NGC

Science & Engineering abbreviation · Astronomy & Space

NGC
Stands forNew General Catalogue
CategoriesScience & Engineering

NGC stands for New General Catalogue, an astronomy & Space abbreviation.

Catalogue of 7,840 nebulae, star clusters and galaxies compiled by John Louis Emil Dreyer and published in 1888. NGC numbers are still standard designations, as in NGC 7000, the North America Nebula, and NGC 224, the Andromeda Galaxy.

Example: The Hubble image shows NGC 1300, a barred spiral galaxy in Eridanus.

Usage notes

Its full title is the New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars; it built on the observations of William and John Herschel. Dreyer later added two Index Catalogues (IC) with about 5,000 more objects. Many errors in the original have been corrected in revised editions.

More astronomy & Space abbreviations

  • MECO – Main engine cutoff
  • MEO – Medium Earth orbit
  • MOND – Modified Newtonian dynamics
  • Mpc – Megaparsec
  • NEA – Near-Earth asteroid
  • NEO – Near-Earth object
  • NS – Neutron star
  • pc – Parsec
  • PHA – Potentially hazardous asteroid
  • QSO – Quasi-stellar object
  • RA – Right ascension
  • RP-1 – Rocket Propellant-1

See all 83 astronomy & Space abbreviations →

Edited by the AbbreviationList.com team. Spotted an error or a missing meaning? Contact us.