                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2024 February 15

                       NGC 253: Dusty Island Universe
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Steve Crouch

   Explanation: Shiny NGC 253 is one of the brightest spiral galaxies
   visible, and also one of the dustiest. Some call it the Silver Coin
   Galaxy for its appearance in small telescopes, or just the Sculptor
   Galaxy for its location within the boundaries of the southern
   constellation Sculptor. Discovered in 1783 by mathematician and
   astronomer Caroline Herschel, the dusty island universe lies a mere 10
   million light-years away. About 70 thousand light-years across, NGC 253
   is the largest member of the Sculptor Group of Galaxies, the nearest to
   our own Local Group of Galaxies. In addition to its spiral dust lanes,
   tendrils of dust seem to be rising from its galactic disk laced with
   young star clusters and star forming regions in this colorful galaxy
   portrait. The high dust content accompanies frantic star formation,
   earning NGC 253 the designation of a starburst galaxy. NGC 253 is also
   known to be a strong source of high-energy x-rays and gamma rays,
   likely due to massive black holes near the galaxy's center.

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