NGC 24 is a spiral galaxy in the southern constellation of Sculptor, about 23.8 megalight-years distant from the Milky Way.[3] It was discovered by British astronomer William Herschel in 1785, and measures some 40,000 light-years across.[7] The general shape of this galaxy is specified by its morphological classification of SA(s)c,[5] which indicates it is an unbarred spiral with no ring-like structure and moderate to loosely-wound spiral arms. This galaxy is positioned in the vicinity of the Sculptor Group, but is actually a background object that is more than three times as distant. It may form a pair with another background galaxy, NGC 45.[8]
NGC 24 | |
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Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
Constellation | Sculptor |
Right ascension | 00h 09m 56.542s[1] |
Declination | −24° 57′ 47.27″[1] |
Redshift | 0.00185±0.00001[2] |
Heliocentric radial velocity | 554.017±2.099 km/s[2] |
Distance | 23.8 Mly (7.31 Mpc)[3] |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.4[4] |
Absolute magnitude (V) | −17.61 |
Characteristics | |
Type | SA(s)c[5] |
Apparent size (V) | 5.7' x 1.5' |
Other designations | |
UGCA 2, ESO 472-G016, MCG-04-01-018, ESO-LV 4720160,[6] PGC 701, CGS 119[4] |