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Catalog family

Dreyer's General Catalogues

The New General Catalogue and its two Index Catalogue supplements, compiled by J. L. E. Dreyer from the visual discoveries of the Herschels and their successors. Together the NGC and IC number nearly 13,000 galaxies, clusters, and nebulae and remain the most widely used designations for deep-sky objects.

Highlights

  • NGC + IC — the backbone of deep-sky designations

Knowledge connections

Sources

The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.

  • IAUInternational Astronomical Union

    Official naming, definitions, constellation boundaries, and astronomical nomenclature.