Spiral galaxy · Sculptor

NGC 253 Sculptor Galaxy

Also known as: C65

mag 7.127′ across

About

NGC 253, the Sculptor Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy of magnitude 7.1 in Sculptor, about 27′ across.

NGC 253 is in the constellation Sculptor.
Best evenings: around mid-November it is highest at about 9 pm (10 pm in summer time); a month earlier, two hours later.
Where on Earth: it is seen well, at least 10° up, from south of 55° N.

When it rises and sets tonight, how high it climbs and how much the Moon gets in the way are worked out in your browser for your place.

EyesNot visible to the naked eye.
Binoculars (10×50)A thin misty streak.
Telescope (6–8 inch)A thin spindle of light, sometimes with a dark dust lane along it.

For a dark country sky with no Moon. From a city, faint galaxies and nebulae can disappear completely.

Designations	NGC 253, C65, PGC 2789, UGCA 13
Type	Spiral galaxy (SABc)
Magnitude	7.1The smaller the number, the brighter.
Apparent size	27′ × 4.6′position angle 53°; the full Moon is 31′ across
Surface brightness	22.4 mag/arcsec²Average over its disc, in the blue band: the lower the number, the easier it is to see.
Constellation	Sculptor
Right ascension (J2000)	00h 47m 33.1s
Declination (J2000)	−25° 17′ 18″

Catalog data: OpenNGC by Mattia Verga, CC BY-SA 4.0, and d3-celestial by Olaf Frohn, BSD 3-Clause. All data sources →