Galaxy NGC 3626

NGC 3626
NGC 3626: Image taken with Hubble Space Telescope © NASA/ESA [261]

History

William Herschel discovered on 15 February 1784 a «faint nebula» which he logged as II 30 with the notes: «pretty bright, round.» That entry was added later as NGC 3632, but on the position he gave (6m 30s following, 2° 23' south of 60 Leonis) there is nothing. The nearest one is the galaxy known today as NGC 3626. One month later on 14 March 1784 he sweeped through the same area and logged nebula II 52 with the notes: «Pretty bright, small, little extended, brighter in the middle». That position matches NGC 3626. So NGC 3632 is a displaced duplicate of NGC 3626. [313, 463]

NGC 3639 was discovered by R. J. Mitchell on 21 January 1855 using Lord Rosse's giant 72-inch reflector at Birr Castle. [364]

Physical Properties

Revised+Historic NGC/IC Version 22/9, © 2022 Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke [277]
Name RA Dec Type bMag vMag B-V SB Dim PA z D(z) MD Dreyer Description Identification, Remarks
NGC 3626 11 20 03.6 +18 21 24 dup 11.8 11.0 0.8 12.6 2.7 × 1.9 157 0.004980 21.04 23.150 B, S, vlE, sbM WH II 52; h 856; GC 2376; NGC 3632; UGC 6343; MCG 3-29-32; CGCG 96-29
NGC 3632 11 20 03.6 +18 21 24 Gx (S0-a) 11.8 11.0 0.8 12.6 2.7 × 1.9 157 0.004980 21.04 23.150 pB, * inv WH II 30; GC 2382; NGC 3626; UGC 6343; MCG 3-29-32; CGCG 96-29
NGC 3639 11 21 35.5 +18 27 31 Gx (S?) 14.6 13.7 0.9 12.6 0.6 × 0.5 39 0.018149 76.66 pF, S, R, vlbM, 15' f h 856 GC 2385; UGC 6374; MCG 3-29-36; CGCG 96-32; ARAK 289

Finder Chart

The galaxy NGC 3626 is in the constellation Leo. The best time for observation is November to May.

Finder Chart Galaxy NGC 3626
Galaxy NGC 3626 in constellation Leo. Charts created using SkySafari 6 Pro and STScI Digitized Sky Survey. Limiting magnitudes: Constellation chart ~6.5 mag, DSS2 close-ups ~20 mag. [149, 160]

Objects Within a Radius of 15°

References