The ('''NGC''') is the most well-known
Catalogue of
Deep Sky Objects in
Amateur Astronomy . It contains nearly 8,000 objects, known as the '''NGC objects'''. The NGC is one of the largest comprehensive catalogues, as it includes all types of deep sky objects (not specialised to just
Galaxies for instance).
The catalogue was compiled in the
1880s by
J. L. E. Dreyer using observations mostly from
William Herschel , and then subsequently expanded with two
Index Catalogue s (IC I & IC II), adding nearly 5,000 objects.
Objects in the southern
Sky are somewhat less well catalogued but many were observed by
John Herschel . The NGC contained many errors which have for the most part been eliminated by the
Revised NGC .
displays numerous spiral arms filled with bright stars, blue star clusters, and dark dust lanes. It spans about 30,000 light years, lies about 60 million light years from Earth and can be seen with a small telescope in the constellation of Ursa Major.]]
