NGC 1271 is a compact elliptical or lenticular galaxy[2] located about 250 million light-years away[4] in the constellation Perseus.

[5] The galaxy was discovered by astronomer Guillaume Bigourdan on November 14, 1884.

[6] NGC 1271 is a member of the Perseus Cluster[7][6] and has a nuclear dust disk in its center.

[3] It also has an edge-on, intermediate-scale disk and has a central bulge.

[8] Using orbital-based stellar dynamical models, Walsh et al. determined that the supermassive black hole in the center of NGC 1271 has a mass of 3.0+1.0−1.1×109 M☉.