NGC
Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2009 6:44 pm
Ok, I may be the only person who dosent know this, so hear goes.
What does "NGC" stand for when desingnating gallaxies?
spike
What does "NGC" stand for when desingnating gallaxies?
spike
spike wrote:What does "NGC" stand for when desingnating gallaxies?
The New General Catalogue (NGC) is a well-known catalogue of deep sky objects in astronomy. It contains 7,840 objects, known as the NGC objects. The NGC is one of the largest comprehensive catalogues, as it includes all types of deep space objects and is not confined to, for example, galaxies.
The catalogue was compiled in the 1880s by J. L. E. Dreyer using observations mostly from William Herschel and his son John, for total of 7,840 objects. Dreyer had already published an update to the Herschel's Catalogue of Nebulae, but a new update was turned down by the Royal Astronomical Society, who asked Dreyer to compile a New General Catalogue.
The NGC was later expanded with two Index Catalogues (IC I in 1896 & IC II in 1905), adding a further 5,326 objects. Most of these later discoveries had been made possible by the advent of photography.