Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Sculptor (Scl)  ·  Contains:  NGC 253  ·  Sculptor galaxy

Image of the day 12/04/2016

    Silver Coin Galaxy in Sculptor, Geoff
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    Silver Coin Galaxy in Sculptor

    Image of the day 12/04/2016

      Silver Coin Galaxy in Sculptor, Geoff
      Powered byPixInsight

      Silver Coin Galaxy in Sculptor

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      Description

      The Sculptor Galaxy is a little over 11 million light years from us and is located at the center of the Sculptor Group, one of the nearest groups of galaxies to the Milky Way. It is the brightest galaxy in the group and one of the intrinsically brightest nearby galaxies.

      The Sculptor Galaxy is an example of a starburst galaxy, that is, one which is undergoing a period of intense star formation. This has created several super star clusters on NGC 253's centre, one with a mass of 1.5 x 10^6 solar masses, and absolute magnitude of at least -15, and two others with 5 x 10^4 solar masses and absolute magnitudes around -11. Star formation is also high in the northeast of NGC 253's disk, where a number of red supergiant stars can be found. In its halo there are young stars as well as some amounts of neutral hydrogen. This, along with other peculiarities found in NGC 253, suggest that a gas-rich dwarf galaxy collided with it 200 million years ago, disturbing its disk and starting the present starburst.

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