The New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars (abbreviated as NGC) is a catalogue of deep-sky objects compiled by John Louis Emil Dreyer in 1888. The NGC contains 7,840 objects, known as the NGC objects. It is one of the largest comprehensive catalogues, as it includes all types of deep space objects, including galaxies, star clusters, emission nebulae and absorption nebulae.
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NGC 578
NGC 578 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Cetus. The galaxy lies about 60 million light years away from Earth, which means, given its apparent dimensions, that NGC 578 is approximately 110,000 light years across. It was discovered by John Herschel on November 11, 1835. NGC 578 is a spiral galaxy with three arms. The bulge is small and slightly elliptical and has a prominent bar running at an east–west axis. From each end of the bar emerges a spiral arm with a very steep angle. After half a revolution the southeastern arm bifurcates while the northwest becomes diffuse. The third arm features more HII regions than the other arms and is more prominent at its outer portion. An unusual aspect of the galaxy is that the spiral arms appear to end at the corotation circle. A bright galaxy is visible superimposed to the east of the galaxy. NGC 578 is the foremost galaxy in the NGC 578 group, which also includes galaxies 2MASX J01301192-2245448 and MBG 01272-2057.
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Wikipedia Page: NGC 578
NGC 578 at In-The-Sky website