NGC 253
NGC 253 is one of brightest spiral galaxies in the night sky, easily visible with small telescopes, and it is composed of thousands of young, blue stars. It is undergoing intense star formation. The image demonstrates the sharp "eye" of Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys, which is able to show individual stars. The dark filaments are clouds of dust and gas. NGC 253 is the dominant galaxy in the Sculptor Group of galaxies and it resides about 13 million light-years from Earth.
Credit:NASA, ESA, J. Dalcanton and B. Williams (University of Washington), T.A. Rector/University of Alaska Anchorage, T. Abbott and NOAO/AURA/NSF
About the Image
NASA press release
| Id: | heic0819b |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 30 September 2008, 16:00 |
| Related releases: | heic0819 |
| Size: | 15135 x 3849 px |
About the Object
| Name: | NGC 253 |
| Type: | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral |
| Distance: | 10 million light years |
| Constellation: | Sculptor |
| Category: | Galaxies |
Image Formats
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 0 47 52.52 |
| Position (Dec): | -25° 13' 47.79" |
| Field of view: | 12.63 x 3.21 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is 139.9° right of vertical |
View in ESASky:
View in WorldWide Telescope:
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
|---|---|---|
| Optical B | 475 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
| Optical V | 606 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
| Infrared I | 814 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |