| NGC 945 | |
| Epoch: | J2000 |
| Appmag B: | 1202h 28m 36s |
| Dec: | -10° 32 20 |
| Ra: | 02h 28m 36s |
| Sbrightness: | 23.01 mag/arcsec2 |
NGC 945 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Cetus.[1] It is located south of the celestial equator. It is estimated to be 200 million light-years from the Milky Way and about 135,000 light-years in diameter.[2] Together with NGC 948, it forms a gravitationally bound pair of galaxies. In the same area of the sky there are, among other things: the galaxies NGC 942, NGC 943, NGC 950, IC 230. The Type Ib supernova SN 1998dt was observed here. The object was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on November 28, 1785. It is within close proximity to NGC 948.
NGC 948 is a spiral galaxy located extremely close to NGC 945.[3] Its speed relative to the cosmic microwave background is 4,259 ± 17 km/s,[4] which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 62.8 ± 4.4 Mpc (~205 million ly). NGC 948 was discovered by American astronomer Lewis Swift in 1886. The luminosity class of NGC 948 is III and it has a broad HI line. With a surface brightness equal to 14.17 mag/am2, NGC 948 is classified as a low surface brightness galaxy (LSB).[5]
The supernova SN 1998dt was discovered in NGC 945 on September 1, 1998, by T. Shefler of the University of California at Berkeley[6] as part of the LOSS (Lick Observatory Supernova Search) program at the Lick observatory. This supernova is classified as a type Ib.[7]
NGC 945 is the brightest galaxy in a group of at least 7 members that bears its name.[8] The other six galaxies in the NGC 945 group are NGC 948, NGC 950, NGC 977, MCG -2-7-20, MCG -2-7-32 and MCG -2-7-337.