| NGC 502 | |
|---|---|
| SDSS view of NGC 502 | |
| Observation data (J2000 [1] epoch) | |
| Constellation | Pisces [2] |
| Right ascension | 01h 22m 55.5s [3] |
| Declination | +09° 02′ 57″ [3] |
| Redshift | 0.008279 ± 0.000163 [1] |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | (2472 ± 49) km/s [1] |
| Distance | 113 Mly [4] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.7 [2] |
| Apparent magnitude (B) | 13.7 [2] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | S0 [2] |
| Apparent size (V) | 1.1' × 1.0' [2] |
| Other designations | |
| GC 293, 2MASS J01225553+0902570, UGC 922, PGC 5034 [1] [5] | |
NGC 502, also occasionally referred to as PGC 5034 or UGC 922, is a lenticular galaxy in the constellation Pisces. [2] It is located approximately 113 million light-years from the Solar System [4] and was discovered on 25 September 1862 by German astronomer Heinrich Louis d'Arrest. [5] When the Morphological Catalogue of Galaxies was published between 1962 and 1974, the identifications of NGC 502 and NGC 505 were reversed. In reality, NGC 502 is equal to MGC +01-04-041 and not MCG +01-04-043 as noted in the catalogue. [6]
Arrest discovered NGC 502 using an 11" reflecting telescope in Copenhagen. His position, which he measured on four separate nights, matches with both UGC 922 and PGC 5034. [6] John Louis Emil Dreyer, creator of the New General Catalogue, described the galaxy as "considerably bright, small, round, brighter middle and nucleus". [5]