NGC 300 is the brightest of the five larger spiral galaxies in the direction of the Sculptor Group of galaxies. Until recently, NGC 300 and NGC 55 (which see for a chart of their relative positions) were thought to be members of that group, but they are now thought to be foreground galaxies. (The two galaxies are probably gravitationally bound, as they are only a million or so light years apart.) The 145 km/sec recessional velocity of NGC 300 is too small to be a reliable distance indicator, and redshift-independent distance estimates range from 4 to 9 million light years, with 7 or so million light years being the most accepted guesstimate. Given that, its apparent size of 22 by 16 arcmin corresponds to about 45 thousand light years. It is a relatively diffuse spiral with a poorly defined core, much like M33, in Triangulum. As such, it is an absolutely perfect example of its type. The image immediately below shows the galaxy as it would appear if our eyes were hundreds of times more sensitive to light and color than they are. In that sense, it is a "realistic" image, even though giving a false impression of the actual appearance of the galaxy as it would be seen by the eye, even through a telescope. Used by the de Vaucouleurs Atlas of Galaxy Types as an example of galaxy type SA(s)d. (Image Credits: ESO)

The image below shows NGC 300 viewed through an Hα filter, so that gaseous regions heated by hot young stars or shock waves from stellar explosions stand out, while the visible and ultraviolet radiation of those stars is blocked, making them fade into the background. The image is in black and white, which is actually the way that all professional astronomical images are taken. Colors are added when combining images taken at different wavelengths, to highlight different features. (Image Credits: ESO)

The image below is a composite of visible light (colored red and yellow) images and a far UV GALEX image (colored blue), which emphasizes various features by use of the false colors used for the images. The result is that young hot blue stars stand out in the regions where they recently formed, while gases heated by their ultraviolet radiation and shock waves from stellar explosions appear in pink, and older stars in the core look yellow-green. This reveals more structural information than a "realistic" color choice, but is a "false-color" image in every sense of the phrase. (Image Credits: JPL-Caltech/OCIW/GALEX, NASA)

The image below is an HST image of the core of NGC 300, in which millions of stars are individually imaged. Studying such images over a period of time should allow the discovery of hundreds of Cepheid variables, and provide a far more accurate estimate of the galaxy's distance than is currently available. (Image Credits: Hubble Heritage Team (AURA / STScI), ESA, NASA)

The image below shows all of NGC 300 at upper left, the region imaged in detail (above) at upper right, and a small inset of the core at the bottom, to show just how detailed the HST image really is. (Image Credits: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI), HubbleSite)

Apparent size 0.7 by 0.5 arcmin.

Per Corwin, NGC 302 must be one of the stars near NGC 301. Various stars have been suggested at various times, but since the NGC is supposed to be about clusters and nebulae, the identification of a particular star that was mistaken for a nebula seems of less than earth-shaking importance; so the argument that posits the one listed above as the correct one will be covered in the next iteration of this page.

Per Dreyer, NGC 303 (Leavenworth list I (#20), 1860 RA 00 48 30, NPD 107 25.8) is "extremely faint, very small". The second Index Catalog lists a corrected 1860 RA (per Howe) of 00 47 57, and adds "extended 160 degrees". The corrected position precesses to RA 00 54 54.5, Dec -16 40 12, a little less than an arcmin south of the pair of galaxies, and the description fits their appearance, so the identification is certain. Apparent size 0.7 by 0.3 arcmin.

Apparent size 1.1 by 0.7 arcmin.

Half a dozen or so loosely scattered stars. (LEDA mistakenly identifies NGC 305 as a nearby galaxy, PGC 3325922; per Corwin, this is due to an error in an early version of the Revised NGC.)

Apparent size 0.8 arcmin.

Apparent size 1.6 by 0.7 arcmin.

Per Dreyer, NGC 308 (GC 5126, Ball using Lord Rosse's 6-foot telescope, 1860 RA 00 49 27, NPD 92 32.2) is "very faint, extremely small, 1' southeast of h77", h77 being NGC 307 (which see for images). The position precesses to RA 00 56 35.7, Dec -01 46 40, but there is nothing there save for some stars and NGC 307 itself. The obvious conclusion is that one of those stars must be what Ball observed, and mistakenly thought had some nebulosity. Per Corwin, Lord Rosse's detailed records of the object's position relative to NGC 307 (the mean of three nearly identical observations being only 55" distant, at PA 149 degrees) firmly establish that it was the star whose position is listed above.

Apparent size 3.0 by 2.4 arcmin. Used by the de Vaucouleurs Atlas of Galaxy Types as an example of galaxy type SAB(r)c.

Per Dreyer, NGC 310 (GC 5128, Ball using Lord Rosse's 6-foot telescope, 1860 RA 00 49 41, NPD 92 31.1) is "stellar". The position precesses to RA 00 56 49.7, Dec -01 45 35, but there is nothing there save some stars and a 17th-magnitude galaxy that is too faint to have been seen by Ball. Despite its faintness the galaxy (PGC 3325895) is listed as NGC 310 in some places; but per Corwin, Lord Rosse's detailed records of the object's position relative to NGC 307 (the mean of two nearly identical observations being about 232" distant, at PA 83 degrees) firmly establish that it was the substantially brighter star whose position is listed above and shown below.

(Listed in NED as 2MASXJ00565286-0146246.) As noted at NGC 310, the temptation to list a galaxy in place of a stellar or otherwise unidentified NGC object led to this galaxy being incorrectly listed as that object. Other than an apparent size of 0.35 by 0.2 arcmin, nothing seems to be known about it.

Apparent size 1.5 by 0.8 arcmin. (for now, see the wide-field image of NGC 315)

Apparent size 1.4 by 1.1 arcmin.

Per Dreyer, NGC 313 (GC 5059, the 3rd Lord Rosse, 1860 RA 00 50 09, NPD 60 23.5) is "very faint, extremely small, 1' northwest of II 210", II 210 being NGC 315 (which see for images). The position precesses to RA 00 57 44.5, Dec +30 21 59, just west of a triplet of stars. Per Corwin, the object was observed at Birr Castle on six occasions, being recorded as nebulous on five of those, but as a double star on the sixth (in lower resolution images, the northern pair looks like a single star, so the triplet would look like a double), so the identification seems certain.

Apparent size 0.9 by 0.8 arcmin.

Apparent size 3.0 by 2.5 arcmin. In looking at the images below, keep in mind that only the bright core of the galaxy can be seen without photography, so the stellar objects which to us seem well within the boundary of the galaxy appeared as separate objects to the visual observers of the 19th century.

Per Dreyer, NGC 316 (GC 5129, 3rd Lord Rosse, 1860 00 50 16, NPD 60 24.3) is "very faint, extremely small, stellar, 1' east of II 210", II 210 being NGC 315 (which see for images). The position precesses to RA 00 57 51.5, Dec +30 21 11, almost dead on the star, and given the description of NGC 316 as "stellar", the identification seems certain.

Apparent size for PGC 3442 is 1.4 by 1.3 arcmin; for PGC 3445, 1.1 by 0.5 arcmin. This does not count the northern extension of PGC 3442 or the southeastern extension of PGC 3445 caused by their interaction.

Per Dreyer, NGC 318 (GC 177, 3rd Lord Rosse, Stephan list XII, 1860 RA 00 50 28, NPD 60 19.8) is "very faint, very small, round, brighter middle". The position precesses to RA 00 58 03.7, Dec +30 25 40, less than half an arcmin from the galaxy, so the identification is certain. Apparent size 0.5 by 0.3 arcmin. (for now, see the wide-field image of NGC 315)

Apparent size 1.0 by 0.8 arcmin.

Per Dreyer, NGC 320 (Leavenworth list II (#295), 1860 RA 00 50 30, NPD 111 35.8) is "very faint, pretty small, extended 160°, 10th-magnitude star to the north". The second Index Catalog lists a corrected 1860 RA (per Howe) of 00 51 54. The corrected position precesses to RA 00 58 46.9, Dec -20 50 23, right on the galaxy, and there is a (12th-magnitude) star just north of the galaxy, so the identification is certain.

Per Dreyer, NGC 321 (GC 5130 = Marth 21, 1860 RA 00 50 34, NPD 95 51) is "extremely faint, very small". The position precesses to RA 00 57 40.1, Dec -05 05 31, less than an arcmin southeast of the galaxy, so the identification seems certain, and should not have involved any problems. However, careless errors in various databases have led to NGC 321 often being mislabeled as NGC 325, and a galaxy to the north (PGC 3435) being mislabeled as NGC 321 (as an example, Wikisky makes both these errors). As a result, discussions of these galaxies often refer to the wrong object. Apparent size 0.6 by 0.5 arcmin.

Apparent size 1.0 by 0.6 arcmin.

Apparent size 1.1 by 0.4 arcmin. Apparently interacting with PGC 95427.

Apparent size 0.15 by 0.1 arcmin. Apparently interacting with NGC 322 (which see for images). Nothing else available.

Apparent size 1.3 by 1.1 arcmin. (for now, see NGC 328 for a wide-field image)

Per Dreyer, NGC 324 (GC 181 = JH 2364, 1860 RA 00 50 40, NPD 131 12.6) is "questionable, faint, small, stellar". The position precesses to RA 00 57 12.6, Dec -40 27 06, but there is nothing there. However, per Corwin, if we assume that Herschel made exactly a half-degree error in the declination (a more common error than one might suppose) we land almost exactly on PGC 3416, so that galaxy has been more or less generally adopted as NGC 324. Whether that is what Herschel actually observed cannot be known, but it seems as good a guess as any. Apparent size 1.4 by 0.5 arcmin.

Per Dreyer, NGC 325 (GC 5131 = Marth 22, 1860 RA 00 50 41, NPD 95 53) is "very faint, very small". The position precesses to RA 00 57 47.0, Dec -05 07 31, about 0.8 arcmin south of PGC 3454, which under normal circumstances would be considered a reasonably certain identification. However, as noted at NGC 321, due to careless errors in some databases that galaxy has been treated as NGC 325 as often as not (as an example, even though most major databases now list the objects correctly, Wikisky misidentifies NGC 321 as NGC 325, and shows NGC 325 only as PGC 3454), so discussions of NGC 325 may refer to the correct galaxy, or to the one that is actually NGC 321. Apparent size 1.3 by 0.2 arcmin.

Apparent size 1.4 by 1.4 arcmin.

Per Dreyer, NGC 327 (GC 5133 = Marth 23, 1860 RA 00 50 50, NPD 95 54) is "faint, small, extended". The position precesses to RA 00 57 56.0, Dec -05 08 32, on the southern end of the galaxy, so the identification is certain. Apparent size 1.5 by 0.6 arcmin.

Apparent size 2.6 by 0.5 arcmin.

Apparent size 1.5 by 0.6 arcmin.

Apparent size 1.4 arcmin.

Per Dreyer, NGC 331 (Leavenworth list II (#296), 1860 RA 00 51 30 ±, NPD 93 28.8) is "extremely faint, very small, round, little brighter middle, 12th-magnitude star 3' northeast", the ± sign on the right ascension being due to Leavenworth stating that the right ascension was doubtful. The position precesses to RA 00 58 37.9, Dec -02 43 22, but there is nothing there, which might be expected given the disclaimer about the right ascension. The question is, can a reasonably certain identification be made under such circumstances? Presuming the declination is more or less accurate, we could scan east and west for a nebula that fits the description, but others have already done that for us. Per Corwin there are at least two galaxies that might fit the bill, PGC 3406 and PGC 2759. The former is closer to the NGC position, but has a 7th-magnitude star to the northwest that Corwin feels Leavenworth would certainly have mentioned, so he rejects it while noting that others have adopted it as NGC 331 despite that problem. The latter is further (11 1/2 minutes of time to the west), but has a star of about the right brightness 3' north-northeast of the galaxy, so Corwin feels it is the most suitable candidate for the NGC listing, and most references have followed his suggestion. For that reason this entry discusses NGC 331 as if it is PGC 2759; but since it is also commonly identified as PGC 3406, that galaxy is covered in the following entry. Based on a recessional velocity of 7140 km/sec, PGC 2759 is about 330 million light years away. Given that and its apparent size of 0.8 by 0.5 arcmin, it is about 75 thousand light years across. (Listed as NGC 331 in NED, but not in LEDA.)

As noted in the entry for NGC 331, the identification with PGC 2759 is uncertain at best, and it is possible (although unlikely) that PGC 3406 is the correct identification; but whether it is or not, it is treated as NGC 331 in some places, so it seems appropriate to discuss it here. Based on a recessional velocity of 13765 km/sec, a straightforward calculation indicates that PGC 3406 is about 640 million light years away. However, for objects at such distances we should take into account the Universal expansion during the time it took their light to reach us. Doing that shows that the galaxy was about 610 million light years away at the time the light by which we see it was emitted, about 620 million years ago (the difference between the two numbers being due to the expansion of the intervening space during the light-travel time). Given that and its apparent size of 0.6 by 0.3 arcmin, it is about 105 thousand light years across. (Listed as NGC 331 in LEDA, but not in NED.)

Apparent size 1.0 by 0.5 arcmin.

Per Dreyer, NGC 333 (Tempel list I (#5), 1860 RA 00 51 54, NPD 107 18) has "no description". The second Index Catalog lists a corrected 1860 NPD (per Howe) of 107 13.5. The corrected position precesses to RA 00 58 50.7, Dec -16 28 05, right on the galaxy, so the identification is certain. Based on a recessional velocity of 16210 km/sec, a straightforward calculation indicates that NGC 333 is about 755 million light years away. However, for galaxies at such distances we should take into account the Universal expansion during the time it took their light to reach us. Doing that shows that the galaxy was about 710 million light years away when the light by which we see it was emitted, about 728 million years ago (the difference between the two numbers being due to the expansion of the intervening space during the light-travel time. Given that and its apparent size of 1.0 by 0.4 arcmin, it is about 200 thousand light years across. It appears to have a faint companion (PGC 3073571, which see), sometimes called NGC 333B.

Apparent size 0.1 by 0.09 arcmin. Nothing else known. (Listed as PGC 3518 in NED, which is actually the designation of a galaxy to the south, and as PGC 3073571 in LEDA.) See NGC 333 for images.

Apparent size 1.2 by 0.6 arcmin.

Apparent size 1.1 by 0.3 arcmin.

Per Dreyer, NGC 336 (Leavenworth list I (#22), 1860 RA 00 52 30, NPD 109 10.8) is "very faint, very small, round, suddenly brighter middle". The position precesses to RA 00 59 24.9, Dec -18 25 24, or about 9 arcmin south of NGC 335, but there is nothing there. The effort to identify what Leavenworth saw has led to several candidates, including a double star, a galaxy still further to the south (PGC 3526), and most recently one only 7 arcmin south of NGC 335, but more than 10 arcmin to the west (namely, the one listed as the NGC object in this entry). Given only the description in the NGC, any of these could be correct; but fortunately (per Corwin), there is a sketch of area observed by Leavenworth whose star field only matches the one near PGC 3470, so despite the unfortunate error in its right ascension, the identification of NGC 336 as PGC 3470 seems certain, and has been adopted by most major databases (although in the case of LEDA, a search for NGC 336 provides an identifier which is the same as for PGC 3470, but the entry for that object does not specifically state that it is NGC 336). Based on a recessional velocity of 5500 km/sec, PGC 3470 is about 250 million light years away. Given that and its apparent size of 0.75 by 0.3 arcmin, it is about 55 thousand light years across. Its peculiar appearance has led to suggestions that it may be a double system or a colliding pair of galaxies, but far better images than those shown below will be needed to decide whether those suggestions should be given any credence.

As noted at the entry for NGC 336, PGC 3526 is identified as NGC 336 in various places (for instance, a Wikisky search for NGC 336 shows PGC 3526, albeit with only its PGC label); but its star field does not match a sketch by the discoverer of NGC 336, so its identification with that object is almost certainly wrong. Based on a recessional velocity of 2000 km/sec, PGC 3526 is about 95 million light years away. Given that and its apparent size of 3.0 by 1.4 arcmin, it is about 80 thousand light years across.

Apparent size 3.0 by 1.8 arcmin.

Apparent size 6.6 by 5.0 arcmin. A very low surface brightness object.

Apparent size 1.8 by 0.6 arcmin.

Apparent size 2.2 arcmin. Given its richness, possibly a globular cluster; only a color-magnitude diagram would tell for sure.

Apparent size 0.9 by 0.4 arcmin.

Based on a recessional velocity of 4555 km/sec, NGC 341 is about 210 million light years away. Given that and its apparent size of 1.2 by 1.0 arcmin, it is about 75 thousand light years across. A starburst galaxy, presumably as a result of its interaction with its companion.

Located at end of one arm of NGC 341, which see for images. Given that, presumably at the same distance of about 210 million light years, in which case its apparent size of 0.3 by 0.15 arcmin corresponds to about 18 thousand light years.

Apparent size 0.8 by 0.4 arcmin. (for now, see wide-field image of NGC 340)

Per Dreyer, NGC 343 (Muller list II (#297), 1860 RA 00 54 02, NPD 113 58.8) is "extremely faint, very small, irregularly round, suddenly brighter middle and nucleus (perhaps stellar?)". The position and description are identical to NGC 344 save for being 1' further north, so NGC 343 and 344 should be a pair of nebulae separated by about an arcmin in the north-south direction. The positions precess to RA 01 00 52.0, Dec -23 13 29 and RA 01 00 52.0, Dec -23 14 29, but there is nothing there. This is unfortunately common with Leander-McCormick Observatory observations, which often have errors in right ascension of 2 or more minutes of time, and means that a painstaking assessment of possible objects along a more or less east-west line has to be undertaken to decide what, if anything, fits the observations. Per Corwin, the most likely pair appears to be PGC 133741 for NGC 343, and PGC 198261 for NGC 344. Their right ascensions are about twice as far "off" as usual (4m of time), and their relative positions are not perfect, but their appearance and declinations more or less accurately fit Muller's observation, and do so better than anything else along the east-west line; so for lack of a better choice I have accepted his suggestion. (NED also adopts Corwin's identifications, though with a note stating that the NGC identification is uncertain, as other candidates have been suggested elsewhere; but LEDA and Wikisky assign the same object (PGC 133741) to both NGC entries.) Apparent size 0.7 by 0.3 arcmin.

Per Dreyer, NGC 344 (Muller list II (#298), 1860 RA 00 54 02, NPD 113 59.8) is "extremely faint, very small, irregularly round, suddenly brighter middle and nucleus (perhaps stellar?)". The position and description are identical to NGC 343 save for being 1' further south, so NGC 343 and 344 should be a pair of nebulae separated by about an arcmin in the north-south direction. For that reason, refer to NGC 343 for a discussion of the NGC objects' more or less likely identification with PGC 133741 and 198261, and for images of the pair. Apparent size 0.4 by 0.2 arcmin.

Apparent size 1.2 by 0.8 arcmin.

Apparent size 14 by 11 arcmin. The largest emission nebula in the Small Magellanic Cloud.

Per Dreyer, NGC 347 (GC 5138 = Marth 28, 1860 00 54 31, NPD 97 30) is "very faint, very small". The position precesses to RA 01 01 35.4, Dec -06 44 43, right on the galaxy, so the identification is certain. (Despite that, some references list other objects as NGC 347, so as is often the case, reading about some NGC object doesn't necessarily mean that the writer is referring to the same object as other authors; that is one reason for using a photographic as well as a text description for each entry.) Based on a recessional velocity of 5585 km/sec, NGC 347 is about 260 million light years away. Given that and its apparent size of 0.6 by 0.45 arcmin, it is about 45 thousand light years across.

Apparent size 0.8 by 0.7 arcmin.

Apparent size 1.4 by 1.3 arcmin.