Wilhelm Tempel discovered NGC 3427 = T I-29 in 1877, while searching for H III-108 = NGC 3425. He ran across two nebulae, one of which was NGC 3425 and the other was new. His position is 2' too far south.

David Todd independently discovered this galaxy on 11 Nov 1877 and listed it as object #4 in AN 2698 during his search for a trans-Neptunian planet. The surrounding field stars match this galaxy. Tempel didn't give a specific date in list I, so either Tempel or Todd could be the discoverer.

400/500mm - 17.5" (4/15/99): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1 WSW-ENE, 40"x20", slightly brighter core, faint stellar nucleus. With averted vision the halo increases to nearly 1.0'x0.5'. Nestled in a 10' stream of stars oriented NW-SE between a mag 12 star 1.7' NE and a mag 12.5 star 2.3' W. NGC 3425 lies 16' due north.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb