Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Centaurus (Cen)  ·  Contains:  NGC 5253
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NGC 5253, Gary Imm
NGC 5253, Gary Imm

NGC 5253

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
NGC 5253, Gary Imm
NGC 5253, Gary Imm

NGC 5253

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Description

This bright object is a blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxy located 11 million light years away in the constellation of Centaurus at a declination of -32 degrees.  It is a magnitude 10.5 galaxy which spans 4 arc-minutes in our apparent view.  This corresponds to a small diameter of 15,000 light years.

BCD galaxies are believed to be young galaxies having the following characteristics:
- Small size
- Starburst galaxy, with active star formation
- Blue color, due to the high energy radiation of massive young stars
- Low metal content

NGC 5253 is one of the nearest BCD galaxies to us.  For its small size, this object has vivid blue and purple colors due to its active star formation. It also has interesting tiny dust lanes, as better seen in the Hubble image of the mouseover comparison.

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