Herschel 183
NGC 3729

Object Type Galaxy SBa Pec
Constellation Ursa Major
Magnitude 10.6
Size 8.1' x 4.0'


Combination of 5, 3 minute images unfiltered.
SBIG STL-1001E CCD. 20" f/6.8 Dall-Kirkham cassegrain telescope at prime focus.

NGC 3729 is a peculiar barred spiral galaxy, displaying a bright ring inside of a faint outer halo. There is also a brighter patch in the eastern portion of the halo. A little to the west (right) is the highly distorted, 10.6 magnitude spiral galaxy NGC 3718. It is very likely that these two galaxies are interacting. Several more very distant interacting galaxies are visible below NGC 3718. These are from the west, PGC 35615 (magnitude 16.9), PGC 35618 (magnitude 15.8) and PGC 35620 (magnitude 15.0). The edge-on spiral to the east (left) of these is PGC 35631 (magnitude 16.1), while just to the west is the elipitical galaxy PGC 35609 (magnitude 16.4). This small group is known as Hickson 56.

Visual Observation Notes:- NGC 3729.

Moderately large and bright with a brighter centre surrounded by a faint elongated halo. Fairly bright star on the western edge. The larger but fainter galaxy NGC 3718 visible in same field.
18" f/5 newtonian. 16mm nagler eyepiece. 143x.
Sky View observatory. Zenith limiting magnitude 6.4. Thin cirrus clouds passing.