| NGC 486 | |
|---|---|
 SDSS view of NGC 486 | |
| Observation data (J2000epoch) | |
| Constellation | Pisces[1] |
| Right ascension | 01h 21m 43.0s[2] |
| Declination | +05° 20′ 47″[2] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 15.0[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (B) | 16.0[1] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | S??[3] |
| Apparent size (V) | 0.5' × 0.2'[1] |
| Notable features | Angular proximity with faint star; commonly misidentified asPGC 4975 |
| Other designations | |
| PGC 1281966,GC 275,2MASS J01221055+0524412 | |
NGC 486, also occasionally referred to asLEDA 1281966 orGC 275, is aspiral galaxy in the constellationPisces.[1] NGC 486 was discovered on December 6, 1850 byIrishengineerBindon Blood Stoney.[3]
NGC 486 is commonly misidentified asPGC 4975, which is sometimes referred to as NGC 492A.[3]
AlthoughJohn Dreyer, creator of theNew General Catalogue, credits the discovery toastronomerWilliam Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, he notes that many of his claimed discoveries were made by one of his assistants. In the case of NGC 486, the discovery was made by Bindon Stoney,[3] who discovered it along withNGC 490,NGC 492 andNGC 500 during his observation ofNGC 488[4] using Lord Rosse's 72"reflecting telescope atBirr Castle inCounty Offaly,Ireland.[5]
The object was initially described by Stoney as "extremely faint, extremely small, stellar, 5 arcmin north ofh 103". The position noted not only corresponds with the coordinates of the spiral galaxy (PGC 1281966), but also a faint star.[4] As the object was characterized as stellar, it is assumed that the initial observation was of the star, not PGC 1281966 that is generally referred to as NGC 486 today.[3]
