Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Sculptor (Scl)  ·  Contains:  IC 1608
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The Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy (PGC 3589), Brian Diettrich
The Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy (PGC 3589)
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The Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy (PGC 3589)

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The Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy (PGC 3589), Brian Diettrich
The Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy (PGC 3589)
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The Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy (PGC 3589)

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Description

The Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy (PGC 3589 and not to be confused with the well known Sculptor Galaxy) is an intriguing object. It is a low-luminosity satellite galaxy of the Milky Way and an ancient object comprised of extremely old stars. Sylvia Lindsay, in working with Harlow Shapely, discovered the Sculptor Dwarf photographically in 1937.  With exceptionally low surface brightness, the object is very faint and hard to detect. It appears in the center of the image as a ghostly cloud.  Hartung wrote about the object: "it is not a telescopic object in the usually accepted sense ... It can be just detected on the darkest of nights" (1991:299).  I previously viewed the Sculptor Dwarf directly with an 8" under ideal conditions. It is a subtle but interesting object for imaging.  The distant lenticular galaxy IC1608 appears to the top left of the Sculptor Dwarf.

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The Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy (PGC 3589), Brian Diettrich