NGC in American English
New General Catalog
abbreviation: New General Catalogue: a catalog of clusters, nebulae, and galaxies compiled by Danish astronomer Johan Ludwig Dreyer (1852–1926) and published in 1888
NGC in British English
abbreviation for: New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars; a catalogue in which over 8000 nebulae, galaxies, and clusters are listed numerically