Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

NGC 253 Close-Up

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for October 2, 2008 is “NGC 253 Close-Up,” an image. It is credited to Credit: NASA , ESA , J. Dalcanton, B. Williams ( Univ. Washington ) Ground-based data: T. Rector ( Univ. Alaska, Anchorage ), T. Abbott, NOAO/ AURA /NSF. The original explanation runs about 122 words.

NGC 253 Close-Up
Credit: NASA , ESA , J. Dalcanton, B. Williams ( Univ. Washington ) Ground-based data: T. Rector ( Univ. Alaska, Anchorage ), T. Abbott, NOAO/ AURA /NSF Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“This dusty island universe is one of the brightest spiral galaxies in the sky. Seen nearly edge-on, NGC 253 lies a mere 13 million light-years away and is the largest member of the Sculptor Group of galaxies, neighbor to our own local galaxy group .”

— APOD editors, October 2, 2008

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
October 2, 2008
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: NASA , ESA , J. Dalcanton, B. Williams ( Univ. Washington ) Ground-based data: T. Rector ( Univ. Alaska, Anchorage ), T. Abbott, NOAO/ AURA /NSF
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 122 words

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Topics in this entry

Galaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.