NGC 5905 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation of Draco. Its velocity with respect to the cosmic microwave background is , which corresponds to a Hubble distance of . However, 14 non-redshift measurements give a much closer mean distance of . It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on 5 May 1788.
NGC 5905 has an active galactic nucleus, i.e. it has a compact region at the center of a galaxy that emits a significant amount of energy across the electromagnetic spectrum, with characteristics indicating that this luminosity is not produced by the stars.
NGC 5905 is also a Seyfert I galaxy, i.e. it has a quasar-like nucleus with very high surface brightnesses whose spectra reveal strong, high-ionisation emission lines, but unlike quasars, the host galaxy is clearly detectable.
According to A.M. Garcia, NGC 5905 is part of the NGC 5908 group (also known as LGG 395) which has at least seven members, including NGC 5820, NGC 5821, , NGC 5876, , and .
One supernova has been observed in NGC 5905: