NGC 491 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor. Its velocity with respect to the cosmic microwave background is , which corresponds to a Hubble distance of . However, nine non-redshift measurements give a farther mean distance of . It was discovered by British astronomer John Herschel on 25 September 1834.
NGC 491 is a Seyfert II galaxy, i.e. it has a quasar-like nucleus with very high surface brightnesses whose spectra reveal strong, high-ionisation emission lines, but unlike quasars, the host galaxy is clearly detectable.
Supernova One supernova has been observed in NGC 491: SN 2025yjt (TypeII, mag. 17.827) was discovered by ATLAS on 24 September 2025.
Gallery
See also NGC 7001 List of NGC objects (1–1000)
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