Astronomy Picture of the Day · December 20, 2011

NGC 253: The Sculptor Galaxy

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 20, 2011 is “NGC 253: The Sculptor Galaxy,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit & Copyright: Angus Lau). The original explanation runs about 108 words.

From the explanation

“NGC 253 is not only one of the brightest spiral galaxies visible, it is also one of the dustiest . Discovered in 1783 by Caroline Herschel in the constellation of Sculptor , NGC 253 lies only about ten million light-years distant.”

— APOD editors, December 20, 2011

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: December 20, 2011
Type: Image
Credit: Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Angus Lau
Copyright: Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 108 words

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Topics in this entry

Galaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: December 20 in other years

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Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, December 20, 2011 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2011-december-20-ngc-253-the-sculptor-galaxy

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.