Messier 77 (M77), also known as NGC 1068 or the Squid Galaxy, is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Cetus. It is about 47 million light-years (14 Mpc) away from Earth. Messier 77 was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780, who originally described it as a nebula. Méchain then communicated his discovery to Charles Messier, who subsequently listed the object in his catalog. Both Messier and William Herschel described this galaxy as a star cluster. Today, however, the object is known to be a galaxy.
NGC 6946, sometimes referred to as the Fireworks Galaxy, is a face-on intermediate spiral galaxy with a small bright nucleus, whose location in the sky straddles the boundary between the northern constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus. Its distance from Earth is about 25.2 million light-years or 7.72 megaparsecs, similar to the distance of M101 in the constellation Ursa Major. Both were once considered to be part of the Local Group, but are now known to be among the dozen bright spiral galaxies near the Milky Way but beyond the confines of the Local Group. NGC 6946 lies within the Virgo Supercluster.
NGC 2997 is a face-on unbarred spiral galaxy about 40 million light-years away in the faint southern constellation of Antlia. It was discovered March 4, 1793 by German-born astronomer William Herschel. J. L. E. Dreyer described it as, "a remarkable object, very faint, very large, very gradually then very suddenly bright middle and 4 arcsec nucleus. This is the brightest galaxy of the NGC 2997 group of galaxies, and was featured on the cover of the first edition of Galactic Dynamics by James Binney and Scott Tremaine.
NGC 514 is a low-luminosity, intermediate spiral galaxy in the equatorial constellation of Pisces, located at a distance of approximately 83 million light-years from the Milky Way. It was discovered on 16 October 1784 by astronomer William Herschel. The general form of the galaxy is specified by its morphological classification of SAB(rs)c, which indicates it has a weak bar system at the core (SAB), an incomplete ring formation around the bar (rs), and somewhat loosely-wound spiral arms (c). This galaxy has an H II nucleus with an extended region that displays weak emission lines in the optical range, but not in the near infrared. The suspected supermassive black hole at the core has an estimated mass of 3.2×106 M☉.
NGC 4639 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the equatorial constellation of Virgo. It was discovered by German-born astronomer William Herschel on April 12, 1784. John L. E. Dreyer described it as "pretty bright, small, extended, mottled but not resolved, 12th magnitude star 1 arcmin to southeast". This is a relatively nearby galaxy, lying approximately 72 million light-years away from the Milky Way. It is a companion to NGC 4654, and the two appear to have interacted roughly 500 million years ago. NGC 4639 is a member of the Virgo Cluster.
NGC 1260 is a spiral or lenticular galaxy in the constellation Perseus. It was discovered by astronomer Guillaume Bigourdan on 19 October 1884. NGC 1260 is a member of the Perseus Cluster and forms a tight pair with the galaxy PGC 12230. In 2006, it was home to the second brightest supernova in the observable universe, supernova SN 2006gy.
NGC 634 is a spiral galaxy, lying at a distance of 217.1 megalight-years away from the Milky Way in the northern constellation of Triangulum. This object was discovered back in the nineteenth century by French astronomer Édouard Stephan. It is inclined by an angle of 82.4° to the line of sight from the Earth, and thus is being viewed nearly edge on.
NGC 3021 is a spiral galaxy in the northern constellation of Leo Minor. It is about 93 million light-years away from Earth, and is receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of 1,537±4 km/s. This galaxy was discovered December 7, 1785 by Anglo-German astronomer William Herschel. The morphological classification of NGC 3021 is SA(rs)bc, which indicates a spiral galaxy with no central bar (SA), an incomplete inner ring structure (rs), and moderate to loosely wound spiral arms (bc).
NGC 124 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Cetus. It was discovered by Truman Henry Safford on September 23, 1867. The galaxy was described as "very faint, large, diffuse, 2 faint stars to northwest" by John Louis Emil Dreyer, the compiler of the New General Catalogue.
NGC 214 is a spiral galaxy in the northern constellation of Andromeda, located at a distance of 194 megalight-years from the Milky Way. It was discovered on September 10, 1784 by William Herschel. The shape of this galaxy is given by its morphological classification of SABbc, which indicates a weak bar-like structure (SAB) at the core and moderate to loosely-wound spiral arms (bc).
NGC 266 is a massive barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Pisces. NGC 266 is located at a distance of 197 megalight-years from the Milky Way. It was discovered on September 12, 1784, by William Herschel. The form of this barred galaxy is described by its morphological classification of SB(rs)ab, which indicates a quasi-ring-like structure (rs) and moderate-to-tightly wound spiral arms (ab). It is the dominant member of a small group with six low-mass galaxies.
NGC 523, also known as Arp 158, from the ARP catalog is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Andromeda. It was discovered separately by William Herschel on 13 September 1784, and by Heinrich d'Arrest on 13 August 1862. d'Arrest's discovery was listed as NGC 523, while Herschel's was listed as NGC 537; the two are one and the same. John Dreyer noted in the New General Catalogue that NGC 523 is a double nebula.
NGC 495, also occasionally referred to as PGC 5037, UGC 920 or GC 278, is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Pisces. It is located approximately 184 million light-years from the Solar System and was discovered on 12 September 1784 by astronomer William Herschel.
NGC 1259 is a lenticular galaxy located about 243 million light-years away in the constellation Perseus. The galaxy was discovered by astronomer Guillaume Bigourdan on October 21, 1884 and is a member of the Perseus Cluster.
NGC 1268 is a spiral galaxy located about 140 million light-years away in the constellation Perseus. It was discovered by astronomer Heinrich d'Arrest on February 14, 1863. NGC 1268 is a member of the Perseus Cluster and appears to show signs of distortion in the form of bridges. These features may be the result of a strong interaction with NGC 1267.
NGC 1282 is an elliptical galaxy located about 230 million light-years away in the constellation Perseus. It was discovered by astronomer Guillaume Bigourdan on October 23, 1884. NGC 1282 is a member of the Perseus Cluster.
NGC 3841 is an elliptical or lenticular galaxy located about 300 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. It was discovered by astronomer John Herschel on March 25, 1827 is a member of the Leo Cluster.
NGC 1892 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Dorado. It was discovered November 30, 1834 by John Herschel.
NGC 3294 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Leo Minor. It was discovered by William Herschel on Mar 17, 1787. It is a member of the Leo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the right edge of the Virgo Supercluster. The galaxy is located at a distance of 98 million light years and is receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of 1,586 km/s. The morphological class of NGC 3294 is SA(rs)bc, which means this is a spiral galaxy with no central bar (SA), an incomplete inner ring structure (rs), and moderately wound spiral arms (bc).
NGC 918 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Aries about 67 million light years from the Milky Way. It was discovered by John Herschel on Jan 11, 1831.
