NGC 2642 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation of Hydra. Its velocity with respect to the cosmic microwave background is 4632 ± 21 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 68.32 ± 4.79 Mpc (∼223 million light-years). It was discovered by British astronomer John Herschel on 19 February 1830.

According to the SIMBAD database, NGC 2642 is a Seyfert I galaxy, i.e. it has a quasar-like nuclei with very high surface brightnesses whose spectra reveal strong, high-ionisation emission lines, but unlike quasars, the host galaxy is clearly detectable.

Three supernovae have been observed in NGC 2642:

• SN 2002fj (type IIn, mag. 15.8) was discovered by Libert "Berto" Monard on 12 September 2002.
• SN 2008bh (type II, mag. 16.3) was discovered by the Lick Observatory Supernova Search (LOSS) and by The CHilean Automatic Supernova sEarch (CHASE) on 23 March 2008.
• SN 2023aaby (type Ic, mag. 17.943) was discovered by ATLAS on 14 December 2023.

• List of NGC objects (2001–3000)

• Media related to NGC 2642 at Wikimedia Commons
• NGC 2642 on WikiSky: DSS2, SDSS, GALEX, IRAS, Hydrogen α, X-Ray, Astrophoto, Sky Map, Articles and images