| NGC 1398 | |
|---|---|
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Fornax |
| Right ascension | 03h 38m 52.0633s |
| Declination | −26° 20′ 15.583″ |
| Redshift | 0.004657 |
| Distance | 61.8 ± 4.3 Mly (18.96 ± 1.33 Mpc) |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 10.63 |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | (R')SB(r)ab |
| Size | ~291,900 ly (89.51 kpc) (estimated) |
| Apparent size (V) | 7.1′ × 5.4′ |
| Other designations | |
| ESO 482-22, IRAS 03367-2629, MCG -04-09-040, PGC 13434 | |
NGC 1398 is an isolated barred spiral galaxy exhibiting a double ring structure. It is located 65 million light years from the Earth, in the constellation of Fornax. The galaxy, with a diameter of approximately 135,000 light years, is bigger than the Milky Way. Over 100 billion stars are in the galaxy. The discovery credit for NGC 1398 is often given to Friedrich Winnecke of Karlsruhe, Germany, who observed it on 17 December 1868, while he was searching for comets. German astronomer Wilhelm Tempel had first observed it on 9 October 1861, but he did not publish his observation until 1882.
Two supernovae have been observed in NGC 1398: