Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253, Globular NGC 288)

clic for 35% size 1136 x 930 (150 kB)

clic here for 70% size 2272 x 1860 (550 kB)


About this Image

NGC 253 is the brightest member of the Sculptor group of galaxies, which is grouped around the South galactic pole. . The Sculptor group is perhaps the nearest to our Local Group of galaxies. NGC 253 is also one of the brightest galaxies beyond the Local Group. In the lower left corner lies the globular cluster NGC 288, The globular cluster is just 27000 light years away and thus part of the halo surrounding our Milky Way, while the distance to the Sculptor Galaxy NGC 253 is approximately 10 million light years.
North is up.

Below you find a crop on NGC 253 in 100%.

At bottom you find a crop on NGC 288 in 100% size.


Technical Details
Optics

105mm TMB refractor with flattener at f/6.5

Mount AP-400 GEM
Camera SBIG STL-11000M at -25C, internal filter wheel
Filters Astronomik LRGB
Date Aug 14, 2004.
Location Hakos/Namibia
Sky Conditions mag 6.5, high transparency, temperature 6 C, good seeing
Exposure LRGB= 30:15:15:15 min (5-minute sub-exposures)
all 1x1.
Processing Image aquisition in Maxim DL 4.0; Image calibration, aligning, mean stacking, DDP and color synthesis in ImagesPlus; 1x deconvolution for galaxy area
Photoshop: color balance, cropped;