Key facts
- Constellation
- Cetus
- Right ascension
- 00 39 08.392
- Declination
- −14 ° 10 ′ 22.25 ″
- Heliocentric radial velocity
- 1454.4 km/s
- Distance
- 67 Mly (20.6 Mpc )
- Type
- SB(s)m
- Size
- 25 to 30 kly
- Apparent size v
- 1.85 ′ × 0.85 ′
via Wikipedia infobox
~1 min read
Encyclopedic overview
NGC 178 is a Magellanic spiral galaxy in the constellation of Cetus. The compiler of the New General Catalogue, John Louis Emil Dreyer noted that NGC 178 was "faint, small, much extended 0°, brighter middle". It was discovered on November 3, 1885, by Ormond Stone.
Due to its high rate of star formation NGC 178 is a starburst galaxy. It is forming new stars at a rate of 0.55 M☉ per year. The peculiar morphology of this galaxy may be a sign of it being a galaxy merger.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Q164982” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.