NGC 23 is a spiral galaxy located in the northern constellation of Pegasus, around 173.5 megalight-years distant from the Milky Way.

In the Webb Society Deep-Sky Observer's Handbook,[6] the visual appearance of NGC 23 is described as follows: Bright, extended ellipse; a bright nuclear structure is noticeably elongated; two weak spiral enhancements emerge from opposite sides of the nucleus, one curving towards a bright star attached on the south end.

The shape of this galaxy is described by its morphological classification of SBb, which indicates it is a barred spiral (SB) with spiral arms that are moderately tightly wound (b).

16) was discovered by Allan Sandage in September 1958 using the Hale Telescope.

On a photographic plate taken 23 October 1955 (three years prior), a bright star with a visual magnitude around 16 was located 10″ to the north and 10″ east of the galactic center.