NGC 538

{{Short description|Galaxy in the constellation Cetus}}

{{Infobox galaxy

| name = NGC 538

| image = 250px

| caption = SDSS image of NGC 538

| epoch = J2000

| constellation name = Cetus

| ra = {{RA|01|25|26.06364}}

| dec = {{DEC|-01|33|02.2258}}

| z = 0.017756{{cite simbad|title=NGC 538|access-date=2020-05-02}}

| h_radial_v = 5276 km/s

| dist_ly = {{cvt|77|Mpc|Mly|lk=on|order=flip}}{{cite journal|title=The GALEX Ultraviolet Atlas of Nearby Galaxies|last1=Gil de Paz|first1=Armando|last2=Boissier|first2=Samuel|last3=Madore|first3=Barry F.|last4=Seibert|first4=Mark|last5=Joe|first5=Young H.|last6=Boselli|first6=Alessandro|last7=Wyder|first7=Ted K.|last8=Thilker|first8=David|last9=Bianchi|first9=Luciana|display-authors=1|journal=The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series|volume=173|issue=2|pages=185–255|date=December 2007|doi=10.1086/516636|bibcode=2007ApJS..173..185G|arxiv=astro-ph/0606440|s2cid=119085482 }}

| group_cluster =

| type = SB(s)ab:

| size =

| appmag_v =

| appmag_b = 14.58

| absmag_v =

| notes =

| names = {{odlist|UGC=991|MCG=+00-04-130|PGC=5275}}

}}

NGC 538 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation of Cetus. It is located about 250 million light-years from the Milky Way with a diameter of approximately 95,000 ly.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} NGC 538 was discovered by the American astronomer Lewis Swift in 1886.{{Cite web|url=https://in-the-sky.org/data/object.php?id=NGC538|title=The galaxy NGC 538 - In-The-Sky.org|last=Ford|first=Dominic|website=in-the-sky.org|language=en|access-date=2020-04-10}}{{Cite web|url=http://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/nph-objsearch?objname=ngc+538&img_stamp=YES|title=Your NED Search Results|website=ned.ipac.caltech.edu|access-date=2020-04-10}}{{Cite web|url=http://spider.seds.org/ngc/revngcic.cgi?NGC538|title=Revised NGC Data for NGC 538|website=spider.seds.org|access-date=2020-04-10}}

NGC 538 is estimated to be about 2.5 billion years old.{{cite journal|doi=10.1093/mnrasl/slw117|title=A photometrically and spectroscopically confirmed population of passive spiral galaxies|year=2016|last1=Fraser-Mckelvie|first1=Amelia|last2=Brown|first2=Michael J. I.|last3=Pimbblet|first3=Kevin A.|last4=Dolley|first4=Tim|last5=Crossett|first5=Jacob P.|last6=Bonne|first6=Nicolas J.|journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters|volume=462|issue=1|pages=L11–L15|doi-access=free |arxiv=1606.03781|bibcode=2016MNRAS.462L..11F}}