NGC 488

{{Short description|Spiral galaxy in the constellation Pisces}}

{{Sky|01|21|46.7904|+|05|15|24.696}}

{{Infobox galaxy

| name = NGC 488

| image = N488s.jpg

| caption = NGC 488 by Mount Lemmon Observatory

| epoch = J2000

| constellation name = Pisces

| type = SA(r)b{{cite web

| title=NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database

| work=Results for object NGC 488

| url=https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/byname?objname=ngc+488

| access-date=2006-11-18 }}

| ra = {{RA|01|21|46.7904}}

| dec = {{DEC|+05|15|24.696}}

| dist_ly = 98.3 ± 3.9 Mly (30.15 ± 1.2 Mpc)

| z =0.007579

| h_radial_v = 2272 ± 1 km/s

| appmag_v = 10.4

| size_v = 5.4{{prime}} × 3.9{{prime}}

| size = ~{{convert|56.97|kpc|ly|abbr=on|lk=on|order=flip}} (estimated)

| notes = Prototype galaxy with multiple spiral arms

| names = {{odlist | UGC= 907 | PGC= 4946 | CGCG= 411-033 | MCG= +01-04-033 | IRAS= 01191+0459}}

}}

NGC 488 is a face-on spiral galaxy in the constellation Pisces. It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on 13 December 1784.{{cite web | url = https://cseligman.com/text/atlas/ngc4a.htm#488 | title = New General Catalogue Objects: NGC{{nbsp}}488 | last = Seligman | first = Courtney | website = Celestial Atlas | access-date = 4 December 2024}} It is at a distance of about 90 million light-years away from Earth.[http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/science/galaxies.html#ngc488 NGC 488 Galaxy] Galaxies and Clusters of Galaxies, Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes Its diameter is estimated to be ~185,800 Light Years (~52.7 Kpc). The galaxy has a large central bulge, and is considered a prototype galaxy with multiple spiral arms. Its arms are tightly wound. Star forming activity has been traced within the arms.Sandage, A., Bedke, J. (1994), The Carnegie Atlas of Galaxies. Volume I, Carnegie Institution of Washington, p. 15 The nucleus of NGC 488 has been found to be chemically decoupled, being twice as metal rich as the central bulge of the galaxy. NGC 488, with the exception of its smaller companions, form the NGC 488 group; a relatively isolated galaxy group.{{cite journal|last1=Sil'chenko, O. K.|title=Chemically decoupled nucleus and the structure of the nuclear region in the spiral galaxy NGC 488|journal=Astronomy Letters|date=March 1999|volume=25|issue=3|pages=140–8|url=http://cdsads.u-strasbg.fr/abs/1999AstL...25..140S|access-date=29 December 2015|bibcode = 1999AstL...25..140S }}