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APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Spiral Galaxy NGC 253 Almost Sideways
Explanation: NGC 253 is a normal spiral galaxy seen here almost sideways. It is the largest member of the Sculptor Group of Galaxies , the nearest group to our own Local Group of Galaxies. NGC 253 , pictured above , appears visually as one of the brightest spirals on the sky, and is easily visible in southern hemisphere with a good pair of binoculars . The type Sc galaxy is about 10 million light years distant. NGC 253 is considered a starburst galaxy because of high star formation rates and dense dust clouds in its nucleus. The energetic nuclear region is seen to glow in X-ray and gamma-ray light.
| Date | May 25, 2003 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit & Copyright: Jean-Charles Cuillandre (CFHT), Hawaiian Starlight , CFHT |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |