NGC 502

NGC 502, also occasionally referred to as PGC 5034 or UGC 922, is a lenticular galaxy in the constellation Pisces.^[2] It is located approximately 113 million light-years from the Solar System^[4] and was discovered on 25 September 1862 by German astronomer Heinrich Louis d'Arrest.^[5] When the Morphological Catalogue of Galaxies was published between 1962 and 1974, the identifications of NGC 502 and NGC 505 were reversed. In reality, NGC 502 is equal to MGC +01-04-041 and not MCG +01-04-043 as noted in the catalogue.^[6]

NGC 502
SDSS view of NGC 502
Observation data (J2000[1] epoch)
Constellation	Pisces[2]
Right ascension	01h 22m 55.5s[3]
Declination	+09° 02′ 57″[3]
Redshift	0.008279 ± 0.000163[1]
Heliocentric radial velocity	(2472 ± 49) km/s[1]
Distance	113 Mly[4]
Apparent magnitude (V)	12.7[2]
Apparent magnitude (B)	13.7[2]
Characteristics
Type	S0[2]
Apparent size (V)	1.1' × 1.0'[2]
Other designations
GC 293, 2MASS J01225553+0902570, UGC 922, PGC 5034 [1][5]

Observation history

Arrest discovered NGC 502 using an 11" reflecting telescope in Copenhagen. His position, which he measured on four separate nights, matches with both UGC 922 and PGC 5034.^[6] John Louis Emil Dreyer, creator of the New General Catalogue, described the galaxy as "considerably bright, small, round, brighter middle and nucleus".^[5]

NGC 502 (SDSS)

See also

• Elliptical galaxy
• List of NGC objects (1–1000)
• Pisces (constellation)