diff --git a/poetry.lock b/poetry.lock
index 238bdd244..6f452fdba 100644
--- a/poetry.lock
+++ b/poetry.lock
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# This file is automatically @generated by Poetry 1.8.3 and should not be changed by hand.
+# This file is automatically @generated by Poetry 1.6.1 and should not be changed by hand.
 
 [[package]]
 name = "alabaster"
@@ -926,6 +926,21 @@ files = [
 [package.dependencies]
 Django = ">=2.2"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "django-htmx"
+version = "1.19.0"
+description = "Extensions for using Django with htmx."
+optional = false
+python-versions = ">=3.8"
+files = [
+    {file = "django_htmx-1.19.0-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:875a642814e52278c1728842436beda2001847a493ab79fd82da3fb46ead140f"},
+    {file = "django_htmx-1.19.0.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:e7e17304e78e07f96eca0affc3ce1806edfdf3538bb7cb1912452b101f3e627d"},
+]
+
+[package.dependencies]
+asgiref = ">=3.6"
+django = ">=3.2"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "djangorestframework"
 version = "3.15.2"
@@ -2003,7 +2018,6 @@ files = [
     {file = "PyYAML-6.0.1-cp311-cp311-win_amd64.whl", hash = "sha256:bf07ee2fef7014951eeb99f56f39c9bb4af143d8aa3c21b1677805985307da34"},
     {file = "PyYAML-6.0.1-cp312-cp312-macosx_10_9_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:855fb52b0dc35af121542a76b9a84f8d1cd886ea97c84703eaa6d88e37a2ad28"},
     {file = "PyYAML-6.0.1-cp312-cp312-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:40df9b996c2b73138957fe23a16a4f0ba614f4c0efce1e9406a184b6d07fa3a9"},
-    {file = "PyYAML-6.0.1-cp312-cp312-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:a08c6f0fe150303c1c6b71ebcd7213c2858041a7e01975da3a99aed1e7a378ef"},
     {file = "PyYAML-6.0.1-cp312-cp312-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:6c22bec3fbe2524cde73d7ada88f6566758a8f7227bfbf93a408a9d86bcc12a0"},
     {file = "PyYAML-6.0.1-cp312-cp312-musllinux_1_1_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:8d4e9c88387b0f5c7d5f281e55304de64cf7f9c0021a3525bd3b1c542da3b0e4"},
     {file = "PyYAML-6.0.1-cp312-cp312-win32.whl", hash = "sha256:d483d2cdf104e7c9fa60c544d92981f12ad66a457afae824d146093b8c294c54"},
@@ -2691,4 +2705,4 @@ testing = ["coverage (>=5.0.3)", "zope.event", "zope.testing"]
 [metadata]
 lock-version = "2.0"
 python-versions = ">=3.8.1,<3.12"
-content-hash = "fc75e3298b46400b4076358942f42072fa019bf02a198c045e6af7bb5378c885"
+content-hash = "f29ade1c8aa71cb776449229b04fe422ca8b479ee9d876172d79042661355187"
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index b8387966a..04998235a 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ django-extensions = "~3"
 django-filter = ">=23,<25"
 django-gravatar2 = "~1"
 django-guardian = "~2"
+django-htmx = "~1"
 fits2image = "~0.4"
 markdown = "<4"
 pillow = ">9.2,<11.0"
diff --git a/tom_setup/templates/tom_setup/settings.tmpl b/tom_setup/templates/tom_setup/settings.tmpl
index 05db1df41..4c59baca5 100644
--- a/tom_setup/templates/tom_setup/settings.tmpl
+++ b/tom_setup/templates/tom_setup/settings.tmpl
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ INSTALLED_APPS = [
     'rest_framework.authtoken',
     'django_filters',
     'django_gravatar',
+    'django_htmx',
     'tom_targets',
     'tom_alerts',
     'tom_catalogs',
@@ -72,6 +73,7 @@ MIDDLEWARE = [
     'django.contrib.auth.middleware.AuthenticationMiddleware',
     'django.contrib.messages.middleware.MessageMiddleware',
     'django.middleware.clickjacking.XFrameOptionsMiddleware',
+    'django_htmx.middleware.HtmxMiddleware',
     'tom_common.middleware.Raise403Middleware',
     'tom_common.middleware.ExternalServiceMiddleware',
     'tom_common.middleware.AuthStrategyMiddleware',
diff --git a/tom_targets/forms.py b/tom_targets/forms.py
index e4bfbdf74..c42c2bfa5 100644
--- a/tom_targets/forms.py
+++ b/tom_targets/forms.py
@@ -210,10 +210,20 @@ def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
         self.fields['share_destination'].choices = get_sharing_destination_options()
 
 
-
-
 class TargetMergeForm(forms.Form):
     """
     Form for merging two duplicate targets with a primary target and secondary target
     """
-    name_select= forms.ChoiceField(required=True, choices=[], label="Select Primary Target")
\ No newline at end of file
+    name_select = forms.ChoiceField(
+        label="Select Primary Target",
+        required=True,
+        choices=[],
+        # Select is the default widget for a ChoiceField, but we need to set htmx attributes.
+        widget=forms.Select(
+            # set up attributes to trigger folder dropdown update when this field changes
+            attrs={
+                'hx-get': '',  # send GET request to the source URL's get method
+                'hx-trigger': 'change',  # when this happens
+                'hx-target': '#id_target_merge_fields',  # replace name_select element
+             })
+    )
diff --git a/tom_targets/groups.py b/tom_targets/groups.py
index dc596dfc9..b4f7d2891 100644
--- a/tom_targets/groups.py
+++ b/tom_targets/groups.py
@@ -257,4 +257,4 @@ def move_selected_to_grouping(targets_ids, grouping_object, request):
                                   .format(len(warning_targets), grouping_object.name, ', '.join(warning_targets)))
     for failure_target in failure_targets:
         messages.error(request, "Failed to move target with id={} to group '{}'; {}"
-                                .format(failure_target[0], grouping_object.name, failure_target[1]))
\ No newline at end of file
+                                .format(failure_target[0], grouping_object.name, failure_target[1]))
diff --git a/tom_targets/merge.py b/tom_targets/merge.py
index 3bb85ab5d..fd006d740 100644
--- a/tom_targets/merge.py
+++ b/tom_targets/merge.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 def merge_error_message(request):
     messages.warning(request, "Please select two targets to merge!")
 
+
 def target_merge(primary_target, secondary_target):
     """
     """
@@ -19,4 +20,4 @@ def target_merge(primary_target, secondary_target):
 
     secondary_target.delete()
 
-    return primary_target
\ No newline at end of file
+    return primary_target
diff --git a/tom_targets/templates/tom_targets/partials/target_fields.html b/tom_targets/templates/tom_targets/partials/target_fields.html
index 747da25f7..4158778f3 100644
--- a/tom_targets/templates/tom_targets/partials/target_fields.html
+++ b/tom_targets/templates/tom_targets/partials/target_fields.html
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 
 
-<table class="table table-bordered table-striped table-sm">
+<table id="id_target_merge_fields" class="table table-bordered table-striped table-sm">
     <thead class="table-secondary">
         <tr>
             <th>Property</th>
diff --git a/tom_targets/templates/tom_targets/target_merge.html b/tom_targets/templates/tom_targets/target_merge.html
index cd79f3fbb..f1f65a62f 100644
--- a/tom_targets/templates/tom_targets/target_merge.html
+++ b/tom_targets/templates/tom_targets/target_merge.html
@@ -3,19 +3,12 @@
 {% block title %}Merge Targets{% endblock %}
 
 {% block content %}
+{% bootstrap_form form %}
 
-
-<div>
-    <form method="post" action="">
-        {% csrf_token %}
-        {% bootstrap_form form %}
-        <button type="submit" class="btn btn-outline-primary float-right" name="submit">Update Table</button>
-    </form>
-</div>
-
+<!-- display the target fields table -->
 {% target_fields target1 target2 %}
 
 <button type="submit" class="btn btn-outline-danger float-right btn-lg" name="submit"><a href="{% url 'targets:list' %}" style="color: rgb(167, 11, 11)">Cancel</a></button>
 <button type="submit" class="btn btn-outline-primary float-right btn-lg" name="submit">Confirm</button>
 
-{% endblock %}
\ No newline at end of file
+{% endblock %}
diff --git a/tom_targets/templatetags/targets_extras.py b/tom_targets/templatetags/targets_extras.py
index 55ae6bec0..bb9110450 100644
--- a/tom_targets/templatetags/targets_extras.py
+++ b/tom_targets/templatetags/targets_extras.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta
+import logging
 
 from astroplan import moon_illumination
 from astropy import units as u
@@ -19,6 +20,9 @@
 
 register = template.Library()
 
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+logger.setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
+
 
 @register.inclusion_tag('tom_targets/partials/recent_targets.html', takes_context=True)
 def recent_targets(context, limit=10):
@@ -284,6 +288,7 @@ def aladin_skymap(targets):
     context = {'targets': target_list}
     return context
 
+
 @register.inclusion_tag('tom_targets/partials/target_fields.html')
 def target_fields(target1, target2):
     """
@@ -307,9 +312,9 @@ def target_fields(target1, target2):
         'target2_data': target2_data,
         'combined_target_data': combined_target_data
     }
-
     return context
 
+
 @register.inclusion_tag('tom_targets/partials/aladin_skymap.html')
 def target_distribution(targets):
     """
diff --git a/tom_targets/tests/tests.py b/tom_targets/tests/tests.py
index 6d4678c7e..ac6e9bd0d 100644
--- a/tom_targets/tests/tests.py
+++ b/tom_targets/tests/tests.py
@@ -1745,7 +1745,7 @@ def test_merge_targets(self):
         # print(model_to_dict(self.st1))
         result = target_merge(self.st1, self.st2)
         result_dictionary = model_to_dict(result)
-        st1_dictionary = model_to_dict(self.st1) 
+        st1_dictionary = model_to_dict(self.st1)
         st2_dictionary = model_to_dict(self.st2)
         for param in st1_dictionary:
             # print(param)
@@ -1755,6 +1755,7 @@ def test_merge_targets(self):
             else:
                 self.assertEqual(result_dictionary[param], st2_dictionary[param])
 
+
     def test_merge_names(self):
         """
         This test makes sure that the secondary targets name has been saved as an alias for the primary target
@@ -1794,8 +1795,3 @@ def test_merge_data(self):
     def test_merge_target_list(self):
         pass
 
-
-
-
-
-
diff --git a/tom_targets/urls.py b/tom_targets/urls.py
index c594c63a3..3570d3fdc 100644
--- a/tom_targets/urls.py
+++ b/tom_targets/urls.py
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 
 from .views import TargetCreateView, TargetUpdateView, TargetDetailView, TargetNameSearchView
 from .views import TargetDeleteView, TargetListView, TargetImportView, TargetExportView, TargetShareView
-from .views import TargetGroupingView, TargetGroupingDeleteView, TargetGroupingCreateView, TargetAddRemoveGroupingView, TargetMergeView
+from .views import (TargetGroupingView, TargetGroupingDeleteView, TargetGroupingCreateView,
+                    TargetAddRemoveGroupingView, TargetMergeView)
 from .views import TargetGroupingShareView, TargetHermesPreloadView, TargetGroupingHermesPreloadView
 
 from .api_views import TargetViewSet, TargetExtraViewSet, TargetNameViewSet, TargetListViewSet
diff --git a/tom_targets/views.py b/tom_targets/views.py
index 942283597..6b868a8a2 100644
--- a/tom_targets/views.py
+++ b/tom_targets/views.py
@@ -11,9 +11,12 @@
 from django.core.management import call_command
 from django.db import transaction
 from django.db.models import Q
+from django_filters.views import FilterView
+from django.http import HttpResponse
 from django.http import HttpResponseRedirect, QueryDict, StreamingHttpResponse, HttpResponseBadRequest
 from django.forms import HiddenInput
 from django.shortcuts import redirect
+from django.template.loader import render_to_string
 from django.urls import reverse_lazy, reverse
 from django.utils.text import slugify
 from django.utils.safestring import mark_safe
@@ -21,7 +24,6 @@
 from django.views.generic.detail import DetailView, SingleObjectMixin
 from django.views.generic.list import ListView
 from django.views.generic import RedirectView, TemplateView, View
-from django_filters.views import FilterView
 
 from guardian.mixins import PermissionListMixin
 from guardian.shortcuts import get_objects_for_user, get_groups_with_perms, assign_perm
@@ -44,11 +46,13 @@
 )
 from tom_targets.merge import (merge_error_message)
 from tom_targets.models import Target, TargetList
+from tom_targets.templatetags.targets_extras import target_fields
 from tom_targets.utils import import_targets, export_targets
 from tom_dataproducts.alertstreams.hermes import BuildHermesMessage, preload_to_hermes
 
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+logger.setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
 
 
 class TargetListView(PermissionListMixin, FilterView):
@@ -561,6 +565,7 @@ def render_to_response(self, context, **response_kwargs):
         response['Content-Disposition'] = 'attachment; filename="{}"'.format(filename)
         return response
 
+
 class TargetMergeView(FormView):
     """
     View that handles choosing the primary target in the process of merging targets
@@ -603,7 +608,7 @@ def get_context_data(self, *args, **kwargs):
     def get_form_class(self):
 
         return TargetMergeForm
-    
+
     def post(self, request, *args, **kwargs):
         form = TargetMergeForm(request.POST)
 
@@ -611,8 +616,8 @@ def post(self, request, *args, **kwargs):
         second_target_id = int(self.kwargs.get('pk2', None))
         # let the form name_select field know what it's choices are
         # these were determined at run time
-        form.fields['name_select'].choices = self.get_name_select_choices(first_target_id, second_target_id)
-        print(f'just set the name_select choices to {form.fields["name_select"].choices}')
+        form.fields['name_select'].choices = self.get_name_select_choices(
+            first_target_id, second_target_id)
 
         if form.is_valid():
             primary_target_id = int(form.cleaned_data['name_select'])
@@ -620,13 +625,49 @@ def post(self, request, *args, **kwargs):
                 secondary_target_id = second_target_id
             else:
                 secondary_target_id = first_target_id
-            return redirect('tom_targets:merge',
-                        pk1=primary_target_id, pk2=secondary_target_id)
+            return redirect('tom_targets:merge', pk1=primary_target_id, pk2=secondary_target_id)
         else:
             messages.warning(request, form.errors)
             return redirect('tom_targets:merge',
                             pk1=first_target_id, pk2=second_target_id)
 
+    def get(self, request, *args, **kwargs):
+        """When called as a result of the Primary Target name_select field being
+        changed, request.htmx will be True and this should update the
+        target_field inclusiontag/partial (via render_to_string) according to
+        the selected target.
+
+        If this is not an HTMX request, just call super().get.
+        """
+        if request.htmx:
+            pk1 = int(self.kwargs.get('pk1', None))
+            pk2 = int(self.kwargs.get('pk2', None))
+
+            # get the target_id of the selected target: it's the primary
+            primary_target_id = int(request.GET.get('name_select', None))
+
+            # decide which of pk1 or pk2 is primary (i.e. it matches name_select)
+            if pk1 == primary_target_id:  # first is primary, so
+                secondary_target_id = pk2
+            else:  # second is primary, so
+                secondary_target_id = pk1
+
+            # get the actual Target instances for these target_ids
+            primary_target = Target.objects.get(id=primary_target_id)
+            secondary_target = Target.objects.get(id=secondary_target_id)
+
+            # render the table with those targets via the inclusiontag
+            target_table_html = render_to_string(
+                'tom_targets/partials/target_fields.html',
+                context=target_fields(primary_target, secondary_target))
+
+            # replace the old target_field table with the newly rendered one
+            return HttpResponse(target_table_html)
+        else:
+            # not an HTMX request
+            return super().get(request, *args, **kwargs)
+
+
 class TargetAddRemoveGroupingView(LoginRequiredMixin, View):
     """
     View that handles addition and removal of targets to target groups. Requires authentication.