NGC/IC Project Restoration Effort

===== NGC 5721, 5722, 5723, and 5724. The brightest three of this small group of six galaxies were found by William and John Herschel, the other three by Lord Rosse and his observer at the time, Johnstone Birney. Fortunately, the Birr Castle observers provide a diagram, so the galaxies can be positively identified, even though Dreyer's estimated NGC postions are not quite correct. MCG got all the numbers right, but the double nebula, CGCG 248-016, is incorrectly labeled as NGC 5721 + NGC 5723; it should be NGC 5721 + NGC 5722. NGC 5724 is a star (though is entered as a galaxy in MCG), and may be the faintest positively identified NGC object. USNO-B1.0 has it at B = 17.4 (unwieghted mean from the two POSS blue plates), and SDSS (converted to UBVR) has U = 18.7, B = 17.7, V = 16.4, and R = 15.8. There may be other such faint objects lurking among Lord Rosse's observations. It would be of some interest to find what the faintest of his discoveries actually is. It would almost certainly be the faintest NGC object as well.

===== NGC 5721 17.5" (6/27/98): this close companion to NGC 5722 required averted vision and concentration to momentarily glimpse a virtually stellar object <10" diameter, just 35" NNW of NGC 5722. This borderline detection was repeated several times knowing precise location.