About NGC 1023
Description
NGC 1023 is a bright lenticular (S0) galaxy in Perseus, about 36 million light-years away, and the dominant member of the small NGC 1023 group. Its smooth, lens-shaped profile, tapering to thin disk extensions on either side, makes it one of the more elegant lenticulars in the northern sky. A small companion, NGC 1023A, sits embedded in the eastern outer disk and appears to be a recently captured dwarf in the late stages of merging. At magnitude 9.4, NGC 1023 is one of the brightest galaxies in Perseus and a satisfying target for amateur scopes.
Observing Tips
A 4-inch at moderate power shows a bright, elongated lens-shaped glow with a star-like nucleus. An 8-inch at 150-200x reveals the smooth, sharply concentrated bulge and the disk extensions tapering symmetrically east and west — almost photographic in feel. A 12-inch begins to hint at the small companion NGC 1023A as a brightening on the eastern flank. Star-hop from Algol (Beta Persei) about 7 degrees east. Best observed October through March.
History
Discovered by William Herschel on 18 October 1786. NGC 1023 has been a key reference object in stellar-dynamical measurements of supermassive black holes; observations in the 2000s revealed a central black hole of about 40 million solar masses, well above the typical scaling for galaxies of its luminosity.
Fun Facts
NGC 1023 hosts an unusually rich population of intermediate-age globular clusters, evidence that its smooth outer disk is the relic of an earlier merger that bulked up the cluster system. Its overweight central black hole has made it a popular test case for theories of how lenticulars accumulate central mass without ongoing star formation.
Observe
1Properties
Position & Identifiers
2How easy to spot?
| Telescope | Bortle 3 | Bortle 4 | Bortle 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80 mm refractor 80mm refr. | Easy | Easy | Medium+ |
| 150 mm Newton 150mm Newt. | Easy | Easy | Easy |
| Celestron C8 (203 mm SCT) C8 203mm | Easy | Easy | Easy |
Bortle 3 = rural · 4 = outer suburbs · 5 = suburbs
3Visibility
Set a location in User Settings to see visibility data.
4
Eyepiece View
5
Best Magnification
Explore
6
Surface Brightness
7
Morphology Decoder
8
Inclination & True Shape
9
Redshift
10
Size Comparator
Discover
11
Light Travel Time Machine
12
Relativistic Travel
Nearby in the Sky
Other targets within a few degrees — pan your scope a little and keep exploring.
Visibility scores assume a 150 mm Newton at Bortle 4.
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