NGC/IC Project Restoration Effort
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NGC4208
Basic Information
Location and Magnitude
Right Ascension: 12:15:39.2
Declination: +13:54:7
Constellation: COM
Visual Magnitude: 11.2
Historic Information
Discoverer: Herschel W.
Year of discovery: 1784
Discovery aperture: 18.7
Observational
Summary description: vF, pL, R, gbM (?=h 1144)
Sub-type: Sc
Corwin's Notes
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NGC 4208 = NGC 4212. This one requires a coincidence of errors by both WH
and JH. Though both nebulae were seen by WH in a single sweep, Dreyer has
shown (in the Scientific Papers) that the objects could be identical if WH
reset his telescope after fixing on a star.
In his NGC note, Dreyer suggests that JH made a simple digit error in the RA
of h1142 = N4208 -- it was seen only once in a different sweep than h1144 =
N4212 (which has four accordant observations). This placed h1142 close enough
to H II 107 that JH assumed the identity.
Though remarkable, such a coincidence is almost sure to happen at least once
in the crowded area of the Supergalactic equator. Since there are plausible
explanations for both errors, I'm willing to accept Dreyer's identity of the
"two" nebulae.
Steve's Notes
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NGC 4208
See observing notes for NGC 4212.