This fine pair has been bannished to the remote regions of southwestern Ursa Major. The closest naked eye star doesn't even belong to the Great Bear. 5.3 magnitude 3 Canum Venaticorum sparkles about 2.7 degrees to the southwest. Observing at 82X, my 10-inch Newtonian presents NGC 4085 as a 2'x1' smudge flanked by an entourage of 8th and 9th magnitude stars. Eleven arc minutes to the north, NGC 4088 is larger, covering a 4'x2' area and displays a noticeably brighter core. NGC 4085 is aligned roughly east-west while NGC 4088 is aligned more northeast-to-southwest.

NGC 4088 is featured in the sketch at left, made with the 18-inch Obsession at 199X. This galaxy reveals some interesting structure in the big Dob. One spiral arm points like a finger towards a 13th magnitude star some 2' to the northeast. The barred core runs generally east-west with spiral arms seen north and south of the galactic disk. NGC 4088 covers a 4'x1'.3 area with a 15th magnitude star along the western edge. There is a bonus feature. MCG +9-20-92 pops in and out with averted vision, appearing 5' to the southeast as a 30" diameter patch of fog against the darkened sky.