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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.
NGC 253: The Sculptor Galaxy
Explanation: NGC 253 is not only one of the brightest spiral galaxies visible, it is also one of the dustiest . Discovered in 1783 by Caroline Herschel in the constellation of Sculptor , NGC 253 lies only about ten million light-years distant. NGC 253 is the largest member of the Sculptor Group of Galaxies , the nearest group to our own Local Group of Galaxies . The dense dark dust accompanies a high star formation rate, giving NGC 253 the designation of starburst galaxy . Visible in the above photograph from the Hubble Space Telescope is the active central nucleus , also known to be a bright source of X-rays and gamma rays .
| Date | March 16, 2003 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit: A. Watson ( UNAM ) et al., Hubble Heritage Team ( STScI / AURA ), NASA |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |