NGC 253 Silver Coin Galaxy

NGC 253 gained the nickname "Silver Coin" galaxy because of its visual appearance in telescopes. The galaxy is actually located in a cluster of dimmer galaxies and is difficult to see visually because of the low surface brightness and its southern declination. Use the 4.3 magnitude star, Alpha Scl, and the Globular Cluster, NGC 288 (Magnitude 8.1) to help locate it. It is very large, about as wide as a full moon and 1/4 as tall so use a low power eyepiece and at east a 6 inch scope. The galaxy is about 5 degrees from the star.

Click here for a larger image	Scope: 8" LX 200 SCT
	MX-5C CCD Camera, STAR 2000 and IDAS LPR
	Focal Ratio: f3.3
	Exposure: 70 min
	Click here for the SEDS NGC Catalog
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NGC 253 "Silver Coin" Galaxy
NGC 253 gained the nickname "Silver Coin" galaxy because of its visual appearance in telescopes. The galaxy is actually located in a cluster of dimmer galaxies and is difficult to see visually because of the low surface brightness and its southern declination. Use the 4.3 magnitude star, Alpha Scl, and the Globular Cluster, NGC 288 (Magnitude 8.1) to help locate it. It is very large, about as wide as a full moon and 1/4 as tall so use a low power eyepiece and at east a 6 inch scope. The galaxy is about 5 degrees from the star.
	Constellation: Sculptor Size: 27.7 x 6.7 arcmin Magnitude: 8.0 Surface Brightness: 12.8 RA: 00h 47m 33.1s Dec: -25d 17m 18s