- NGC 253 Sculptor Galaxy
NGC 253 is a large, bright spiral galaxy reminiscent of the Andromeda Galaxy (M 31) in its orientation to the observer. It is located in the southern sky in the constellation Sculptor. It is also known as the "Silver Dollar" or "Silver Coin" Galaxy. It is one of the brightest galaxies in the sky (visual magnitude 7.1), and can be easily observed in binoculars. NGC 253 was initially discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1783 while she was searching for comets.
This galaxy is located at a distance of around 11.4 million LY in the center of a group of galaxies called the Sculptor Group. NGC 253 is characterized by complex patterns of dark dust that obscure the spiral nature of the galaxy disk. In appearance, it reminds me of M 63, the Sunflower Galaxy. NGC 253 is a Starburst Galaxy, which means it has areas of active star formation within it. These areas are predominantly near the galaxy's center and northeast end. This star formation may have been triggered by the collision of a gas-rich dwarf galaxy some 200 million years ago. NGC 253 is considered to contain a supermassive black hole at its center.
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