* Image aquisition by: Martin Pugh.
* Processing: Ruben Barbosa.
Telescope: Planewave CDK 17 f6.8.
Mount: Software Bisque Paramount ME
Camera: SBIG STXL 11002 with AOX
The Sculptor's Galaxy (also known as NGC 253, Silver Coin or Silver Dollar Galaxy) is a spiral about 70,000 light years across, located in one of the clusters of galaxies closest to ours, at about 10 million light years in the direction of the constellation of the sculptor.
The amateur astronomer can observe this elegant galaxy with relative ease using a binocular, although with 8 "telescopes already appears as a long elliptical protuberance and a spotted disk. Larger openings will reveal bands of dust and stars toward the disk.
It is often referred to as the Starburst galaxy because of the intense star formation process that is underway, as suggested by the high level of dust on the disk.
Starbust is believed to have been triggered 200 million years ago by the collision with a gas-rich dwarf galaxy, according to evidence to the northeast of the disk where several red supergiant stars can be found, surrounded by young stars and large amounts of hydrogen Neutral, among other peculiarities.
The starburst of NGC 253 will have led to the creation of several massive star clusters (Wolf-Rayet) in the center of NGC 253, some entrethantos obscured due to interstellar dust. Similar to what has been observed in other galaxies, for example in M82, the powerful stellar winds of massive stars as well as those resulting from supernovae appear to be inhibiting the formation of new stars in certain places in the galaxy.
Studies of its nucleus suggest the presence of a supermassive black hole, with a mass estimated at 5 million times the mass of our Sun (slightly more massive than that of our galaxy, Sagittarius A *, which has 4.6 million solar masses ), responsible for the emission of high energy radiation (X-rays and gamma).
Some of the others of the Sculptor Group of Galaxies are listed in the following:
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NGC 55 , a barred irregular galaxy in Sculptor.
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NGC 300, a nearby galactic in the Sculptor.
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NGC 7793, an unbarred spiral galaxy in Sculptor.
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Sculptor Group Composition.
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