NGC 3628

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title: "NGC 3628" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["unbarred-spiral-galaxies", "peculiar-galaxies", "leo-triplet", "leo-(constellation)", "ngc-objects", "ugc-objects", "principal-galaxies-catalogue-objects", "astronomical-objects-discovered-in-1784"] description: "Spiral galaxy in the constellation Leo" topic_path: "science/astronomy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_3628" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Spiral galaxy in the constellation Leo ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox Galaxy"]

Field	Value
name	NGC 3628
image	File:NGC 3628.png
caption	NGC 3628 and its long tidal tail
epoch	J2000
type	SAb pec
ra
dec
dist_ly	35 Mly
z	843 ± 1 km/s
appmag_v	9.5
size_v	14′ × 3.6′
size	~150,000 ly (45.52 kpc) (estimated)
constellation name	Leo
notes	Galaxy in the Leo Triplet
names	UGC 6350, PGC 34697, VV 308b
::

| name = NGC 3628 | image = File:NGC 3628.png | caption = NGC 3628 and its long tidal tail | epoch = J2000 | type = SAb pec | ra = | dec = | dist_ly = 35 Mly | z = 843 ± 1 km/s | appmag_v = 9.5 | size_v = 14′ × 3.6′ | size = ~150,000 ly (45.52 kpc) (estimated) | constellation name = Leo | notes = Galaxy in the Leo Triplet | names = UGC 6350, PGC 34697, VV 308b}}

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/NGC3628Location.png" caption="The location of NGC 3628 (circled in blue)"] ::

NGC 3628, also known as the Hamburger Galaxy or Sarah's Galaxy, is an unbarred spiral galaxy about 35 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1784. It has an approximately 300,000 light-years long tidal tail. Along with M65 and M66, NGC 3628 forms the Leo Triplet, a small group of galaxies. Its most conspicuous feature is the broad and obscuring band of dust located along the outer edge of its spiral arms, effectively transecting the galaxy to the view from Earth.

Due to the presence of an x-shaped bulge, visible in multiple wavelengths, it has been argued that NGC 3628 is instead a barred spiral galaxy with the bar seen end-on. Simulations have shown that bars often form in disk galaxies during interactions and mergers, and NGC 3628 is known to be interacting with its two large neighbors.

When viewed through a telescope, its often seen as a dim orb, as it has a relatively low surface brightness for a supposedly famous galaxy. Though, when viewed with a larger one, it begins to show off more of its intricate detail such as its prominent dust lane, obscuring its core.

The name "Hamburger Galaxy" is a reference to its shape resembling a hamburger, while the name "Sarah's Galaxy" is thought to refer to poet Sarah Williams (1837–1868), most famous for the poem "The Old Astronomer:" Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light; I have loved the stars too truly to be fearful of the night.

Gallery

File: NGC 3628 Final.jpg|NGC 3628 captured with an amateur 8-inch telescope.

References

| url=http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/| access-date=2006-10-24 }}

References

1. (March 31, 2022). "Scotland's Sky in April 2022".
2. Williams, Sarah. (1868). "Twilight Hours". Strahan & Co..
3. [http://messier.seds.org/xtra/ngc/n3628.html Messier Catalogue Description], NGC 3628 page at SEDS.
4. Sen, Nina. (2013-07-28). "Chomp! Hamburger Galaxy Feeds Stargazer's Cosmic Appetite (Photo)". [[Space.com]].
5. (2015-01-16). "Inside the March 2015 Issue - Sky & Telescope". skyandtelescope.com.
6. (2012-03-04). "NGC 3628 (Sarah's Galaxy)". annesastronomynews.com.
7. "Astronomers Do It In The Dark - NGC 3628 - the 3rd Galaxy in the Leo Triplet (reprocessed) - Spiral Galaxies - Typically younger galaxies with Spiral Arms of star formation". astronomersdoitinthedark.com.
8. "The Delight of Sarah's Galaxy | Parables of the Sky Blog". rolandlinda3.wordpress.com.
9. "Astronomy Picture of the Month | 2011 | The Sarah's's Galaxy". iac.es.
10. Bogdan C. Ciambur; Alister W. Graham (2016), [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016MNRAS.459.1276C Quantifying the (X/peanut)-shaped structure in edge-on disc galaxies: length, strength, and nested peanuts]
11. "Calvin College".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::