Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253)




About this image.

NGC 253 is the brightest member of the Sculptor group of galaxies, which is grouped around the South galactic pole (therefore, also sometimes named "South Polar Group"). NGC 253 is also one of the brightest galaxies beyond the Local Group. The RASC Observer's Handbook gives the common name Silver Coin Galaxy for NGC 253; it is also referred to as the Sculptor Galaxy.

NGC 253 was one of the major discoveries of Caroline Herschel, the sister of William Herschel. She discovered this object on September 23, 1783 with "an excellent small Newtonian Sweeper" of 27 inches focal length and a power of 30 (William Herschel's description).  The galaxy lies around 10 million light years distant in the constellation of Sculptor.

(Text taken from www.seds.org)

Equipment

Telescope:                 12.5" Ritchey Chretein by RC Optical Systems
Mount:                      Paramount ME by Software Bisque
Instrument:               STL11000M CCD Camera by SBIG with AOL

Exposure:                  LRGB 420:120:120:120 Minutes
Capture Software:      CCDSOFT and CCDAutopilot
Processing:               Maxim DL, CCDStack, Photoshop CS2

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