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Credit & Copyright: Steve Crouch
Explanation:
Shiny NGC 253
is one of the brightest spiral galaxies visible, and also one of
the dustiest.
Some call it the Silver Coin Galaxy for its appearance in small
telescopes, or just the Sculptor Galaxy for its location within
the boundaries of the southern constellation Sculptor.
Discovered in 1783 by mathematician and astronomer
Caroline
Herschel,
the dusty island universe lies a mere 10 million light-years away.
About 70 thousand light-years across, NGC 253 is the largest member of
the Sculptor
Group of Galaxies, the nearest to our own
Local Group of
Galaxies.
In addition to its spiral dust lanes, tendrils of dust seem to be
rising from its galactic disk
laced with young star clusters and star forming regions in
this
colorful galaxy portrait.
The high dust content accompanies frantic star formation,
earning
NGC 253 the designation of a
starburst
galaxy.
NGC 253 is also known to be a strong source of high-energy
x-rays
and
gamma
rays,
likely due to massive black holes near the galaxy's center.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: NGC 253 - spiral galaxy
Publications with words: NGC 253 - spiral galaxy
See also: