Quote Originally Posted by glxytrios View Post
Steve, According to Wikipedia "The galaxy was discovered on 19 June 1790 by the British astronomer Frederick William Herschel I. It was catalogued in 1895 by John Louis Emil Dreyer as the 1,101st object of the Index Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters (IC)." I trust your research more than Wikipedia, but I wonder, is there is a story here?
Clear skies, Miles (Glxytrios).
Hi Miles. Not that I'm aware of, but Wikipedia clearly has incorrect information. First off, all of William Herschel's published discoveries are in the NGC. The IC I and II generally include discoveries made after 1886 (there are a few exceptions). Secondly, Herschel made NO discoveries in June of 1790. Thirdly, the discovery date given in Wikipedia is off by exactly a century!

The correct historical information can be found on Wolfgang Steinicke's site. Specifically, a list of all of Edward Swift's discoveries and dates are here.

Miles is correct about the constellation Virgo.