NGC 289 is a spiral galaxy in the southern constellation of Sculptor, located at a distance of 76 megalight-years from the Milky Way.

[4] The plane of the galaxy is inclined by an angle of 45° to the line of sight from the Earth.

A dust lane is seen crossing the nucleus, and there are indications of recent starburst activity nearby.

The galaxy has a dark matter halo that has an estimated 3.5 times the mass of the gaseous and stellar components.

There is a dwarf elliptical companion to the north of the galaxy,[7] designated Arp 1981,[6] that may be having a perturbing influence.