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| Galaxy NGC 253 in Sculptor | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Galaxy NGC 253 would surely have been included in Messier's Catalog had it not been so low in the southern sky. Its glory has been recognized in the more recent Caldwell Catalog, as entry number 65. At a distance of about 10 million light-years, NGC 253 is the brightest galaxy outside of our Local Group of Galaxies, belonging to the Sculptor Group of Galaxies. This spiral galaxy is tipped steeply to our line of sight, concealing its spiral arms. Caroline Herschel, sister of the more famous William Herschel, discovered this object in 1783. This image combined 30 minutes luminance exposures using the IDAS filter with 10 minutes of green and red and 25 minutes of blue exposures. My exposure times were limited by the galaxies low position in the southern skies, just skimming the tops of distant trees. An ST10XME camera was used through a TEC 140mm refractor at my new observatory. |
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| Music: Daydream Believer, by the Monkees | |||||||||||||||||||