Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 150 (Swift list VI (#3), 1860 RA 00 26 50, NPD 118 35.1) is "pretty faint, pretty small, round". The second Index Catalog lists a corrected RA (per Howe and DeLisle Stewart) of 00 27 19. Using the corrected RA and original NPD, the position precesses to (2000) RA 00 34 15.8, Dec -27 48 44, about 0.4 arcmin south of the center of the galaxy, but well within its outline, so the identification is certain.
Physical Information: Based on a recessional velocity of 1585 km/sec, the galaxy is about 70 million light years away, in good agreement with redshift-independent distance estimates of 55 to 85 million light years. Given that and its apparent size of 3.9 by 1.9 arcmin, it is about 55 thousand light years across. NGC 150 is listed as a member of the NGC 134 group of galaxies, which includes NGC 115, 131 and 148, PGC 2000 (erroneously identified as IC 1554) and IC 1555, and PGC 2044. Several of these are also listed as members of a group of galaxies in or near Sculptor with recessional velocities of about 1500 to 1800 km/sec (this is not "the" Sculptor Group, a close neighbor to our Local Group, with an average recessional velocity of less than 300 km/sec); so all NGC 134 group members are presumably members of the larger group.
Use By The de Vaucouleurs Atlas: NGC 150 is used by the de Vaucouleurs Atlas of Galaxies as an example of type SB(s)b pec.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 151 (= GC 74 = JH 30 = JH 2330 = WH II 478, 1860 RA 00 26 57, NPD 100 28.5) is "pretty faint, pretty large, a little extended 90�, very gradually a little brighter middle". The Second Index Catalog states "(NGC) 153 is identical with (NGC) 151 [Spitaler, AN 3100]". Herschel's position precesses to (2000) RA 00 34 02.9, Dec -09 42 08, within 0.2 arcmin of the center of the galaxy, so the identification is certain.
Physical Information: Based on a recessional velocity of 3745 km/sec, the galaxy is about 165 million light years away, in good agreement with redshift-independent distance estimates of 125 to 190 million light years. Given that and its apparent size of 2.6 by 1.1 arcmin, it is about 125 thousand light years across.
Classification Note: Although not unusually distorted, NGC 151 is a little less "regular" than most galaxies of its type, particularly on the eastern end where it appears that a smaller galaxy is interacting with it (which, as noted in the following entry, is almost certainly not the case), hence the "pec?" added to the type shown in the description line above.
Use By The de Vaucouleurs Atlas: NGC 151 is used by the de Vaucouleurs Atlas of Galaxies as an example of type SB(rs)bc.

Note About PGC Designation: Although HyperLEDA assigned a PGC designation to this object, a search of the database for that designation returns no result, so it is shown in quotes. A successful search in that or any other database requires either its coordinates or the 2MASX designation shown above.
Physical Information: LEDA K 12.1, 3K Vr 4632 km/sec +/- 67; NED mag 15.6g, 1.11 x .37 arcmin, 3K Vr 4631 km/sec +/- 60, more than 1000 km/sec larger than for NGC 151, so this is almost certainly a background galaxy, and not an actual companion of NGC 151. That is a surprising result, because so many galaxies with a small companion at the end of one arm are interacting with their larger neighbor and have distorted shapes beause of that, and if we didn't have a value for the recessional velocity of the supposed "companion", everyone would be bound to think that this is an interacting system.
Classification Note: Thanks to Harold Corwin for providing a classification for this galaxy. I could tell it was a spiral, but between its small size and the fact that it is behind one arm of NGC 151, I was pretty much at a loss as to just what kind of spiral it might be; but his explanation of why he decided on the type shown above is convincing enough for me.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 152 (= GC 75 = JH 2331, 1860 RA 00 27 04, NPD 163 53.2) is "very faint, large, round, very gradually a little brighter middle".
Note About PGC Designation: Although as for most NGC objects, HyperLEDA assigned a PGC designation to this object, a search of the database for that designation returns no result, so it is shown in quotes.
Physical Information: Apparent size 1.7 arcmin?

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 153 (Swift list IV (#1), 1860 RA 00 27 14, NPD 100 28.4) is "pretty faint, pretty small, round, star near to northeast". The Second Index Catalog states "(NGC) 153 is identical with (NGC) 151 [Spitaler, AN 3100]".
Physical Information: Given the duplicate entry (Corwin has a lengthy note about that), see NGC 151 for anything else.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 154 (= GC 76 = JH 31 = WH III 467, 1860 RA 00 27 14, NPD 103 26.0) is "extremely faint, very small, round".
Physical Information: Apparent size 1.0 by 0.9 arcmin (from the images below)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 155 (Swift list IV (#2), Ormond Stone list I (#6), 1860 RA 00 27 24, NPD 101 31.7) is "pretty faint, small, round". The second Index Catalog lists a corrected RA (per Bigourdan) of 00 27 35. Muller's notes say that there is a 12th magnitude star 3.2 arcmin due east.
Discovery Notes: Although Dreyer credits Stone because he published the paper in question, the paper states that Muller was the actual observer.
Physical Information: Apparent size 1.7 by 1.3 arcmin?

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 156 (Tempel list V, 1860 RA 00 27 28, NPD 99 07) is "very small, northwest of II 3", (WH II) 3 being NGC 157 (which see for an image). (Corwin has short note about NGC 156.) Corwin lists a second but less likely possibility at RA 00 34 35.9, Dec -08 20 24.
Discovery Notes: Tempel does not give a position for either this or NGC 158, stating only that there are two nebulae near GC 78 (= NGC 157), one (which Dreyer listed as NGC 156) to the southwest of GC 78 and 3 arcmin from a bright star, and the other (which Dreyer listed as NGC 158) to the northeast of GC 78.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 157 (= GC 78 = WH II 3, d'Arrest, Stephan list IX (#1), 1860 RA 00 27 40, NPD 99 10.2) is "pretty bright, large, extended, between 2 considerably bright stars". (Corwin has brief note, but may not be relevant)
Physical Information: Based on a recessional velocity of 1650 km/sec, about 75 million light years away, in good agreement with redshift-independent distance estimates of 40 to 95 million light years. Given that and apparent size of 4.2 by 2.7 arcmins, about 90 thousand light years in diameter.
Use By The de Vaucouleurs Atlas: NGC 157 is used by the de Vaucouleurs Atlas of Galaxies as an example of type SA(s)c.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 158 (Tempel list V, 1860 RA 00 27 51, NPD 99 05) is "very small, northeast of II 3", (WH) II 3 being NGC 157, which see for an image. (Corwin has note about object)
Discovery Notes: Tempel does not give a position for either this or NGC 156, stating only that there are two nebulae near GC 78 (= NGC 157), one (which Dreyer listed as NGC 156) to the southwest of GC 78 and 3 arcmin from a bright star, and the other (which Dreyer listed as NGC 158) to the northeast of GC 78.
Note About PGC Designation: As in the case of most NGC objects, HyperLEDA assigned a PGC designation for this object, even though it isn't a galaxy; however, a search of the database for that designation returns no result, so it is shown in quotes.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 159 (= GC 77 = JH 2332, 1860 RA 00 28 03, NPD 146 33.4) is "very faint, pretty small, round, gradually a little brighter middle, 3 stars to east".
Physical Information: Apparent size 1.4 by 0.4 arcmin?

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 160 (= GC 79 = JH 32 = WH III 476, 1860 RA 00 28 42, NPD 66 48.8) is "very faint, very small, stellar, 8th magnitude star 4 arcmin away 17� east of north". (The star is 7th magnitude HD 3293.)
Physical Information: Apparent size 2.3 by 1.2 arcmin?
LEDA (R)S0/a; NED 47.8 - 87.8 Mpc, (R)SA0⁺ pec, 3K Vr 4923 km/sec

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 161 (Swift list VI (#4), 1860 RA 00 28 44, NPD 93 36.2) is "extremely faint, extremely small, round, nearly between 2 stars". The second Index Catalog lists a corrected RA (per Bigourdan) of 00 28 26.
Designation Note: LEDA misidentifies this galaxy as IC 1557, and although correctly identified elsewhere, the galaxy to the south-southeast, which is IC 1557, is sometimes referred to as only an apparent companion, without any indication that it is an IC object; for that reason, there is a brief note about that immediately below.
Physical Information: Apparent size 1.3 by 0.8 arcmin? NED RIDE1 72.0 Mpc, S0⁰:, 3K Vr 5748 km/sec

Designation Note: See NGC 161 for a discussion of the HyperLEDA misidentification of this galaxy as NGC 161.
Physical Information: Since this has a perfectly good IC designation, see IC 1557 for anything else.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 162 (= GC 5107, Schultz, 1860 RA 00 28 48, NPD 66 48.4) is "extremely faint, stellar, h 39 to southwest" (JH) 39 being NGC 192; but that must be an error, as Dreyer's NGC note for NGC 160 states that Schultz was the first to see a nebula 78� east of north, 1.2 arcmin from h 32 (= NGC 160), which means that the object in question must be near NGC 160, not NGC 192. The position precesses to (2000) RA 00 36 09.8, Dec +23 57 55, within 0.3 arcmin of the star listed above, and NGC 160 is in the correct relative position, so the identification is certain.
Discovery Notes: In a lengthy discussion on pages 201 to 203 of Observing and Cataloguing Nebulae and Star Clusters of the difficulties faced by Dreyer in identifying the objects seen by various observers in the region near NGC 160 and 169, Steinicke notes that d'Arrest was the first to see NGC 162, during his first observation of III 476 (= NGC 160), quoting from the Siderum Nebulosorum "Alia nebula eaque 'nova' insequitur 2' borealior; utraque manifesto classis tertiae", meaning "Another nebula (and nova) follows 2 arcmin north; each one is obviously third class." Steinicke's discussion also notes that according to Dreyer's 1880 summary of the 4th Lord Rosse's observations the 1866 observations of what became NGC 160 and 162 were made by Lord Rosse himself, hence his identification as the second person to observe NGC 162.
Note About PGC Designation: As for most NGC objects, HyperLEDA assigned a PGC designation to this object, even though it isn't a galaxy; but unlike most such designations, a search for it does return a result, so it is shown without quotes.
Modern Misidentifications of NGC 162: It was not only difficult for catalogers to identify the objects in this region in the 1800's. In modern times two faint galaxies near NGC 160 (PGC 2148 and PGC 212552) have also been misidentified as NGC 162, so each of them is briefly discussed immediately below.

Physical Information: Based on a recessional velocity of 5610 km/sec, PGC 2148 is 260 to 265 million light years away. Given that and its apparent size of about 1.0 by 0.2 arcmin, it is about 75 thousand light years across.

Historical Identification: Apparent size about 0.6 by 0.2 arcmin; apparently nothing else known. Listed in NED as 2MASX J00361507+2356357.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 163 (= GC 81 = WH III 954, d'Arrest, Swift list IV (#3), 1860 RA 00 28 55, NPD 100 53.5) is "very faint, very small".
Discovery Notes (1): d'Arrest noted that Herschel's position was 32 seconds of time to the east of his own position, but not seeing anything else in the region, assumed that they had observed the same object; and although Tempel saw both NGC 163 and 165, Dreyer failed to connect the latter object with Herschel's observation, so that appears in this NGC entry instead of the other one. But as noted in my entry for NGC 165, it is almost certain that Herschel's position was correct, and he observed the eastern of the two galaxies and not the western one; hence the denial of credit for his supposed observation of NGC 163.
Discovery Notes (2): Swift's position for his list IV #3 is midway between NGC 163 and 165, and about 15 seconds of time to the east of the galaxy listed above. But (per Corwin), all of his discoveries on Aug 9, 1886 had measured positions 10 to 15 seconds of time to the east of the correct position, so it is almost certain that what he observed was indeed NGC 163, as presumed by Dreyer.
Physical Information: Apparent size 1.5 by 1.4 arcmin?? 3K Vr 5586 km/sec

Physical Information: LEDA B 16.5, I 14.9, (V) 16(?); NED S0/a, 3K Vr 6050 km/sec; probably a "companion" of PGC 2153, but more likely a background galaxy for NGC 163

Physical Information: LEDA B 16.7, I 51.2, (V) 16(?); NED 3K Vr 6032 km/sec; probably a "companion" of PGC 143637, but more likely a background galaxy for NGC 163

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 164 (= GC 5108, Marth #12, 1860 RA 00 29 23, NPD 88 02) is "extremely faint". The second Index Catalog adds "Not found by Bigourdan; perhaps = Bigourdan 361 with an error of 1m". The position precesses to (2000) RA 00 36 34.4, Dec +02 44 17, only 0.8 arcmin south southeast of the galaxy listed above, the description fits and there is nothing else nearby, so the identification of NGC 164 is certain. Only the second Index Catalog suggestion that it might be the same as IC 1560 is questionable (as discussed below).
Discovery Notes: The suggestion that Bigourdan 361 (= IC 1560) might be NGC 164 was made by Bigourdan in his notes for his "nova". On the night he observed his #361 he found nothing near the NGC position for NGC 164 but a faint star, so when he found a nebula a minute of time to the east he supposed it might be a "nova"; but upon reflection considered the possibility that his #361 was actually NGC 164. However, NGC 164 is too faint for Bigourdan to have seen, and as discussed at the entry for IC 1560 (which see) there is no doubt that the IC entry is a lost or (more likely) nonexistent object, so the second Index Catalog note should be ignored, and I have therefore emphasized the fact that NGC 164 is not IC 1560 in the title for this entry.
Physical Information: Apparent size 0.4 by 0.4 arcmin? 3K Vr 5641 km/sec, implying a distance of about ? million light-years and a size of about 30 thousand light-years, so if a spiral (especially one of type "a") it is on the (very) small side.
Classification Note: The galaxy is so small that it is hard to tell what it looks like. In most images it looks like an elliptical galaxy with some kind of central bulge; but the SDSS image seems to have a hint of spiral structure near the edge, is more or less what an Sa galaxy would look like if this small, and no reference makes any suggestion except "galaxy". So the classification shown in the description line is a best guess, and the question mark is probably the most certain part of the classification.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 165 ((= GC 81 = WH III 954), Tempel list V, 1860 RA 00 29 24, NPD 100 53.5) is "faint, large, star in center, eastern of 2", the other being NGC 163.
Discovery Notes: Per a suggestion and reduction by Steve Gottlieb, GC 81 = WH III 954 is probably not NGC 163, as assumed by d'Arrest and Dreyer, but NGC 165, hence the addition of Herschel's observation to its NGC entry in parentheses. As far as the note about Swift is concerned, Steinicke credits Swift's list IV #3, which is an observation of NGC 163, as an observation of NGC 163 and 165, presumably because its position lies midway between the two galaxies; but Corwin notes that all of Swift's observations on Aug 9, 1886 were 10 to 15 seconds of time too far to the east, so it is almost certain that Swift saw NGC 163 but not NGC 165, hence the denial of credit for Swift in this entry.
Reduction of Herschel's Observation: Herschel's third catalog (of 500 nebulae and clusters) states that WH III 954, observed Dec 10, 1798, is "extremely faint, small, 17m 5s of time east and 1� 15' of arc south of 8 Ceti". 8 Ceti (= ι (Iota) Ceti) lies at J2000 RA 00 19 25.7, Dec -08 49 26. It is a "high proper-motion star", with a change in position of -0.01515 arcsec/yr in right ascension, and -0.03711 arcsec/yr in declination, so in late 1798 it would have been 3 arcsec to the east and 7.5 arcsec to the north of its J2000 position, or at J2000 RA 00 19 25.9, Dec -08 49 18 (an insignificant change in comparison to Herschel's rougher measurements, but in some cases such corrections are useful). This precesses to (1799) RA 00 09 11.0, Dec -09 56 20 (1799 being used for the equinox instead of 1798 since the observations were made in December). Adding Herschel's offsets puts his WH III 954 at (1799) RA 00 26 16, Dec -11 11 20, which precesses to (2000) RA 00 36 26.8, Dec -10 04 48, only 1.6 arcmin north northwest of the galaxy listed above, but almost half a minute of time to the east of NGC 163, making the identification of WH III 954 with NGC 165 far more likely than an identification with NGC 163.
A Final Note About Herschel's Observation: Most images of NGC 163 and 165 show the former's nucleus as considerably brighter than the latter, so although Herschel's position corresponds far better to NGC 165, it may seem odd that he would see it and not its brighter neighbor. However, Gottlieb has observed virtually all the NGC objects, and would not have suggested changing the identification of WH III 954 if he thought this a serious problem; and PanSTARRS images of the two nuclei (which is what visual observers would be most aware of) show that they do not differ in brightness by as much as most other images suggest.
Physical Information: Apparent size 1.6 by 1.3 arcmin?

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 166 (Leavenworth list II (#285), 1860 RA 00 29 30, NPD 104 23.0) is "extremely faint, small, a little extended, 11th magnitude star to northwest". The second Index Catalog lists a corrected RA (per Howe) of 00 28 46.
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.9 by 0.3 arcmin (from images below)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 167 (Muller list II (actually Leavenworth list II #286), 1860 RA 00 29 30, NPD 114 09.0) is "very faint, pretty small, irregularly round". The second Index Catalog lists a corrected RA (per Howe and DeLisle Stewart) of 00 28 24.
Discovery Notes: Dreyer's reference to "Muller list II" is to a paper by Ormond Stone in which observations by Stone, Leavenworth and Muller are presented. In this case Dreyer accidentally credited Muller with one of Leavenworth's discoveries.
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.85 by 0.6 arcmin (from images below)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 168 (Muller list II (#287), 1860 RA 00 29 30, NPD 113 23.0) is "extremely faint, small, extended 30�, 10th magnitude star 3 arcmin to northeast". The second Index Catalog lists a corrected RA (per Howe) of 00 29 40.
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.1 by 0.25 arcmin (from images below)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 169 (= GC 82, d'Arrest, 3rd Lord Rosse, 1860 RA 00 29 30, NPD 66 47.1) is "faint, pretty large, double or binary nucleus, 6th magnitude star 4 arcmin to northeast".
Discovery Notes: Although Dreyer credits the discovery to William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, he notes that many of Rosse's nebular discoveries were actually made by one of his assistants, in this case R. J. Mitchell.
Physical Information: Apparent size 2.6 by 0.6 arcmin?
Use By The Arp Atlas: NGC 169 is used (with IC 1559) by The Arp Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies as an example of galaxies with infall and attraction, with the note "Knots resolved with 48-inch. Diffuse counter tail on companion." This note suggests that NGC 169 is the primary galaxy under consideration, and IC 1559 is part of the Arp object as a companion which is presumably falling into or being attrated by its larger neighbor. .

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 170 (= GC 5109, Marth #13, 1860 RA 00 29 35, NPD 88 52) is "faint, small, round".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.6 by 0.35 arcmin (from images below)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 171 (= GC 83 = WH III 223??, 1860 RA 00 29 41, NPD 109 44.1) is "very faint, pretty large, a little extended, 2 pretty bright stars to southeast". Dreyer's 1912 correction to the NGC (based on a revision of William Herschel's Catalogs) states "To be struck out; (WH) III 223 = (NGC) 175"; so the supposition that Dreyer made that NGC 171 = NGC 175 in 1887 became a certainty in 1912, and the duplication has been known for over a century. However, modern usage almost always uses the lower NGC designation, even when Dreyer specifically struck out an entry; so this galaxy is usually (but not always) referred to as NGC 171, instead of NGC 175.
Physical Information: Apparent size 2.1 by 1.9 arcmin?

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 172 (Muller list II (#288), 1860 RA 00 30 00, NPD 113 23.0) is "extremely faint, small, extended". The second Index Catalog lists a corrected RA (per Howe) of 00 30 15, and adds "13th magnitude star close to southwest".
Physical Information: Apparent size 2.0 by 0.3 arcmin?

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 173 (= GC 84 = JH 33 = WH III 871, 1860 RA 00 30 02, NPD 88 49.8) is "very faint, small, round, very gradually brighter middle, 11th magnitude star 80 arcsec to southwest".
Physical Information: Apparent size 3.2 by 2.6 arcmin?

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 174 (= GC 85 = JH 2333, 1860 RA 00 30 02, NPD 120 14.5) is "extremely faint, small, very little extended, among bright stars".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.35 by 0.6 arcmin (from images below)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 175 (= GC 86 = JH 2334 = WH III 223?, 1860 RA 00 30 21, NPD 110 42.2) is "pretty bright, pretty large, extended, gradually brighter middle, mottled but not resolved." Dreyer's 1912 correction to the NGC (based on a revision of William Herschel's Catalogs) states "To be struck out; (WH) III 223 = (NGC) 175"; so Dreyer's 1887 supposition that NGC 171 = NGC 175 became a certainty in 1912, and the duplication has been known for over a century. However, modern usage almost always uses the lower NGC designation, even when Dreyer specifically disowned an entry; so this galaxy is usually (though not always) referred to as NGC 171, instead of NGC 175.
Physical Information: Given the duplicate entry, see NGC 171 for anything else.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 176 (= GC 87 = JH 2335, 1860 RA 00 30 22, NPD 163 56.5) is "extremely faint, small, very little extended, mottled but not resolved, 8th magnitude star near".
Note About PGC Designation: As for almost all NGC objects, HyperLEDA assigned a PGC designation for this object, even though it isn't a galaxy; however, a search of the database for that designation returns no result, so it is shown in quotes.
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.25 by 1.1 arcmin (from images below)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 177 (Muller list II (#289), 1860 RA 00 30 30, NPD 113 12.0) is "extremely faint, small, extended 175� (perhaps a star?)". The second Index Catalog says "Delete the (original) query; it seems to be a nebula (per Howe)".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 2.75 by 0.7 arcmin (from images below)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 178 (Ormond Stone list I (#7), 1860 RA 00 30 30, NPD 104 57.0) is "faint, small, much extended 0�, brighter middle". The second Index Catalog lists a corrected RA (per Howe) of 00 32 06. The original NGC position precesses to (2000) RA 00 37 33.1, Dec -14 10 44, which is a minute and a half of time to the west of the galaxy listed above, in a region devoid of anything Stone could have observed, so when Javelle made an accurate observation of the object Dreyer assumed it was a different nebula, leading to the double listing. Howe observed the region between July 1, 1898 and June 30, 1899 and published a corrected position for NGC 178 of 1900 RA 00 34 07, Dec -14 43.2 in late 1899 (whence Dreyer's corrected RA in the IC2), which precesses to (2000) RA 00 39 08.9, Dec -14 10 13, right on the galaxy, and Stone's sketch exactly matches the galaxy's appearance, so the identity of NGC 178 and its equality with IC 39 should have been noticed when Dreyer published the IC2; but the duplication remained unnoticed until (per Corwin) one of the Helwan (Cairo) observers discovered it the best part of a century later.
Discovery Note: Mitchell's observation of NGC 210 included a note about a nebula well to the southwest of that galaxy that he presumed was GC 108 (= NGC 207), and for nearly a century and a half that was what Mitchell was presumed to have observed. But in March 2020 Yann Pothier pointed out that Mitchell's description of the galaxy (in particular, the fact that it is extended north-south) does not fit NGC 207 (which is extended east-west), and that Mitchell must have actually seen NGC 178 instead, whence his discovery credit above. The ironic thing is that Dreyer himself was the first to observe NGC 207 (which see for a more detailed discussion of the error in its discovery credit), but neither he nor anyone else realized it until it was brought to light by Pothier.
Physical Information: Based on a recessional velocity relative to the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation of 1125 km/sec (and H₀ = 70 km/sec/Mpc), NGC 178 is about 50 to 55 million light years away, in good agreement with widely varying redshift-independent distance estimates of about 15 to 60 million light years. Given that and its apparent size of 2.0 by 0.85 arcmin (from the images below), it is about 30 thousand light years across. Thanks to the numerous regions of star formation (particularly the two large regions on its north side) the galaxy is considered to be a starburst galaxy.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 179 (Leavenworth list II (#290), 1860 RA 00 30 36, NPD 108 37.0) is "extremely faint, extremely small, round, bright star to northwest". The second Index Catalog lists a corrected RA (per Howe) of 00 30 46.
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.9 by 0.7 arcmin (from images below)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 180 (= GC 88 = WH III 876, 1860 RA 00 30 47, NPD 82 06.1) is "very faint, pretty large, irregularly round, star involved to northwest".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 2.5 by 1.8 arcmin for the main galaxy, and about 2.9 by 2.3 arcmin with fainter outer regions (measured from images below)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 181 (Stephan list XIII (#6), 1860 RA 00 30 57, NPD 61 17.9) is "extremely faint, extremely small, irregular, very faint star attached".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.75 by 0.2 arcmin (from images below)
Classification Note: The "pec" is based on the warped bar (and, presumably, warped disk).

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 182 (= GC 89 = WH III 870, 1860 RA 00 31 01, NPD 88 02.0) is "very faint, small, irregularly round, very gradually brighter middle."
Physical Information: Apparent size 1.9 by 1.6 arcmin?

Physical Information: LEDA B 17.4 (V 17??); NED nil except for designation WISEA J003806.60+024313.5; therefore no way to say whether an actual companion or simply an optical double.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 183 (Stephan list XIII (#9), (Safford 65), 1860 RA 00 31 03, NPD 61 15.6) is "pretty faint, very small, round, gradually brighter middle". The position precesses to (2000) RA 00 38 29.0, Dec +29 30 38, right on the galaxy, so the identification is certain.
Discovery Notes: Safford's observations were not published until long after the fact, so Dreyer did not become aware of them until the NGC was nearing publication, and although some of them were noted in an appendix, none were shown in the individual NGC entries; hence the inclusion of Safford's observation in parentheses.
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.6 by 1.0 arcmin (from images below)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 184 (Stephan list XIII (#8), 1860 RA 00 31 09, NPD 61 19.4) is "extremely faint, extremely small".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.75 by 0.15 arcmin (from images below)
Classification Note: The "pec" refers to the apparently warped disk on the southern side of the nucleus.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 185 (= GC 90 = JH 35 = WH II 707, 1860 RA 00 31 14, NPD 42 26.0) is "pretty bright, very large, irregularly round, very gradually much brighter middle, mottled but nor resolved".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 9.5 by 7.5 arcmin (from image below). Very active star formation and considerable dustiness near its center, as shown in the last image below (and the reason for "pec" being added to its classification). One of numerous satellites of the Andromeda Galaxy.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 186 (= GC 91 = GC 99, d'Arrest, 1860 RA 00 31 15, NPD 87 36.1) is "faint, small, round, a little brighter middle".
Discovery Notes: The 4th Lord Rosse's 1880 paper listing observations at Birr Castle between 1848 and 1878 includes an illustration and notes stating that this object was observed on Dec 6, 1850; and since those notes equate it to GC 91 & 99, Dreyer's failure to give credit for the Birr Castle observation must have been an oversight.
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.2 by 0.7 arcmin (from images below).

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 187 (Ormond Stone list I (#8), 1860 RA 00 31 30, NPD 105 25.9) is "faint, small, much extended 150�, brighter middle". The second Index Catalog lists a corrected RA (per Howe) of 00 32 28.
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.25 by 0.85 arcmin (from images below)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 188 (= GC 92 = JH 34, 1860 RA 00 31 40, NPD 05 26.5) is "a cluster, very large, round, 150-200 stars from 10th to 18th magnitude." The position precesses to (2000) RA 00 44 40.8, Dec +85 19 37, about 6 arcmin northwest of the center of the cluster listed above and within its outer boundary, the description fits and there is nothing comparable nearby, so the identification is certain.
Position Note: For such a large cluster, different references often give different positions; the one shown above is from Dr. Corwin's database, while Steve Gottlieb lists the position as RA 00 47 15, Dec +85 14 49. However, given the size of the cluster, the difference in the positions is insignificant.
Note About PGC Designation: As for most NGC objects, HyperLEDA assigned a PGC designation to this object, even though it isn't a galaxy; however, a search of the database for that designation returns no result, hence its being shown in quotes.
Physical Information: Based on its Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram, NGC 188 is one of the oldest open clusters known, with an age of about 6.3 to 6.8 billion years (most open clusters 'fall apart' in less than 100 million years due to other stars passing through them as they move around the galaxy). It has managed to survive because it lies well above the plane of the galaxy, and therefore has little interaction with other stars. At its estimated distance of 4800 to 5000 light-years, its apparent size of about 14 to 15 arcmin corresponds to a diameter of about 20 to 22 light-years.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 189 (= GC 93 = JH 36, 1860 RA 00 31 40, NPD 29 42.5) is "a cluster, pretty large, round, stars from 11th to 15th magnitude".
Discovery Notes: Since Caroline's observation was not mentioned in her brother's catalogues or in her nephew's General Catalog (GC), Dreyer also failed to note her prior discovery.
Note About PGC Designation: As for most NGC objects, HyperLEDA assigned a PGC designation to this object, even though it isn't a galaxy; however, a search of the database for that designation returns no result, hence its being shown in quotes.
Physical Information: Apparent size 5.0 arcmin?

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 190 (Swift list V (#8), 1860 RA 00 31 48, NPD 83 42.6) is "very faint, small, a little extended, several stars near to southwest".
Note About PGC Designations: A search of the HyperLEDA database for NGC 190 returns a page for "PGC 3166420", with a position that does not correspond to any object, and a PGC designation that does not respond to any search for that designation, hence its being shown in quotes. A search of the same database for HGC 5 returns a page for CGCG 409-051 (= "PGC 3166421"), at a position slightly northeast of the galaxy listed in this entry, but again with a PGC designation that does not respond to any search for that designation, hence its also being shown in quotes. Only a search for PGC 2324 returns a page for the galaxy listed here, and the designations shown in the title of this entry.
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 0.8 by 0.7 arcmin (from images below).

Physical Information: Apparent size 0.7 by 0.7 arcmin?? (See NGC 190 for images.)

Physical Information: Apparent size 0.6 by 0.55 arcmin?? (See NGC 190 for images.)

Physical Information: Apparent size 0.4 by 0.15 arcmin?? (See NGC 190 for images.) Actually a foreground object, and not a physical companion to the other three members of HCG 5.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 191 (= GC 95 = JH 38 = WH II 479, 1860 RA 00 31 53, NPD 99 46.4) is "pretty bright, pretty large, irregularly extended 0�". The reference to a north-south extension is probably due to NGC 191 being nearly in contact with IC 1563, with which it comprises Arp 127.
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.35 by 1.25 arcmin (from images below). Strongly interacting with IC 1563, so undoubtedly at the same distance.
Use By The Arp Atlas: NGC 191 is used (with IC 1563) by The Arp Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies as an example of an elliptical galaxy (IC 1563) close to and perturbing a spiral galaxy (NGC 191), with the note "Sharp absorption lanes over N side of perturbing galaxy," meaning that NGC 191 lies in front of IC 1563 (as seen from our viewpoint), and dust lanes in the NGC object are obscuring the northern part of the IC object.

Warning About Non-Standard Designations: This is another example of the all too common misuse of non-standard NGC designations, and a particularly egregious one, in that the galaxy has a perfectly good IC designation.
Physical Information: Given the warning above, see NGC 191 and/or IC 1563 for images, and IC 1563 for anything else (including a copy of the note about Arp 127).

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 192 (= GC 96 = JH 39 = WH III 872, 1860 RA 00 32 03, NPD 89 54.6) is "faint, pretty small, pretty much extended, brighter middle".
Physical Information: Apparent size 1.9 by 0.9 arcmin?? A member of Hickson Compact Group 7.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 193 (= GC 94 = JH 37 = WH III 595, d'Arrest, Schultz, 1860 RA 00 32 07, NPD 87 26.4) is "faint, large, western of 2, 15th magnitude star close to southwest", the "eastern of 2" being NGC 204.
Discovery Notes: Schultz's observation was published in the Jan 1875 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (vol 35, pp. 135ff), but the date of the actual observation is not given there; simply that it was observed within the previous ten years.
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 2.7 by 1.9 arcmin (from images below)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 194 (= GC 98 = JH 40 = WH II 856, 1860 RA 00 32 07, NPD 87 43.9) is "pretty bright, small, round, very gradually brighter middle".
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 2.0 by 1.8 arcmin (from images below)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 195 (= GC 5110, Tempel list I (#2), 1860 RA 00 32 08, NPD 99 53.3) is "faint." The second Index Catalog lists a corrected position (per Bigourdan) of RA 00 32 33, NPD 99 58.
Discovery Notes: Bigourdan also looked for this object on Sep 27, 1891, but could not find it. In his note for the observation of 1897 he states that it was 25 seconds of time east and 5 arcmin south of the NGC position, whence the correction listed in the second IC.
Physical Information:Apparent size of about 1.15 by 0.7 arcmin (from images below)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 196 (= GC 100 = JH 41 = WH II 860, 1860 RA 00 32 08, NPD 89 51.4) is "faint, pretty small, round, pretty suddenly much brighter middle".
Note About MCG Designation: Per Gottlieb, although MCG lists NGC 196 as MCG +00-02-107 (and as a result, so do HyperLEDA and NED), that is a mistake, and NGC 196 is actually MCG +00-02-110. As a result, both Gottlieb and Steinicke list NGC 196 as MCG +00-02-110; but everywhere else, it is listed as MCG +00-02-107. I have chosen to show both entries, and use this paragraph to explain the situation, in the hope that although it is bound to cause some confusion, hopefully things will be less confusing than if I ignored the problem.
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.15 by 0.85 arcmin (from image below). A member of Hickson Compact Group 7.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 197 (= GC 5111, Marth #14, RA 1860 RA 00 32 09, NPD 89 53) is "extremely faint, south of h 41", (JH) 41 being NGC 196.
Note About MCG Designation: Per Gottlieb, although MCG lists NGC 196 as MCG +00-02-110 (and as a result, so do HyperLEDA and NED), that is a mistake, and NGC 197 is actually MCG +00-02-107. As a result, both Gottlieb and Steinicke list NGC 197 as MCG +00-02-107; but everywhere else, it is listed as MCG +00-02-107. I have chosen to show both entries, and use this paragraph to explain the situation, in the hope that although it is bound to cause some confusion, hopefully things will be less confusing than if I ignored the problem.
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.25 by 0.85 arcmin (from images below), including its distorted outer regions. A member of Hickson Compact Group 7, which comprises the four galaxies shown in the wide-field image below.

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 198 (= GC 97 = WH II 857, d'Arrest, Schultz, 1860 RA 00 32 12, NPD 87 58.2) is "faint, small, very gradually brighter middle".
Discovery Notes: Schultz's observation was published in the Jan 1875 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (vol 35, pp. 135ff), but the date of the actual observation is not given there; simply that it was observed within the previous ten years.
Physical Information: Apparent size of about 1.4 by 1.35 arcmin (from images below)

Historical Identification: Per Dreyer, NGC 199 (= GC 103, d'Arrest, 1860 RA 00 32 21, NPD 87 37.9) is "faint, very small, 8th magnitude star 27 seconds of time to west and 45 arcsec to south".
Physical Information:Apparent size of about 1.2 by 0.6 arcmin (from images below). Perhaps a polar ring galaxy?