NGC 977

NGC 977 is a 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, which contains at least seven galaxies. The other members of the group are NGC 945, NGC 948, NGC 950, MCG -02-07-020, MCG -02-07-032, and MCG -02-07-033.

Supernova

One supernova has been observed in NGC 977:SN 1976J was discovered by Italian astronomer Leonida Rosino on 15 December 1976. Although it was never officially classfied, its light curve suggested that it was a Type I supernova.