astronomy

NGC 958

NGC 958 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 958 rather than just read about it. In short: NGC 958 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation of Cetus. Its velocity with respect to the cosmic microwave background is 5505 ± 17 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 81.20 ± 5.69 Mpc (~265 million light-years).

Key takeaways

NGC 958 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 958 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NGC 958 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

NGC 958 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation of Cetus. Its velocity with respect to the cosmic microwave background is 5505 ± 17 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 81.20 ± 5.69 Mpc (~265 million light-years). However, 19 non-redshift measurements give a closer distance of 58.93 ± 12.91 Mpc (~192 million light-years). The galaxy was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on 20 September 1784. NGC 958 is a Seyfert II Galaxy, i.e. it has a quasar-like nuclei with very high surface brightnesses whose spectra reveal strong, high-ionisation emission lines, but unlike quasars, the host galaxy is clearly detectable. The NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) lists NGC 958 as a luminous infrared galaxy (LIRG).

Supernovae Three supernovae have been observed in NGC 958:

SN 2005A (Type Ia, mag. 17.1) was discovered by the Lick Observatory Supernova Search (LOSS) on 5 January 2005. SN 2022ao (Type Ic, mag. 17.997) was discovered by ATLAS on 5 January 2022. SN 2022acbu (Type II, mag. 20.34) was discovered by the Zwicky Transient Facility on 30 November 2022.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NGC 958

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NGC 958 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 958 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 958 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 958

In research: NGC 958 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 958 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 958 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Astronomical objects discovered in 1784, Barred spiral galaxies, Cetus (constellation), so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NGC 958 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 958 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NGC 958 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 958 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NGC 958 in simple terms?

Why does NGC 958 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 958?

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 958.