NGC 959

NGC 959 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Triangulum. It was discovered on September 18, 1874, by Édouard Stephan.

NGC 959 is classified as a SBc galaxy, indicating that it has a bar-shaped structure in its center and loosely wound spiral arms. It is estimated to be approximately 110 million light-years away from Earth.

The galaxy is relatively small, measuring around 40,000 light-years in diameter. Its apparent magnitude is about 13.0, making it a faint object requiring a telescope to observe.

NGC 959 is a member of the NGC 1023 Group, a small galaxy group that also includes NGC 894, NGC 898, NGC 906, NGC 1003, NGC 1023 (the group's brightest member) and several other smaller galaxies. Galaxy groups are gravitationally bound collections of galaxies, smaller than galaxy clusters.

Observations of NGC 959 have revealed the presence of active star formation regions within its spiral arms, indicating ongoing stellar birth. This is consistent with the Sb and Sc classifications, which generally denote galaxies with active star formation.

Further research and observations are ongoing to better understand the structure, composition, and evolution of NGC 959 and its place within the NGC 1023 Group.