Ara is a southern constellation between Scorpius, Telescopium, Triangulum Australe, and Norma. It was one of the Greek bulk described by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations designated by the International Astronomical Union.
NGC 281, IC 11 or Sh2-184 is a bright emission nebula and part of an H II region in the northern constellation of Cassiopeia and is part of the Milky Way's Perseus Spiral Arm. This 20×30 arcmin sized nebulosity is also associated with open cluster IC 1590, several Bok globules and the multiple star, B 1. It collectively forms Sh2-184, spanning over a larger area of 40 arcmin. A recent distance from radio parallaxes of water masers at 22 GHz made during 2014 is estimated it lies 2.82±0.20 kpc. from us. Colloquially, NGC 281 is also known as the Pacman Nebula for its resemblance to the video game character.
Messier 36 or M36, also known as NGC 1960, is an open cluster of stars in the somewhat northern Auriga constellation. It was discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654, who described it as a nebulous patch. The cluster was independently re-discovered by Guillaume Le Gentil in 1749, then Charles Messier observed it in 1764 and added it to his catalogue. It is about 1,330 pc away from Earth. The cluster is very similar to the Pleiades cluster (M45), and if as far away it would be of similar apparent magnitude.
NGC 16 is a lenticular galaxy located in the Pegasus constellation. It was discovered on September 8, 1784, by William Herschel.
NGC 7048 is a planetary nebula in the constellation of Cygnus. The bright star to the lower left of the nebula is a magnitude 10.5 star, designated TYC 3589-4652-1. The nebula is slightly brighter along the west and east sides. This planetary nebula has an apparent magnitude of 12.1. NGC 7048 was discovered by Édouard Stephan on 19 October 1878 using a 31.5-inch reflector.
NGC 296 is a low surface brightness unbarred spiral galaxy in the constellation of Pisces. The designation NGC 295 is sometimes mistakenly used for NGC 296.
NGC 4550 is a barred lenticular galaxy located in the constellation of Virgo that can be seen with amateur telescopes. It lies at a distance of 50 million light-years from the Milky Way and is a member of the Virgo Cluster.
NGC 121 is a globular cluster in the Small Magellanic Cloud, in the constellation of Tucana. It was first discovered by John Herschel on September 20, 1835. The compiler of the New General Catalogue, John Louis Emil Dreyer, described this object as "pretty bright, pretty small, little extended, very gradually brighter middle".
NGC 129 is an open cluster in the constellation Cassiopeia. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1788. It is located almost exactly halfway between the bright stars Caph and γ Cassiopeiae. It is large but not dense and can be observed by binoculars, through which the most obvious component is a small triangle of stars of magnitude 8 and 9, located in the center of the cluster.
NGC 439 is a lenticular galaxy of type SAB0^-(rs)? located in the constellation Sculptor. It was discovered on September 27, 1834 by John Herschel. It was described by Dreyer as "pretty bright, small, round, gradually brighter middle."
NGC 461 is an intermediate spiral galaxy of type SAB(s)c located in the constellation Sculptor. It was discovered on September 25, 1834 by John Herschel. It was described by Dreyer as "pretty bright, round, gradually a little brighter middle ."
NGC 5662 is an open cluster in the constellation Centaurus. It was discovered by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille on May 17, 1752 from South Africa. James Dunlop observed it on July 10, 1826 from Parramatta, Australia and added it to his catalog as No. 342.
NGC 5774 is an intermediate spiral galaxy approximately 71 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Virgo. It was discovered by Irish engineer Bindon Stoney on April 26, 1851.
NGC 4596 is a barred lenticular galaxy located about 55 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. NGC 4596 was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on March 15, 1784. NGC 4596 is a member of the Virgo Cluster and has an inclination of about 38°.
NGC 5468 is an intermediate spiral galaxy located in the constellation Virgo. It is located at a distance of about 140 million light-years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 5468 is about 110,000 light-years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on March 5, 1785.
NGC 765 is an intermediate spiral galaxy located in the constellation Aries. It is located at a distance of circa 220 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 765 is about 195,000 light years across. It was discovered by Albert Marth on October 8, 1864. The galaxy has an extensive hydrogen (HI) disk with low surface brightness, whose diameter is estimated to be 240 kpc.
NGC 3239 is an irregular galaxy in the constellation of Leo. It is the host of SN 2012A, the first supernova of 2012. The galaxy, which was discovered in 1784 by William Herschel, is part of the New Galactic Catalogue, and with an apparent magnitude of 13.5, is not visible to the naked eye. It has been shown to have many HII regions, while also having some star formation regions. These signs are common in galactic mergers, which is why it is believed that NGC 3239 is the result of a galactic merger. The supernova SN 2012A was discovered in this galaxy and has been classified as a type II-P supernova, with a shorter plateau and non-constant luminosity.
NGC 4318 is a small lenticular galaxy located about 72 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered by astronomer John Herschel on January 18, 1828. NGC 4318 is a member of the Virgo W′ group, a group of galaxies in the background of the Virgo Cluster that is centered on the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 4365.
NGC 3393 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Hydra. It is located at a distance of circa 180 million light-years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 3393 is about 140,000 light-years across. It was discovered by John Herschel on March 24, 1835. It is a Type II Seyfert galaxy. The galaxy is known to host two supermassive black holes, which are the nearest known pair of supermassive black holes to Earth.
NGC 5641 is a type Sb-barred spiral galaxy in the constellation of Boötes, registered in New General Catalogue (NGC). It is located five degrees east of NGC 5466.
