The Antennae Galaxies
| NGC 4038 | NGC 4039 | |
|---|---|---|
| Right Ascension | 12 : 01.9 | 12 : 01.9 (h:m) |
| Declination | -18 : 52 | -18 : 53 (deg:m) |
| Distance | (kly) |
|
| Visual brightness | 10.5 | 10.3 (mag) |
| Apparent dimension | 5.4 | 5.4 (arc min) |
The interacting pair of galaxies, NGC 4038 and 4039, was discovered by William Herschel on February 7, 1785, and first classified as a planetary nebula. His son, John Herschel, cataloged them under separate numbers, h 1052 and h 1053, in his catalog of 1833. From this catalog, he took them over into his General Catalog as GC 2670 and GC 2671 in 1864, from where they found their way in Dreyer's NGC.