The New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars (NGC) is one of the largest comprehensive catalogues in astronomy. It contains 7,840 objects, known as the NGC objects.It includes all types of deep space objects and is not confined to, for example, star clusters. The catalogue was compiled during the 1880s by Johan Ludvig Emil Dreyer using observations from William Herschel and his son John, among others. Dreyer had already published an update to the Herschel's Catalogue of Nebulae, but a new update was refused by the Royal Astronomical Society, who asked Dreyer to compile a New General Catalogue. This catalogue was published in 1888. The NGC was later expanded with two Index Catalogues (IC I in 1895 & IC II in 1908), adding a further 5,386 objects.