The Local Group is the galaxy group that includes the Milky Way, where Earth is located. It has a total diameter of roughly 3 megaparsecs (10 million light-years; 9×1019 kilometres), and a total mass of the order of 2×1012 solar masses (4×1042 kg). It consists of two collections of galaxies in a "dumbbell" shape; the Milky Way and its satellites form one lobe, and the Andromeda Galaxy and its satellites constitute the other. The two collections are separated by about 800 kiloparsecs (3×10^6 ly; 2×1019 km) and are moving toward one another with a velocity of 123 km/s. The group itself is a part of the larger Virgo Supercluster, which may be a part of the Laniakea Supercluster. The exact number of galaxies in the Local Group is unknown as some are occluded by the Milky Way; however, at least 80 members are known, most of which are dwarf galaxies.
NGC 300 (also known as Caldwell 70 or the Sculptor Pinwheel Galaxy) is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor. It was discovered on 5 August 1826 by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop. It is one of the closest galaxies to the Local Group, and probably lies between the latter and the Sculptor Group. It is the brightest of the five main spirals in the direction of the Sculptor Group. It is inclined at an angle of 42° when viewed from Earth and shares many characteristics of the Triangulum Galaxy. It is 94,000 light-years in diameter, somewhat smaller than the Milky Way, and has an estimated mass of (2.9 ± 0.2) × 1010M☉.
NGC 55, also known as the String of Pearls Galaxy, is a Magellanic type barred spiral galaxy located about 6.5 million light-years away in the constellation Sculptor. It was discovered on 7 July 1826 by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop. Along with its neighbor NGC 300, it is one of the closest galaxies to the Local Group, probably lying between the Milky Way and the Sculptor Group. It has an estimated mass of (2.0 ± 0.4) × 1010M☉.
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".
Messier 60 or M60, also known as NGC 4649, is an elliptical galaxy approximately 57 million light-years away in the equatorial constellation of Virgo. Together with NGC 4647, it forms a pair known as Arp 116. Messier 60 and nearby elliptical galaxy Messier 59 were discovered by Johann Gottfried Koehler in April 1779, observing a comet in the same part of the sky. Charles Messier added both to his catalogue about three days after this.
Messier 110, or M110, also known as NGC 205, is a dwarf elliptical galaxy that is a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy in the Local Group.
The Sculptor Galaxy is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor. The Sculptor Galaxy is a starburst galaxy, which means that it is currently undergoing a period of intense star formation.
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 3109 is a small barred Magellanic type spiral or irregular galaxy around 4.35 Mly away in the direction of the constellation of Hydra. NGC 3109 is believed to be tidally interacting with the dwarf elliptical galaxy Antlia Dwarf. It was discovered by John Herschel on March 24, 1835 while he was in what is now South Africa.
NGC 147 is a dwarf spheroidal galaxy about 2.58 Mly away in the constellation Cassiopeia. NGC 147 is a member of the Local group of galaxies and a satellite galaxy of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). It forms a physical pair with the nearby galaxy NGC 185, another remote satellite of M31. It was discovered by John Herschel in September 1829. Visually it is both fainter and slightly larger than NGC 185. This means that NGC 147 is more difficult to see than NGC 185, which is visible in small telescopes. In the Webb Society Deep-Sky Observer's Handbook, the visual appearance of NGC 147 is described as follows:
Large, quite faint, irregularly round; it brightens in the middle to a stellar 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 million 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 520, also known as the Flying Ghost, 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 2976 is a peculiar dwarf galaxy in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Major. It was discovered by German-born astronomer William Herschel on November 8, 1801, and catalogued as H I.285. J. L. E. Dreyer described it as, "bright, very large, much extended 152°, star involved". It is a member of the M81 Group and lies 1° 20′ to the southwest of Messier 81. The projected separation of this galaxy from the M81 Group is 190 kpc.
NGC 3077 is a small disrupted elliptical galaxy, a member of the M81 Group, which is located in the northern constellation Ursa Major. Despite being similar to an elliptical galaxy in appearance, it is peculiar for two reasons. First, it shows wispy edges and scattered dust clouds that are probably a result of gravitational interaction with its larger neighbors, similar to the galaxy M82. Second, this galaxy has an active nucleus. This caused Carl Seyfert in 1943 to include it in his list of galaxies, which are now called Seyfert Galaxies. However, NGC 3077, though an emission line galaxy, is today no longer classified as a Seyfert galaxy.
The Bubble Nebula in Barnard's Galaxy has the official designation of Hubble 1925 I as it was the first object recorded in a paper by Hubble 1925. It includes areas of bright H II emission. It is located north-west of the larger Hubble 1925 III.
NGC 4244, also known as Caldwell 26, is an edge-on loose spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici, and is part of the M94 Group or Canes Venatici I Group, a galaxy group relatively close to the Local Group containing the Milky Way. In the sky, it is located near the yellow naked-eye star, Beta Canum Venaticorum, but also near the barred spiral galaxy NGC 4151 and irregular galaxy NGC 4214.
NGC 24 is a spiral galaxy in the southern constellation of Sculptor, about 23.8 megalight-years distant from the Milky Way. It was discovered by British astronomer William Herschel in 1785, and measures some 40,000 light-years across. The general shape of this galaxy is specified by its morphological classification of SA(s)c, which indicates it is an unbarred spiral with no ring-like structure and moderate to loosely-wound spiral arms. This galaxy is positioned in the vicinity of the Sculptor Group, but is actually a background object that is more than three times as distant. It may form a pair with another background galaxy, NGC 45.
NGC 45 is a low surface brightness spiral galaxy in the equatorial constellation of Cetus. It was discovered on 11 November 1835 by the English astronomer John Herschel. The galaxy is located at a distance of 22 million light years and is receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of 466 km/s. It is located in the vicinity of the Sculptor Group, but is most likely a background galaxy.
NGC 2775, also known as Caldwell 48, is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Cancer. It is 67 million light-years away from the Milky Way. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1783. NGC 2775 belongs to the Antlia-Hydra Cluster of galaxies and is the most prominent member of the NGC 2775 Group, a small galaxy group in the Virgo Super-cluster, along with the Local Group. Other members of the NGC 2775 Group include NGC 2777 and UGC 4781.
NGC 1084 is an unbarred spiral galaxy in the constellation Eridanus. It is located at a distance of about 63 million light-years away from the Milky Way. The galaxy was discovered by William Herschel on 10 January 1785. It has multiple spiral arms, which are not well defined. It belongs in the same galaxy group with NGC 988, NGC 991, NGC 1022, NGC 1035, NGC 1042, NGC 1047, NGC 1052 and NGC 1110. This group is in turn associated with the Messier 77 group.
