Its light extends to a star 14th mag beyond the parallel of Brisbane 4299. Position of elongation 38.7°." He placed the galaxy 10' too far north.
Based on Franklin-Adams plates taken in South Africa, John Reynolds described NGC 4945 in a 1921 paper on southern 'spiral nebulae' as "Unusual type, complicated irregular ring, much inclined to line of sight with no nucleus, the south-western half being very faint."
******************************
13 05 29.3 -43 35 29; Cen
V = 12.4; Size 1.5'x1.2'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 131°
24" (4/12/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): bright, moderately large, slightly elongated, well concentrated with a very bright core that increases to the center and a fainter 1.5' halo. Forms a pair with NGC 4946 5.6' NNE. Outyling member of the Centaurus cluster (AGC 3526).
13.1" (2/19/04 - Costa Rica): moderately bright,
moderately large, irregularly round, 1.2' diameter. Contains a large, bright core and a fairly low surface
brightness irregular halo. It was
difficult to pin down the orientation as the halo fades into the
background.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4946 = h3460 on 3 Jun 1834 and recorded "pB; S; R; bM; 20"." On a later observation he logged "B; R: gradually pretty much brighter middle; 60". The preceding of two [with NGC 4950]. His position is accurate.
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13 05 20.2 -35 20 17; Cen
V = 11.8; Size 2.4'x1.3'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 10°
18" (3/17/07): moderately bright, fairly large,
elongated 3:2 SSW-NNE, 1.3'x0.9', broad concentration. Collinear with a mag 9 star 8' NNE and
a mag 7.8 star (
John Herschel discovered NGC 4947 = h3461 on 1 May 1834 and
recorded "pL; F; R; very gradually little brighter middle;
50"." His position
matches
******************************
NGC 4948 = IC 4156 = MCG -01-33-079 = Holm 505a = LGG 314-005 = PGC 45224
13 04 55.7 -07 56 46; Vir
V = 14.4; Size 2.3'x0.8'; Surf Br = 14.9; PA = 130°
17.5" (5/17/90): very faint, fairly small, edge-on 4:1
NW-SE, low surface brightness. A
mag 15 star (Holm 505b) is at the southeast end, 1.1' from center.
Lewis Swift discovered NGC 4948 = Sw. 6-51 on 25 Mar 1887
and recorded "eeF; pS; lE; [NGC 4958] follows 54 sec." His position and description matches
Harold Corwin found that DeLisle Stewart probably recorded
the galaxy again in Jul 1899 on a
Harvard plate at Arequipa. There
is nothing at his position for
******************************
13 04 17.9 +29 01 46; Com
V = 14.9; Size 0.8'x0.4'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 108°
18" (5/15/10): at 285x appeared faint, small, round, 20" diameter. Two mag 15 stars lie 2' E and 1.5' SE. Outlying member of AGC 1656
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4949 on 19 Apr 1865 with
the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His single position matches
******************************
NGC 4950 = ESO 269-047 = MCG -07-27-031 = PGC 45294
13 05 36.4 -43 30 02; Cen
V = 13.9; Size 0.9'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.3
24" (4/12/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): fairly faint, fairly small, 35"x25". With direct vision contains a small bright core surrounded by a slightly elongated halo. Located 5.6' NNE brighter NGC 4946. Outlying member of the Centaurus cluster (AGC 3526).
John Herschel discovered NGC 4950 = h3462 on 3 Jun 1834 and
recorded "eF; S; R. The
following of 2 [with NGC 4946]; barely perceptible, but a sure
observation." His position is
less than 1' south of
******************************
13 05 07.7 -06 29 43; Vir
V = 11.9; Size 3.3'x1.2'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 90°
17.5" (5/22/93): fairly bright, very elongated 3:1 E-W, 2.1'x0.7', broad concentration, faint extensions.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4951 = H. II-188 = h1523 on 25 Apr 1784 (sweep 207) and recorded "faint, considerably large, elongated, resolvable." His derived RA was 13 seconds too small. Heinrich d'Arrest measured a fairly accurate position (single observation) and noted the error in RA.
******************************
13 04 58.3 +29 07 19; Com
V = 12.4; Size 1.8'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 23°
18" (4/5/03): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 5:3
SSW-NNE, 0.6'x0.35'. A small
brighter core stands out but no nucleus was visible. A mag 11 star lies 4.8' SSE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4952 = H. II-396 = h1524 on
11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and noted "F, S."
John Herschel made 5 observations and his brightness estimates ranged from "very faint" to "bright".
******************************
13 06 10.4 -37 35 11; Cen
V = 13.1; Size 1.1'x0.9'; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 46°
18" (3/17/07): faint, fairly small, slightly elongated 0.8'x0.6'. In a group of three stars with a mag 13 star 0.8' NE and a mag 14 star a similar distance NW. A brighter mag 11 star lies 1.6' NW.
On the DSS, this galaxy appears to be the brightest in a multiple system and described in the Southern Galaxy Catalogue as "Center of group. 6 objects with bridges and plumes in common envelope". The companions appear to be members of ACO S721 at z = .05, but NGC 4953 has a redshift of only z = .016.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4953 = h3463 on 26 Jun 1834 and
recorded "Viewed; a diagram made representing it as round, with 3 small
stars, one distant about 1 semi-diameter from border; pos about 293° [WNW];
another distant 2/3 diameter; pos = 75° [ENE]; the third dist 1 1/2 diam; pos =
300° [NW]. His position is 1.5'
north of the multiple system
******************************
13 02 20.1 +75 24 15; Dra
V = 13.4; Size 0.8'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.5; PA = 62°
18" (6/28/03): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated
4:3 SW-NE, 0.7'x0.5', fairly sharp concentration with a small bright core. A
distinctive group of 4 mag 12-13 stars is close west with three of the stars
nearly collinear and equally spaced.
Located 14' ESE of mag 6.0
John Herschel found NGC 4954 = h1527 on 5 May 1831 and noted
"vF; S; R; gradually brighter in the middle; 12". (The place is within barely possible
limits of III. 937.)" His
mean position (two observations) match
William Herschel discovered this galaxy on 5 May 1831 (sweep 1064) and catalogued it as III-937 = NGC 4972, but Caroline's reduced position was poor. But using offsets from different stars in the sweep, Dreyer gives two corrected positions in his notes to WH's third catalogue, and they match UGC 8157. So, NGC 4954 = NGC 4972. See Harold Corwin's identification notes.
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13 06 04.8 -29 45 15; Hya
V = 12.2; Size 1.8'x1.3'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 10°
17.5" (4/13/96): faint, fairly small, irregularly round, 1.0' diameter, broad concentration with no well defined core. A mag 12 star is 1.5' SW of center. Forms a pair with ESO 443-066 2.1' NE (not seen).
John Herschel discovered NGC 4955 = h3464 on 30 Mar 1835 and logged "F; R; gradually brighter in the middle; 35"." His position is an exact match with ESO 443-062.
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13 05 00.9 +35 10 40; CVn
V = 12.4; Size 1.5'x1.5'; Surf Br = 13.1
18" (3/30/05): moderately bright, small, round, 0.6' diameter. Sharply concentrated with a bright 15" core and stellar nucleus. Located 38' SSW of 5.2-magnitude 14 Canum Venaticorum.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4956 = H. II-413 = h1525 on 1 May 1785 (sweep 405) and logged "pF, S, R, mbM."
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13 05 12.4 +27 34 11; Com
V = 13.1; Size 1.2'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 100°
18" (3/30/05): fairly faint, small, round, 25" diameter, smooth surface brightness. Situated between a mag 12.5 star 2.2' NW and a mag 14 star 1.9' SE. Member of AGC 1656.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4957 = H. II-397 = h1526 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and noted "F, S."
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NGC 4958 = MCG -01-33-084 = UGCA 323 = LGG 314-017 = PGC 45313
13 05 48.9 -08 01 13; Vir
V = 10.7; Size 4.1'x1.3'; Surf Br = 12.3; PA = 15°
17.5" (5/17/90): bright, moderately large, edge-on 4:1 SSW-NNE, dominated by a small very bright core. A mag 13.5 star is off the west edge 1.4' WSW of center. NGC 4948 lies 14' NW.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4958 = H. I-130 = h3465 on 3 Mar 1786 (sweep 536) and noted "vB, S, lE." John Herschel called it "vB; pL; pmE; pretty suddenly much brighter middle; 90" long."
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13 05 41.0 +33 10 44; CVn
V = 14.4; Size 0.8'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.8
18" (6/4/05): faint, very small, round, 0.4' diameter. Contains a faint stellar nucleus with direct vision in good seeing.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4959 = h1528 on 29 Apr 1827 and
recorded "eF; S; R." His
position matches
******************************
13 05 47.5 +27 44 02; Com
See observing notes for
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4960 on 23 Apr 1865 with
the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
There is nothing at his single position, though 6 sec of RA east and 4'
north is
Bigourdan was unsuccessful in finding an object near d'Arrest's position. Karl Reinmuth and Max Wolf (Kongistuhl-Nebel List #9) also couldn't identify this object on Heidelberg plates and Wolf felt that NGC 4960 was a duplicate of NGC 4961 (discovered by WH). Harold Corwin also concludes NGC 4960 is most likely NGC 4961 with a 15' error in the declination as d'Arrest recorded NGC 4960 "only once, on a night when he did not record NGC 4961 (he observed that on four other nights)."
******************************
NGC 4961 = NGC 4960? = UGC 8185 = MCG +05-31-126 = CGCG 160-134 = PGC 45311
13 05 47.5 +27 44 02; Com
V = 13.6; Size 1.6'x1.1'; Surf Br = 14.1; PA = 100°
13.1" (5/14/83): faint, fairly small, round, diffuse with low surface brightness. Located 15' NE of 41 Comae Berenices (V = 4.8).
William Herschel discovered NGC 4961 = H. II-398 = h1529 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and noted "F, S." John Herschel logged "F; irr fig; bM" and measured an accurate position. See notes for NGC 4960, which may a duplicate observation.
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NGC 4962 = NGC 4952 = UGC 8175 = MCG +05-31-121 = CGCG 160-129 = PGC 45233
13 04 58.3 +29 07 19; Com
V = 12.4; Size 1.8'x1.1'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 23°
18" (4/5/03): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 5:3 SSW-NNE, 0.6'x0.35'. A small brighter core stands out but no nucleus was visible. A mag 11 star lies 4.8' SSE. NGC 4966 is 17' ESE. Outlying member of AGC 1656.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4962 = H. III-303 on 13 Mar 1785 (sweep 387) and recorded "eF, vS, 240x just verified." There is nothing at his position, which is 43 seconds of RA preceding and 4' N of III-304 = NGC 4966, the next object in the sweep. Bigourdan (visually), Max Wolf and Karl Reinmuth (on Heidelberg plates) were unable to find III-303.
Harold Corwin suggests NGC 4962 is identical to NGC 4952 (found again by Herschel a month later). This galaxy is 4' north of NGC 4966 and a bit brighter, though an additional 30 seconds of time west of Herschel's offset from III-304. But there is nothing else nearby that Herschel might have seen, so it is very likely thatn NGC 4962 = NGC 4952. See Corwin's notes for more.
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13 05 52.0 +41 43 19; CVn
V = 13.2; Size 0.8'x0.8'; Surf Br = 12.7
18" (7/1/03): fairly faint, fairly small, round, 0.7'
diameter. Symmetrical appearance
increasing steadily to the center using direct vision. A mag 13 star lies 0.8' S of
center. Located 5.2' NE of mag 8.6
William Herschel discovered NGC 4963 = H. II-663 = h1530 on
9 Apr 1787 (sweep 725) and recorded "pB, vS, stellar, very near a small
star, and to the north of it." very small stellar nebula." His position is 3.5' north-northwest of
******************************
13 05 24.8 +56 19 22; UMa
V = 13.2; Size 1.1'x0.6'; Surf Br = 12.5; PA = 134°
18" (6/27/03): faint, fairly small, elongated 3:2 NW-SE, 0.8'x0.4', weak concentration to a slightly brighter, round core. A mag 11.5 star lies 4.1' SW. Located 1.6 degrees ENE of Alioth.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4964 = H. III-779 = h1532 on 14 Apr 1789 (sweep 921) and noted "vF, S." John Herschel made a single observation ("eF; S; lE; a sure obs") and measured an accurate position.
******************************
13 07 09.2 -28 13 41; Hya
V = 12.2; Size 2.6'x2.0'; Surf Br = 13.8; PA = 140°
17.5" (4/13/96): very faint, fairly large, irregularly round, Appears as a 3' ill-defined glow of low surface brightness (face-on spiral) with very little concentration. A nice evenly matched pair of mag 12 stars lies 6' S.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4965 = h3466 on 5 May 1834 and
recorded "vF; vL; oval; very gradually little brighter middle; 3' l; 2'
br." His mean position from
two observations is a perfect match with
******************************
NGC 4966 = UGC 8194 = MCG +05-31-131 = CGCG 160-137 = PGC 45358
13 06 17.3 +29 03 47; Com
V = 13.3; Size 1.0'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.3; PA = 143°
18" (4/5/03): faint, small, elongated 2:1 NNW-SSE,
0.5'x0.25'. Located 2.5' NE of mag
6.5
William Herschel discovered NGC 4966 = H. III-304 = h1531 on 13 Mar 1785 (sweep 387). He recorded "extremely faint, very small, little elongated. 240x verified it just north following a vB star about 8 or 9 m." His position (Caroline's reduction) is 19 seconds of RA east and 3' south of this galaxy, but his comment aboout the bright star clinches the identification.
John Herschel measured an accurate position and recorded on sweep 342, "F; lE; very gradually little brighter middle; pos from the double star h2626 = 34.9° by micrometer."
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13 05 36.4 +53 33 51; UMa
V = 14.2; Size 0.7'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.3
18" (6/27/03): very faint, fairly small, round, very
low surface brightness glow, ~0.8' diameter. A mag 14 star is at the SW edge. Located 7' S of
William Herschel discovered NGC 4967 = H. III-783 = h1533 on
14 Apr 1789 (sweep 921). He noted
"very faint, small, elongated."
There is nothing at his offset but ~1.0 minute of RA west and 2.5' N is
John Herschel recorded "either a vF neb and star attached, or a nebulous double star, a doubtful object. The RA differs materially from that of my Father's III. 783." John Herschel's position (used in the NGC) matches CGCG 270-050 and the star is at the SW edge. Dreyer equated H. III-783 = h1533 in his notes to WH's third catalogue.
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13 07 06.0 -23 40 37; Hya
V = 12.8; Size 1.9'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 56°
24" (5/25/22): at 283x and 375x; nearly moderately bright, oval 5:3 SW-NE, broad concentration, slightly brighter core. A mag 15.8 star is close to the NE end.
17.5" (4/13/96): faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1
SW-NE, 1.2'x0.6', broad concentration to a slightly brighter core. Located south of a 6' collinear string
of 4 mag 13 stars that is parallel to the major axis of the galaxy.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4968 = h3467 on 25 Mar 1836 and recorded "F; pL; R; gradually little brighter middle; 60"." His position is at the east edge of ESO 508-006.
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13 07 03.0 +13 38 13; Vir
V = 13.9; Size 0.7'x0.4'; Surf Br = 12.4
24" (5/20/17 and 5/22/17): at 375x; faint to fairly faint, small, round, 18" diameter. Contains a slightly brighter, very small nucleus. A faint mag 15.5 star is 25" N.
NGC 4969 is a difficult double system in a common halo. At 375x, the nucleus of the fainter companion was barely visible as a "bulge" on the east side of the main galaxy. It was easier at 450x and occasionally appeared as a distinct quasi-stellar "knot" at the east edge of the galaxy. The centers of the pair are separated by only 10"-11"!
18" (5/16/09): faint, small, round, 22" diameter, fairly low even surface brightness. A mag 15.5 star is just off the north edge.
Edward Swift, Lewis' 17 year-old son, discovered NGC 4969 =
Sw. 6-52 on 27 Apr 1887 and recorded "eeeF, S, R, ee diff." The Swifts' position is 26 sec of RA
west of
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NGC 4970 = IC 4196 = ESO 508-009 = MCG -04-31-033 = LGG 332-008 = PGC 45466
13 07 33.7 -24 00 31; Hya
V = 12.2; Size 1.8'x1.0'; Surf Br = 12.8; PA = 137°
24" (5/25/22): at 263x and 375x; fairly bright, elongated 2:1 NW-SE, strong concentration with a very bright core that gradually increases to the center. IC 4180 lies 10' NW and IC 4197 is 14' NNE. Member of the LGG 332 group, which also includes NGC 4968 and 4993.
17.5" (4/13/96): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1 NW-SE, 1.0'x0.5'. Well concentrated with a small, bright, rounder core. NGC 4968 lies 20' NNW and IC 4197 14' NNE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4970 = H. III-765 on 26 Mar
1789 (sweep 918) and noted "vF, pL, iF." John Herschel missed this galaxy although he discovered
nearby NGC 4968, about 20' to the north.
Lewis Swift later "rediscovered" NGC 4970 on 27 Feb 1898 and
recorded it as Sw. 11-149 (later
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13 06 54.9 +28 32 53; Com
V = 13.4; Size 1.0'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.4
18" (7/1/03): faint, small, irregular round, 0.6'x0.5',
weak concentration with a faint stellar nucleus or a very faint star may be
superimposed. This galaxy is
collinear with a pretty pair of mag 11 stars [18" separation] located 3'
NNW.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4971 on 23 Apr 1865 with
the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen.
His single position is 6 sec of RA west of
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13 02 20.1 +75 24 16; Dra
18" (6/28/03): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 4:3 SW-NE, 0.7'x0.5', fairly sharp concentration with a small bright core. A distinctive group of 4 mag 12-13 stars is close west with three of the stars nearly collinear and equally spaced. Located 14' ESE of mag 6.0 SAO 7714.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4972 = H. III-937 on 5 May 1831 (sweep 1064). He noted "very faint, small, irregularly round, brighter middle." There is nothing at Caroline's reduced position but using offsets from different stars in the sweep, Dreyer gave two corrected positions in his notes to Herschel's third catalogue and they match this galaxy. This was last of three galaxies discovered on this sweep in the north (under the pole) in which he resumed sweeping after a three year hiatus.
John Herschel made an observation on 5 May 1831 (sweep 348). He noted "The place is within barely possible limits of III. 937". He repeated these suspicions in the notes to the GC, but added "they may be different, and are therefore separately listed." Dreyer followed suit and added JH's observation as NGC 4954, though later realized the equivalence NGC 4954 = NGC 4972. The usual designation of this galaxy is NGC 4954, although by historical precedence it should be NGC 4972.
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NGC 4973 = IC 847 = MCG +09-22-006 = CGCG 270-049 = CGCG 271-005 = PGC 45280 = WBL 430-003 = PGC 45299
13 05 32.2 +53 41 07; UMa
V = 13.8; Size 0.7'x0.7'; Surf Br = 12.8
18" (6/27/03): faint, small, slightly elongated,
25"x20", weak concentration to a slightly brighter core and a very
faint stellar nucleus. In a small
group (WBL 430) with
William Herschel discovered NGC 4973 = H. III-781 = Ho.
3-19, along with NGC 4974, on 14 Apr 1789 (sweep 921). He recorded both as "Two, both
very faint, small. The place is
that of the 2nd [NGC 4974], the other is 3 or 4' south preceding." Caroline Herschel's reduced position is
1.0 minute of time east of
Lewis Swift found NGC 4973 again on 11 May 1890, reported it
in his 9th discovery list (#36), so Dreyer catalogued it again as
The RNGC, RC3 and CGCG all misidentify NGC 4974 as NGC
4973. MCG misidentifies
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NGC 4974 = MCG +09-22-009 = CGCG 270-051 = CGCG 271-007 = WBL 430-006 = PGC 45321
13 05 55.9 +53 39 33; UMa
V = 13.3; Size 1.4'x1.2'; Surf Br = 13.9; PA = 130°
18" (6/27/03): fairly faint, small, slightly elongated, ~25"x20" NW-SE, moderate concentration with a 10" brighter core. The halo increases in size with averted to 0.6' in diameter. In a rich group (WBL 430) with NGC 4973 3.8' SE. A mag 13 star lies 1.9' WNW close to midpoint with NGC 4973.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4974 = H. III-782, along with NGC 4973, on 14 Apr 1789 (sweep 921). He recorded them together as "Two, both very faint, small. The place is that of the 2nd [NGC 4974], the other [NGC 4973] is 3 or 4' sp." Caroline Herschel's reduced RA is 1.0 minute of time to the east of PGC 45280, but I re-reduced his offset with respect to NGC 4964 = III-779, the previous object in the sweep, and it is only 16 seconds of RA east and 2' south of CGCG 270-051 = PGC 45321. Herschel made an error when noting "the other is 3 or 4' sp". NGC 4973 is 3.8' northwest.
Rumker independently discovered NGC 4974 in preparation for the Hamburg star catalogue (marked as a "nebula" on the chart). The NGC position was corrected by Rumker and mentioned in the IC 2 notes and in Dreyer's 1912 Scientific Papers.
CGCG, RNGC, RC3 and DSFG all mislabel NGC 4974 as NGC 4973
and MCG mislabels NGC 4974 as IC 847.
In addition,
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13 07 50.1 -05 01 03; Vir
V = 13.9; Size 1.0'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.3; PA = 46°
18" (5/16/09): faint, very small, round, 20" diameter, slightly brighter quasi-stellar nculeus. The galaxy is nearly collinear with two mag 14.5/15 stars to the SSW (closer star is 2' SSW). Located 44' NW of Theta Virginis (4.0/9.5 at 7").
John Herschel discovered NGC 4975 = h1534 on 19 Feb 1830 and recorded "vF; vS; R; pretty suddenly brighter middle; 10"." His position is accurate.
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NGC 4976 = ESO 219-029 = LGG 330-003 = PGC 45562
13 08 37.3 -49 30 20; Cen
V = 10.0; Size 5.6'x3.0'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 161°
13.1" (2/19/04 - Costa Rica): at 166x, fairly bright, moderately large, slightly elongated NNW-SSE, 2.0'x1.7'. Sharply concentrated with a very bright 25" core increasing to a bright stellar nucleus. Located 31' E of NGC 4945 and 5' W of mag 7.8 HD 114102. Also 29' NE of mag 4.3 Xi 2 Centauri. Brightest in a galaxy group (LGG 330) that includes NGC 4945A, in the background of NGC 4945.
12.2" (6/29/02 - Bargo, Australia): at 140x, fairly
bright, moderately large, slightly elongated, 2'x1.5', sharply concentrated
with a prominent core. Located 30'
E of NGC 4945 and 4.6' W of mag 7.8
John Herschel discovered NGC 4976 = h3468 on 31 Mar 1835 and recorded "B; R; gradually much brighter middle; 80"." His RA was 12 tsec too large.
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13 06 04.4 +55 39 21; UMa
V = 13.3; Size 1.5'x1.5'; Surf Br = 14.1
18" (6/27/03): fairly faint, fairly small, 0.8' diameter, very weak concentration. Located at the midpoint of a mag 12.5 star 4' W and a mag 14 star 4' E.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4977 = H. III-780 on 14 Apr
1789 (sweep 921). He noted "considerably faint, small." His position
(re-reduced with respect to NGC 4964) is 21 sec of time east of
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13 07 50.5 +18 24 56; Com
V = 13.1; Size 1.5'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 142°
18" (4/29/06): fairly faint, elongated 2:1 NNW-SSE, 0.7'x0.3', weak concentration. A faint stellar nucleus was intermittently visible in moments of better seeing. Forms the vertex of a flat isosceles triangle with two mag 13 stars 2' S and 2' NW.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4978 = h1535 on 23 Mar 1827 and recorded "vF; R; suddenly brighter middle; stellar." His mean position (two observations) is accurate. d'Arrest observed it at Copenhagen in 1861 with the 11" refractor and noted it was between two stars [NW and SE].
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13 07 42.8 +24 48 38; Com
V = 13.9; Size 1.0'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.4; PA = 100°
24" (5/20/17): at 375x; fairly faint, fairly small,
slightly elongated ~E-W, 0.5'x0.4'.
Contains a sharp, nearly stellar nucleus. Located only 4.6' WSW of distractingly bright mag 6.8 HD
114093. Best view with star kept
outside the field.
16" LX200 (4/14/07): faint, fairly small, slightly
elongated ~E-W, 0.6'x0.45', low even surface brightness. Located 4.6' WSW of mag 6.8 HD
114093. This bright star forms the
vertex of a right triangle with NGC 4979 and a mag 10 star 3.6' to its SE. Situated about 4° SE of the core of
William Herschel discovered NGC 4979 = H. III-346 on 10 Apr
1785 (sweep 394) and noted "eF, pL, lE, 240 verified it." His position is 12 sec of RA east and
3' south of
Stephane Javelle rediscovered this galaxy on 20 Jun 1891
with the 30" refractor at the Nice Observatory and it received the
designation
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13 09 10.2 -28 38 30; Hya
V = 12.6; Size 1.7'x0.7'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 168°
18" (3/17/07): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 3:2 NNW-SSE, 0.8'x0.5', very weak concentration. A mag 11.5 star lies 1.8' WSW.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4980 = h3469 on 30 Mar 1835 and
logged "eF; R; 30"."
His position is just off the west side of
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13 08 48.7 -06 46 44; Vir
V = 11.3; Size 2.8'x2.0'; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 150°
17.5" (5/17/90): moderately bright, moderately large, oval 3:2 NNW-SSE, 2.2'x1.5', sharp stellar nucleus, almost smooth halo. A mag 10 star is in contact at the SSE edge 1.1' from center.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4981 = H. II-189 = h1537 on 25 Apr 1784 (sweep 207) and recorded "pB, R, mb in a small place in the middle, near a B star." On 20 Mar 1789 (sweep 913) he also recorded "cB, R, very gradually brighter middle, about 3' diameter" and measured an accurate position. John Herschel made the single observation "F; pL; R; 50"; has a * 9m, 80" dist sf."
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13 08 46.1 -10 35 19; Vir
= 4*, HC.
Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 4982 around 1878. There is nothing at the NGC position except an asterism consisting of a small square (0.4' each side) of stars mag 13.7/14.7/15.8/16.4. Corwin suggests this asterism may have appeared nebulous to Tempel. Dreyer references his fifth discovery list (AN 2439) in the NGC, but Corwin was unable to find this object mentioned in the paper (I was also unsuccessful), so this identification is uncertain.
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NGC 4983 = MCG +05-31-138 = CGCG 160-147 = PGC 45542
13 08 27.3 +28 19 13; Com
V = 13.9; Size 1.1'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 130°
18" (7/1/03): faint, fairly small, slightly elongated,
0.7'x0.5'. Weak, even
concentration to the center.
Located 7.5' NE of mag 10
William Herschel discovered NGC 4983 = H. III-365 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and noted "vF". Caroline's reduction is 13 sec of time preceding CGCG 160-147 = PGC 45542.
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13 08 57.2 -15 30 59; Vir
V = 11.3; Size 2.8'x2.2'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 90°
17.5" (5/22/93): bright, moderately large, round, very bright prominent core 30" diameter, embedded within large faint halo of 2.0' diameter. A mag 15 star is at the west edge. A pair of mag 12/13 stars are 2.5' NE.
8" (5/21/82): fairly bright, small, round, small bright nucleus.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4984 = H. II-301 = h1536 on 8 Feb 1785 (sweep 372) and recorded "pB, pL, mbM, iR." John Herschel made observations on two consecutive sweeps, logging on 8 May 1831, "B; R; pretty suddenly brighter middle; 30"."
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NGC 4985 = UGC 8218 = MCG +07-27-032 = CGCG 217-012 = PGC 45522
13 08 12.1 +41 40 35; CVn
V = 13.6; Size 1.3'x1.1'; Surf Br = 14.0; PA = 135°
18" (7/1/03): faint, small, irregularly round, 0.6'x0.5', moderate concentration to a brighter core. A mag 14 star lies 2' ESE. NGC 4963 lies 26' W.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4985 = H. III-654 = h1539 on 9 Apr 1787 (sweep 725) and logged "vF, vS, little brighter in the middle." John Herschel made the single observation "vF; vS; R; 10"." and measured a fairly accurate position.
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13 08 24.5 +35 12 23; CVn
V = 13.2; Size 1.7'x0.9'; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 70°
18" (6/4/05): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly elongated, 0.7'x0.6'. A mag 14.5 star is superimposed just south of the nucleus.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4986 = H. III-401 = h1538 on
1 May 1785 (sweep 405) and logged "vF, stellar. 240 showed the same." John Herschel made two observations and his position matches
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13 07 59.1 +51 55 45; CVn
V = 13.5; Size 1.2'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 35°
18" (6/27/03): fairly faint, elongated 5:2 SW-NE,
0.9'x0.35'. Sharply concentrated with a fairly prominent 15" core. Located 8.5' N of mag 8.0 SAO
28644.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4987 = h1542 on 17 Feb 1831 (sweep 328). He logged "pretty faint; small; round; 8" to 10" diameter." Initially he listed it as a nova in the Slough Catalogue but when compiling the GC, he mistakenly decided h1542 was the same as his father's II.815 and combined both as GC 3424, using his position of h1542. The GC description, "vF; vS; stellar", was probably meant to read "pF; vS; stellar", a synthesis of both descriptions.
William Herschel's H. II.815 was discovered on 26 Apr 1789
(sweep 929) and recorded as "faint, very small, stellar
[nebula]." Re-reducing his
position with respect to either 82 UMa (his reference star) or
Since Dreyer followed the GC, we are left with NGC 4987 = h1542 = UGC 8216. Unfortunately, his father's H. II-815 = CGCG 271-017 is left without a NGC designation. Both Harold Corwin and Wolfgang Steinicke agree with my analysis in an email exchange on 10 Jun 2014. See Harold Corwin's full write-up.
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13 09 54.2 -43 06 22; Cen
V = 12.8; Size 1.7'x0.5'; Surf Br = 12.5; PA = 26°
13.1" (2/19/04 - Costa Rica): at 166x appears fairly
faint, moderately large, very elongated 4:1 SSW-NNE, 1.2'x0.3', broad weak
concentration. Forms the southern
vertex of a thin isosceles triangle with two mag 9-10 stars 2.8' NNW and 2.8'
N. Located 32' W of NGC 5011 and
23' NW of mag 5.2
John Herschel discovered NGC 4988 = h3470 on 3 Jun 1834 NGC
4988 and recorded "vF; S; E; possibly a small group of stars, but I think
it is nebulous." His position matches
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13 09 16.0 -05 23 47; Vir
V = 12.8; Size 1.7'x1.0'; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 165°
17.5" (5/17/90): moderately bright, very small, round, compact, high surface brightness, small bright core. Located 12' NW of Theta Virginis (V = 4.4/9.5 at 6"). Forms a pair with NGC 4990 7.4' N.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4989 = H. II-185 = Au 31 on 24 Apr 1784 (sweep 205) and recorded a "small, faint, irregular nebula, near a pretty bright star." His position was off by 20 seconds of RA west and 3' too far north. The "pretty bright star" is probably a mag 11.5 star 2.5' S, but it could refer to the 4th magnitude double star Theta Virginis (discovered by Herschel in 1782) 13' SE.
Edward Cooper (or assistant Andrew Graham) also found this
galaxy at the Markree Observatory on 9 Apr 1852 while measuring positions for
the comprehensive Markree ecliptic Catalogue. Auwers listed it in his 1862 catalogue of new nebulae, so it
received a GC number (3426). Heinrich
d'Arrest measured an accurate position (on 4 nights) and discovered
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NGC 4990 = MCG -01-34-004 = Mrk 1344 = PGC 45608
13 09 17.2 -05 16 22; Vir
V = 13.7; Size 1.0'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.3
17.5" (5/17/90): faint, extremely small, round, fairly high surface brightness, stellar nucleus. Forms a pair with NGC 4989 7.4' S.
Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4990 on 23 Mar 1865 with
the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen, while observing NGC 4989 located 7.5'
south. His position (measured on
two nights) matches
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13 09 15.1 +02 20 51; Vir
V = 14.7; Size 0.6'x0.6'; Surf Br = 13.0
18" (5/16/09): extremely faint, very small, round,
15" diameter, requires averted vision to view. A nice elongated group of 4 brighter stars (including mag
8.2
Albert Marth discovered NGC 4991 = m 246 on 30 Apr 1864 and
noted "vF, vS." His position is within 1' of
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13 09 05.6 +11 38 03; Vir
V = 13.4; Size 1.2'x0.7'; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 10°
18" (5/28/06): fairly faint, small, elongated 5:3 ~N-S,
0.7'x0.4', very weak concentration.
Located 51' W of mag 5.8
John Herschel discovered NGC 4992 = h1541 on 4 Apr 1831 and recorded "vF; S; lE; north of two small stars." His position is accurate.
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13 09 47.7 -23 23 02; Hya
V = 12.3; Size 1.3'x1.1'; Surf Br = 12.6
17.5" (4/13/96): fairly faint, fairly small, round,
1.0' diameter. Pretty symmetrical
appearance increasing to a 30" brighter core and a 10" nucleus. Located 5.3' WNW of mag 8.5
William Herschel discovered NGC 4993 = H. III-766 on 26 Mar
1789 (sweep 918) and noted "vF, vS." His position is at the west edge of
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NGC 4994 = NGC 4993: = ESO 508-018 = MCG -04-31-039 = PGC 45657
13 09 47.7 -23 23 02; Hya
See observing notes for NGC 4993.
John Herschel discovered NGC 4994 = h3471 on 25 Mar 1836 and
recorded "pF; R; slbM; 35"; among stars." There is nothing near his position that
he might have picked up. ESO and
PGC misidentify
Harold Corwin notes that NGC 4993 (discovered by WH) is exactly 50' south of Herschel's position and a much better match in description. So, NGC 4993 = NGC 4994.
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13 09 40.6 -07 50 01; Vir
V = 11.1; Size 2.5'x1.6'; Surf Br = 12.5; PA = 99°
17.5" (5/17/90): fairly bright, moderately large, oval
3:2 E-W, weak concentration, faint stellar nucleus. Located 3.4' SSE of mag 8.3
William Herschel discovered NGC 4995 = H. I-42 = h1540 = 3472 on 25 Apr 1784 (sweep 207) and recorded "cB, pL, bM and diminishes gradually towards the ends; near a vB star." On 20 Mar 1789 (sweep 913) he also recorded "pB almost cB, mbM, about 2' dia." From the Cape of Good Hope, John Herschel logged "pB; R; vgpmbM; 60"."
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13 09 31.9 +00 51 25; Vir
V = 12.6; Size 1.8'x1.4'; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 40°
18" (5/28/06): faint, fairly small, round, 0.8'
diameter. Unusual appearance with
a very low surface brightness halo surrounding a faint stellar nucleus. Located 7' N of mag 9.1
Albert Marth discovered NGC 4996 = m 247 on 28 Mar 1864 and noted "pB, S, R, bM." His position is accurate.
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13 09 51.7 -16 30 56; Vir
V = 12.7; Size 1.3'x0.9'; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 95°
17.5" (5/17/90): fairly faint, small, high surface
brightness, stellar nucleus.
Located 2.3' E of mag 6.7
Sherburne Burnham discovered NGC 4997 on 28 Mar 1878 with the 18.5-inch Clark refractor at Dearborn Observatory. It was reported in Memoirs of the Astr Soc, Vol 44, p169 and his position with respect to nearby mag 6.7 SAO 157759 is accurate. Burnham may have shown the galaxy to Edward Holden while visiting Washburn Observatory in 1881, as Holden included this object as #9 in his 1882 discovery list (Publ. of the Washburn Observatory, Vol I) though he noted "This nebula was first discovered by S. W. Burnham at the Dearborn Observatory, 1878, March 28." Holden called it was "S, R, stellar nucleus." Only Burnham was credited in the NGC.
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NGC 4998 = MCG +09-22-017 = CGCG 271-015 = PGC 45537
13 08 10.3 +50 39 50; CVn
V = 14.1; Size 0.9'x0.8'; Surf Br = 13.6
18" (6/27/03): very faint, fairly small, slightly elongated, 0.7'x0.5', low even surface brightness. A mag 15 star lies 45" NW. Three mag 10 stars are in the field between 6'-7.5' SW, SSW and SSE.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4998 = H. III-819 on 26 Apr 1789 (sweep 929) and simply noted "vF". Caroline's reduced position is 14 tsec following CGCG 271-015 = PGC 45537 (only nearby galaxy).
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13 09 33.1 +01 40 23; Vir
V = 11.8; Size 2.5'x1.9'; Surf Br = 13.4
17.5" (5/19/01): fairly faint, moderately large, round, 2.0' diameter. Contains a very small brighter core surrounded by a low surface brightness halo. A mag 14 star is barely off the east edge 1.1' from center. Located 8' E of a mag 10 star.
William Herschel discovered NGC 4999 = H. II-537 = h1543 on
24 Feb 1786 (sweep 532) and recorded "F, pL, irregularly round,
er." His position is just
northeast of the core of
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13 09 47.5 +28 54 25; Com
V = 13.2; Size 1.7'x1.4'; Surf Br = 14.0
18" (7/1/03): fairly faint, fairly small, irregularly
round, 0.8'x0.7', very weak concentration. Nestled in a group of mag 12-14 stars. A faint galaxy 1' SE was not seen. Located 6.5' NNW of mag 8.6
William Herschel discovered NGC 5000 = H. III-366 = h1544 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396). He noted "vF, pS."
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