Galaxies
NGC 253 in the constellation Sculptor
The Sculptor or Silver Coin galaxy is around 11 million lightyears distant and 90,000 lightyears across. It is seen almost edge-on and is a starburst galaxy, undergoing intense star formation. It contains great quantities of dust, causing a dimming and reddening of its light. This also explains the very yellow colour of the central regions.
It is the most massive of the Sculptor group of galaxies and there is thought to be a supermassive black hole at the centre, of about 5 million suns in mass.
This LRGBHa image is the result of 1h 25m of remote data capture from New South Wales on an evening in August 2021, using a 17-inch Planewave CDK reflector and FLI Proline PL 16803 camera.
Date: 18/08/2021
Photographer: Graham Wilcock
