Messier 61 is an intermediate barred spiral galaxy in the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. It was first discovered by Barnaba Oriani on May 5, 1779, six days before Charles Messier discovered the same galaxy. Messier had observed it on the same night as Oriani but had mistaken it for a comet. Its distance has been estimated to be 45.61 million light years from the Milky Way Galaxy. It is a member of the M61 Group of galaxies, which is a member of the Virgo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the southern edge of the Virgo Supercluster.
Centaurus A is a galaxy in the constellation of Centaurus. It was discovered in 1826 by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop from his home in Parramatta, in New South Wales, Australia. There is considerable debate in the literature regarding the galaxy's fundamental properties such as its Hubble type and distance. NGC 5128 is one of the closest radio galaxies to Earth, so its active galactic nucleus has been extensively studied by professional astronomers. The galaxy is also the fifth-brightest in the sky, making it an ideal amateur astronomy target. It is only visible from the southern hemisphere and low northern latitudes.
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 185 is a dwarf spheroidal galaxy located 2.08 million light-years from Earth, appearing in the constellation Cassiopeia. It is a member of the Local Group, and is a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). NGC 185 was discovered by William Herschel on November 30, 1787, and he cataloged it "H II.707". John Herschel observed the object again in 1833 when he cataloged it as "h 35", and then in 1864 when he cataloged it as "GC 90" within his General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters. NGC 185 was first photographed between 1898 and 1900 by James Edward Keeler with the Crossley Reflector of Lick Observatory. Unlike most dwarf elliptical galaxies, NGC 185 contains young stellar clusters, and star formation proceeded at a low rate until the recent past. NGC 185 has an active galactic nucleus (AGN) and is usually classified as a type 2 Seyfert galaxy, though its status as a Seyfert is questioned. It is possibly the closest Seyfert galaxy to Earth, and is the only known Seyfert in the Local Group.
NGC 1309 is a spiral galaxy located approximately 120 million light-years away, appearing in the constellation Eridanus. It is about 75,000 light-years across, and is about 3/4s the width of the Milky Way. Its shape is classified as SA(s)bc, meaning that it has moderately wound spiral arms and no ring. Bright blue areas of star formation can be seen in the spiral arms, while the yellowish central nucleus contains older-population stars. NGC 1309 is one of over 200 members of the Eridanus Group of galaxies.
NGC 4921 is a barred spiral galaxy in the Coma Cluster, located in the constellation Coma Berenices. It is about 320 million light-years from Earth. The galaxy has a nucleus with a bar structure that is surrounded by a distinct ring of dust that contains recently formed, hot blue stars. The outer part consists of unusually smooth, poorly distinguished spiral arms.
NGC 428 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation of Cetus, with its spiral structure distorted and warped, possibly the result of the collision of two galaxies. There appears to be a substantial amount of star formation occurring within NGC 428 and it lacks well defined arms — a telltale sign of a galaxy merger. In 2015 the Hubble Space Telescope made a close-up shot of the galaxy with its Advanced Camera for Surveys and its Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. The structure of NGC 428 has been compared to NGC 5645.
NGC 148 is a lenticular galaxy located in the constellation Sculptor. It is about 40,000 light years across. It is in a group of three galaxies along with MCG-5-2-16 and IC 1555. It is a Shapley-Ames galaxy.
NGC 7047 is an intermediate spiral galaxy located about 270 million light-years away in the constellation of Aquarius. NGC 7047 is also classified as a LINER-type galaxy. NGC 7047 has an estimated diameter of 127,350 light years. It was discovered by French astronomer Édouard Stephan on August 20, 1873. In 2009 a supernova was found in NGC 7047.
NGC 5559 is a barred spiral galaxy, located 240 million light-years away in the constellation of Boötes. It was discovered on April 10, 1785, by the astronomer William Herschel.
NGC 4523 is a Magellanic spiral galaxy located about 35 to 50 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. It was discovered by astronomer Heinrich d'Arrest on April 19, 1865. NGC 4523 is a member of the Virgo Cluster. A distance of for NGC 4523 was derived from using yellow supergiants in the galaxy as standard candles.
NGC 3884 is a spiral galaxy located about 330 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. The galaxy was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 27, 1785 and 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 2336 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Camelopardalis. It is located at a distance of circa 100 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 2336 is about 200,000 light years across. It was discovered by Wilhelm Tempel in 1876.
NGC 4070 is an elliptical galaxy located 340 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. NGC 4070 was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 27, 1785. It was rediscovered by John Herschel on April 29, 1832 and was listed as NGC 4059. The galaxy is a member of the NGC 4065 Group.
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.
NGC 931 is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Triangulum. It is located at a distance of circa 200 million light-years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 931 is about 200,000 light years across. It was discovered by Heinrich d'Arrest on September 26, 1865. It is classified as a Seyfert galaxy.
NGC 4316 is an edge-on spiral galaxy located about 70 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered by astronomer Wilhelm Tempel on March 17, 1882. NGC 4316 is a member of the Virgo Cluster and is classified as LINER and as a Seyfert galaxy.
NGC 991 is an intermediate spiral galaxy the constellation Cetus. This galaxy was discovered by astronomer William Herschel in 1785.
NGC 4589 is an elliptical galaxy located in the Draco constellation. It is at a distance of about 108 million light-years away from the Earth. It is known by its designations PGC 42139 or UGC 7797.
