Magellanic-type galaxy · Sculptor

NGC 55 String of Pearls Galaxy

Also known as: C72

mag 8.430′ across

About

NGC 55, the String of Pearls Galaxy, is a Magellanic-type galaxy of magnitude 8.4 in Sculptor, about 30′ across.

NGC 55 is in the constellation Sculptor.
Best evenings: around early 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 41° 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 55, C72, PGC 1014
Type	Magellanic-type galaxy (SBm)
Magnitude	8.4The smaller the number, the brighter.
Apparent size	30′ × 3′position angle 101°; the full Moon is 31′ across
Surface brightness	22.5 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 14m 53.6s
Declination (J2000)	−39° 11′ 48″

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