---
title: "NGC 1279"
url: "https://spacecatalog.org/object/ngc-1279"
release: "DR1"
licence: "CC-BY-SA-4.0"
citation: "SpaceCatalog. NGC 1279 [catalogue entry]. Data release DR1 (2026-08-21). https://spacecatalog.org/object/ngc-1279"
---

# NGC 1279

NGC 1279 is a lenticular [galaxy](https://spacecatalog.org/galaxies) S0 in the constellation [Perseus](https://spacecatalog.org/constellation/perseus), 333.6 Mly from Earth, shining at apparent magnitude 17.23 (B). Other catalogues list it as 2MASX J03195907+4128462, LEDA 12441 and LEDA 12448, among 6 designations in total. It was discovered in 1876.

## At a glance

- **WHAT IT IS:** Lenticular galaxy
- **HOW FAR:** 333.6 Mly — A luminosity distance, from its redshift — how faint it looks. The light itself left 330 million years ago.
- **HOW BIG ON THE SKY:** 35″ — Small enough that the full Moon would cover it several times over.
- **HOW BRIGHT (B):** 17.23 — Faint: it takes a large telescope.
- **WHERE TO LOOK:** [Perseus](https://spacecatalog.org/constellation/perseus) — The patch of sky it sits in, as seen from Earth.

## Properties

| Quantity | Value |
| --- | --- |
| CLASS | Lenticular galaxy S0 |
| DISTANCE FROM EARTH | 333.6 Mly ±20 — by redshift (CMB frame), flat ΛCDM with H0 = 70 km/s/Mpc |
| APPARENT MAGNITUDE (B) | 17.23 |
| CONSTELLATION | Perseus |
| RIGHT ASCENSION (J2000) | 03h 19m 59.1s |
| DECLINATION (J2000) | +41° 28′ 46.3″ |
| DISCOVERED | 1876 |

## Catalogue data

### WHAT KIND OF THING IT IS

What the object is in itself, rather than how it happens to look from here.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Hubble type | S0 |

### HOW BRIGHT IT IS

What the light adds up to, measured through one filter at a time. A magnitude is a brightness on a backwards scale — the smaller the number, the brighter the object.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Apparent magnitude (B) | 17.23 |
| Apparent magnitude (J) | 11.77 |
| Apparent magnitude (H band) | 11.05 |
| Apparent magnitude (K) | 10.72 |
| Surface brightness | 24.76 mag/arcsec² |

### WHERE IT IS AND HOW IT MOVES

Position, motion across the sky and the size it covers on it. These are measurements of the object as seen from here, so every one of them depends on where here is.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Radial velocity | 7112 km/s |
| Redshift (z) | 0.02401 |
| Redshift (z, CMB frame) | 0.0234686 |
| Major axis | 0.58′ |
| Minor axis | 0.39′ |
| Position angle | 15° |

### WHEN IT WAS FOUND

Who first saw it, from where, and by what method.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Discovered by | John Louis Emil Dreyer |

### OTHER NAMES AND NUMBERS

The identifiers other catalogues file this object under, for anyone joining this data to theirs.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| OpenNGC type code | G |
| Wikidata item | Q571080 |
| Wikipedia article | NGC 1279 |

## Also known as

- 2MASX: 2MASX J03195907+4128462
- LEDA: LEDA 12441
- LEDA: LEDA 12448
- NGC: NGC 1279
- PGC: PGC 12441
- PGC: PGC 12448

## Source

[OpenNGC](https://github.com/mattiaverga/OpenNGC) — CC-BY-SA-4.0

The producer asks: OpenNGC, Mattia Verga (github.com/mattiaverga/OpenNGC). Fields derived from it stay under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How this was made: https://spacecatalog.org/methods#source-openngc

## Cite this page

SpaceCatalog. NGC 1279 \[catalogue entry\]. Data release DR1 (2026-08-21). https://spacecatalog.org/object/ngc-1279

```bibtex
@misc{spacecatalog_ngc-1279,
  author       = {{SpaceCatalog}},
  title        = {{NGC 1279}},
  howpublished = {SpaceCatalog, data release DR1 (2026-08-21)},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://spacecatalog.org/object/ngc-1279},
  note         = {Catalogue entry, data release DR1 (2026-08-21). Values from OpenNGC.}
}
```

OpenNGC — CC-BY-SA-4.0

Acknowledgement the producer asks for: OpenNGC, Mattia Verga (github.com/mattiaverga/OpenNGC). Fields derived from it stay under CC BY-SA 4.0.

The page itself, with its pictures, the sky map and the observing tools: https://spacecatalog.org/object/ngc-1279