NGC/IC Project Restoration Effort

===== NGC 78. This is usually taken as the northeastern of a close pair of galaxies, because that galaxy is brighter and has a higher surface brightness. However, I'd like to be sure that this is the case as the differences between the two galaxies are not large. I am hoping that Pechule's discovery paper will tell us which of the two nebulae he found, but am not hopeful -- nebulae were definitely not Pechule's main interest (see e.g. NGC 4239). In any event, we have not yet tracked down Pechule's paper (and Dreyer does not give us any more reference than Pechule's name), but it must have appeared between 1864 and 1879, the publication dates for the GC and the GC Supplement. The object is listed only in the Supplement. (Wolfgang is looking for the paper, too; November 2005).

===== NGC 78 17.5" (8/20/88): this is a double system with the southwestern member appearing faint, very small, round, bright core. The companion is attached at the northeast end and appears very faint, very small, round, low even surface brightness. The two components are separated by just 30" and are within a common halo.