It was discovered on 18 March 1787 by German-British astronomer William Herschel.

The bright stars that highlight the arms were created in huge density waves that circle the center.

[6] Seven supernovae and astronomical transients have been observed in NGC 3184: On May 31, 2010, Kōichi Itagaki detected a magnitude 17 optical transient 33" east and 61" north of the center of NGC 3184 at coordinates 10 18 19.89 +41 26 28.8.

[17] Designated SN 2010dn, this event was initially thought to be an outbursting luminous blue variable (LBV) star,[18] but later analysis categorized it as an intermediate-luminosity red transient (ILRT), also known as a luminous red nova.

[19][20] Archival Hubble and Spitzer images of NGC 3184 seem to show no progenitor for optical transient SN 2010dn.