Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Sculptor (Scl)  ·  Contains:  IC 1537  ·  NGC 55
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The Sring of Pearls Galaxy (NGC 55), Paul Lloyd
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The Sring of Pearls Galaxy (NGC 55)

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
The Sring of Pearls Galaxy (NGC 55), Paul Lloyd
Powered byPixInsight

The Sring of Pearls Galaxy (NGC 55)

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Description

This galaxy resembles the Large Magellanic Cloud in its features, and is referred to as a Magellanic-type
barred spiral galaxy. We see it edge-on. It resides at just 6.5 Mly away, making it one of our closest
neighbouring galaxies. It, along with its neighbour, NGC 300, lie close to, but are not members of, our
Local Group of galaxies, to which our Milky Way belongs. It is estimated to be approx. 50,000 ly
across and is described as an irregular galaxy with a diffuse central bulge that is also elongated.
Large regions of nebulosity associated with star-formation can be observed.

I haven’t found a reference as to the reason behind the common name for this galaxy, but enhanced
data aquisition does reveal the starburst regions appearing as a string of bright areas across the
length of the galaxy.

Telescope: William Optics FLT110 refractor + 2.0x Barlow, f=1540mm
Camera:    ZWO ASI294MC Pro, 46 x 300 sec, no filter
                   Bortle 3-4 sky, moonless
Field of View: approx. 0º 40’ x 0º 28’
Image processed and prepared in PixInsight and Photoshop Elements

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The Sring of Pearls Galaxy (NGC 55), Paul Lloyd