astronomy

NGC 262

NGC 262 is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand NGC 262 rather than just read about it. In short: NGC 262 (also known as Markarian 348) is a Seyfert 2 spiral galaxy located 65.4 megaparsecs (213 million light-years) away in the constellation Andromeda. It was discovered on 17 September 1885 by Lewis A.

Key takeaways

NGC 262 belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect NGC 262 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NGC 262 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

NGC 262 (also known as Markarian 348) is a Seyfert 2 spiral galaxy located 65.4 megaparsecs (213 million light-years) away in the constellation Andromeda. It was discovered on 17 September 1885 by Lewis A. Swift. NGC 262 was tidally disturbed by the gravitational forces of smaller galaxies, which resulted in a surrounding large cloud over 10 times larger than the Milky Way. It is also a member of the NGC 315 Group (also known as LGG 14), which contains 42 galaxies, including NGC 226, NGC 243, NGC 266, NGC 311, NGC 315, NGC 338, IC 43, IC 66, and IC 69, among others.

Properties NGC 262 is very unusual when compared to a regular spiral galaxy of its type. Similar to Malin 1, it is surrounded by a very huge cloud of neutral hydrogen extending roughly 400 kiloparsecs (1,300,000 light-years) across, which is probably caused by the tidal stripping of smaller galaxies. As such, it has been thus described as the largest known spiral galaxy. However, the isophotal diameters of NGC 262 are much smaller with only up to 31 kiloparsecs (101,000 light-years), leaving larger isophotal diameters measured for many other spiral galaxies such as Andromeda Galaxy, Pinwheel Galaxy, UGC 2885, and NGC 6872. The cloud has an apparent mass of approximately 50 billion solar masses (M☉) at a distance of 88 kiloparsecs (287,000 light-years) from the nucleus of NGC 262. The cloud is spiral-shaped with at least one arm, and possibly another one extending throughout the galaxy. The galaxy holds approximately 15 trillion stars.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NGC 262

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NGC 262 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to NGC 262 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about NGC 262 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of NGC 262

In research: NGC 262 appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses NGC 262 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: NGC 262 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Andromeda (constellation), Astronomical objects discovered in 1885, Discoveries by Lewis Swift, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NGC 262 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study NGC 262 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NGC 262 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain NGC 262 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NGC 262 in simple terms?

Why does NGC 262 matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study NGC 262?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on NGC 262.