William Herschel discovered NGC 3508 = H II-507 = h814 on 31 Dec 1785 (sweep 503) and noted "F, S, E." John Herschel made a single observation on 16 Dec1827 (sweep 111) and wrote, "F; lE; bM; vL; involved a * 45°nf from the nucleus."

Lewis Swift found this galaxy on 14 Jan 1898 and claimed it as new in list XI-117 (later IC 2622). Swift's position was 0.5 min of RA too far east and 3' north, so Dreyer didn't make the equivalence. Also see the NGC 3505, which may be another observation of this galaxy. So, NGC 3508 = NGC 3505 = IC 2622.

400/500mm - 18" (3/13/04): fairly faint, fairly small, round, 0.7' diameter, even surface brightness. A mag 13 star is attached on the NNE tip of the galaxy. At times the galaxy appears slightly elongated N-S, ~1.0'x0.7' and the DSS image confirms this impression. Observation made through thin clouds. This is a starburst and luminous infrared galaxy with an active nucleus.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb