Cetus is a constellation, sometimes called 'the whale' in English. The Cetus was a sea monster in Greek mythology which both Perseus and Heracles needed to slay. Cetus is in the region of the sky that contains other water-related constellations: Aquarius, Pisces and Eridanus.
NGC 404 is a field galaxy located about 10 million light years away in the constellation Andromeda. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1784, and is visible through small telescopes. NGC 404 lies just beyond the Local Group and does not appear gravitationally bound to it. It is located within 7 arc-minutes of second magnitude star Mirach, making it a difficult target to observe or photograph and granting it the nickname "Mirach's Ghost".
NGC 891 is an edge-on unbarred spiral galaxy about 30 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda. It was discovered by William Herschel on October 6, 1784. The galaxy is a member of the NGC 1023 group of galaxies in the Local Supercluster. It has an H II nucleus.
IC 342 is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Camelopardalis, located relatively close to the Milky Way. Despite its size and actual brightness, its location behind dusty areas near the galactic equator makes it difficult to observe, leading to the nickname "The Hidden Galaxy", though it can readily be detected even with binoculars. If the galaxy were not obscured, it would be visible by naked eye. The dust makes it difficult to determine its precise distance; modern estimates range from about 7 mega light-years (Mly) to about 11 Mly. The galaxy was discovered by William Frederick Denning in 1892. It is one of the brightest in the IC 342/Maffei Group, one of the closest galaxy groups to the Local Group. Edwin Hubble first thought it to be in the Local Group, but it was later determined not to be a member.
NGC 2787 is a barred lenticular galaxy approximately 24 million light-years away in the northern constellation of Ursa Major. It was discovered on December 3, 1788 by German-born astronomer William Herschel. J. L. E. Dreyer described it as, "bright, pretty large, a little extended 90°, much brighter middle, mottled but not resolved, very small (faint) star involved to the southeast". The visible galaxy has an angular size of 2′.5 × 1′.5 and an apparent visual magnitude of 11.8.
NGC 2841 is an unbarred spiral galaxy in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Major. It was discovered on 9 March 1788 by German-born astronomer William Herschel. J. L. E. Dreyer, the author of the New General Catalogue, described it as, "very bright, large, very much extended 151°, very suddenly much brighter middle equal to 10th magnitude star". Initially thought to be about 30 million light-years distant, a 2001 Hubble Space Telescope survey of the galaxy's Cepheid variables determined its distance to be approximately 14.1 megaparsecs or 46 million light-years. The optical size of the galaxy is 8.′1 × 3.′5.
NGC 520 is a pair of colliding spiral galaxies about 105 million light-years away in the constellation Pisces. They were discovered by astronomer William Herschel on 13 December 1784.
NGC 772 is an unbarred spiral galaxy approximately 130 million light-years away in the constellation Aries.
NGC 47 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Cetus, discovered in 1886 by Ernst Wilhelm Leberecht Tempel. Its alternate name NGC 58 is due to the observation by Lewis Swift, who was unaware that Tempel had already discovered the celestial object earlier. It appears as a small, faint spiral nebula with a bright core and is slightly oval.
NGC 5005, also known as Caldwell 29, is an inclined spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. The galaxy has a relatively bright nucleus and a bright disk that contains multiple dust lanes. The galaxy's high surface brightness makes it an object that is visible to amateur astronomers using large amateur telescopes.
NGC 1073 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Cetus. The galaxy is estimated to be about 55 million light years from Earth, possess a disk spanning an estimated 80,000 light years in diameter, and likely contains a type of active core, called an HII nucleus.
NGC 1087 is an intermediate spiral galaxy in Cetus. The central bar/core is very small with many irregular features in the surrounding disk of material. With the many strange features of NGC 1087, its true nature is still uncertain. It has an extremely small nucleus and a very short stellar bar. Unlike most barred galaxies, the bar apparently has some new star-formation taking place. There is a multiple spiral structure defined more by the dust lanes than by luminous matter. Overall, the disc has a very low surface brightness. Even though it appears close to another galaxy, these two galaxies are not interacting and should be considered isolated from one another.
NGC 1090 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Cetus.
NGC 908 is an unbarred spiral galaxy in the constellation Cetus. It was discovered in 1786 by William Herschel. This galaxy is 56 million light years away from Earth. It is the main galaxy in the NGC 908 group, which also includes NGC 899, NGC 907, and IC 223.
NGC 4469 is a nearly edge-on spiral galaxy located about 55 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo. It is also classified as a LINER galaxy. NGC 4469 was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 15, 1784. It is a member of the Virgo Cluster.
NGC 681 is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation of Cetus, located approximately 66.5 million light-years from Earth. The name Little Sombrero Galaxy is a reference to a much larger and earlier observed sombrero-like galaxy designated M104, or the Sombrero Galaxy.
NGC 5982 is an elliptical galaxy located in the constellation Draco. It is located at a distance of circa 130 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 5982 is about 100,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on May 25, 1788.
NGC 779 is a spiral galaxy seen edge-on, located in the constellation Cetus. It is located at a distance of circa 60 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 779 is about 70,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on September 10, 1785.
NGC 877 is an intermediate spiral galaxy located in the constellation Aries. It is located at a distance of circa 160 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 877 is about 115,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on October 14, 1784. It interacts with NGC 876.
NGC 2964 is an intermediate spiral galaxy located in the constellation Leo. It is located at a distance of circa 60 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 2964 is about 60,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on December 7, 1785.
