astronomy

NGC 988

NGC 988 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 988 rather than just read about it. In short: NGC 988 is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Cetus. It lies at a distance of 50 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 988 is about 75,000 light years across.

Key takeaways

NGC 988 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 988 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NGC 988 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

NGC 988 is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Cetus. It lies at a distance of 50 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 988 is about 75,000 light years across. The magnitude 7.1 star HD 16152 is superposed 52" northwest of the center of NGC 988. The galaxy was discovered by Édouard Jean-Marie Stephan in 1880. One ultraluminous X-ray source has been detected in NGC 988. NGC 988 is the brightest galaxy in NGC 1052 group (also known as NGC 988 group), which includes the galaxies NGC 991, NGC 1022, NGC 1035, NGC 1042, NGC 1047, NGC 1051, NGC 1052, NGC 1084, and NGC 1110. It belongs in the same galaxy cloud as Messier 77. One supernova has been observed in NGC 988: SN 2017gmr (type II, mag. 15.1187) was discovered by the Distance Less Than 40 Mpc Survey (DLT40) on 4 September 2017.

References

External links Media related to NGC 988 at Wikimedia Commons

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NGC 988

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NGC 988 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 988 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 988 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 988

In research: NGC 988 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 988 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 988 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Astronomical objects discovered in 1880, Cetus (constellation), Discoveries by Édouard Stephan, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NGC 988 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 988 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NGC 988 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 988 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NGC 988 in simple terms?

Why does NGC 988 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 988?

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 988.