Galaxy NGC 488

NGC 488
NGC 488: Galaxy in Pisces; 500 mm Cassegrain f/7.2; SBIG STL11K; 310-70-70-70 min LRGB; Bernese Highlands; © 2015 Radek Chromik

History

The galaxy NGC 488 was discovered on 13 December 1784 by the German-British astronomer William Herschel with his self-made 18.7 inch f/12.8 reflector telescope in Slough, England. On 6 December 1850, the engineer Bindon Stoney roamed the 72 inch reflector telescope in Birr Castle, Ireland «Leviathan» of his employer William Parsons, the 3rd Earl of Rosse this region of the starry sky and came across the small galaxies NGC 486, NGC 490, NGC 492 and NGC 500. [196, 277]

Physical Properties

The galaxy NGC 488 shows a redshift of z ≈ 0.0075, which corresponds to a distance of about 29.3 Mpc to 30.5 Mpc. NGC 490 shows a similar redshift of z ≈ 0.0074. NGC 486, NGC 492 and NGC 500 show a much higher redshift of z ≈ 0.04, which suggests a much greater distance. [145]

Revised+Historic NGC/IC, Version 22/9, © Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke [277]
NameRADecTypebMagvMagDimDreyer DescriptionIdentification, Remarks
NGC 48601 21 43.0+05 20 47Gx (E0)16.015.00.2 × 0.2eF, eS, stell, 5' n of h 103Gxy + star
NGC 48801 21 46.6+05 15 21Gx (Sb)11.210.35.4 × 3.9pB, L, R, svmbM, * 8 f 10'UGC 907, MCG 1-4-33, CGCG 411-33, IRAS 01191+0459
NGC 49001 22 02.8+05 22 04Gx (S)15.214.40.7 × 0.6vF, vS, R, 8' nf h 103MCG 1-4-35, CGCG 411-35, NPM1G +05.0055
NGC 49201 22 13.5+05 25 01Gx (SB?)16.415.60.7 × 0.6eF, vS, RMCG 1-4-38, CGCG 411-36
NGC 50001 22 39.3+05 23 16Gx (E-S0)15.214.20.8 × 0.6vF, vS, mbM, * 11 nf 1'MCG 1-4-40, CGCG 411-39, NPM1G +05.0056

Finder Chart

The galaxy is located in the constellation Pisces. The best time to observe is December to June, when it is highest at night.

Chart Galaxy NGC 488
Galaxy NGC 488 in constellation Pisces. Charts created using SkySafari 6 Pro and STScI Digitized Sky Survey. Limiting magnitudes: Constellation chart ≈ 6.5 mag, DSS2 close-ups ≈ 20 mag. [149, 160]

Visual Observation

Pending ...

More Objects Nearby (±20°)

References

145SIMBAD astronomical database; simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad
149SkySafari 6 Pro, Simulation Curriculum; skysafariastronomy.com
160The STScI Digitized Sky Survey; archive.stsci.edu/cgi-bin/dss_form
196Celestial Atlas by Curtney Seligman; cseligman.com/text/atlas.htm (2020-12-28)
277«Historische Deep-Sky Kataloge» von Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke; klima-luft.de/steinicke (2021-02-17)