NGC 977 is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation of Cetus. Its velocity with respect to the cosmic microwave background is , which corresponds to a Hubble distance of . Additionally, six non-redshift measurements give a similar mean distance of . It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on 28 November 1785.
NGC 977 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.
NGC 945 group NGC 977 is a member of the NGC 945 group (also known as LGG 63), which contains at least seven galaxies. The other members of the group are NGC 945, NGC 948, NGC 950, , , and .
Supernova One supernova has been observed in NGC 977: SN 1976J (type unknown, mag. 15.5) was discovered by Italian astronomer Leonida Rosino on 15 December 1976. Although it was never officially classified, its light curve suggested that it was a Type I supernova.
See also List of NGC objects (1–1000)
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