Science Source Stock Photo - Sculptor Galaxy, NGC 253, Caldwell 65

Sculptor Galaxy, NGC 253, Caldwell 65

Description: The Sculptor galaxy is shown in different infrared hues, in this new mosaic from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. This image is a composite of infrared light captured with all four of the space telescope's infrared detectors. The Sculptor galaxy, or NGC 253, was discovered in 1783 by Caroline Herschel, a sister and collaborator of the discoverer of infrared light, Sir William Herschel. It was named after the constellation in which it is found, and is part of a cluster of galaxies known as the Sculptor group. The Sculptor galaxy can be seen by observers in the southern hemisphere with a pair of good binoculars. NGC 253 is an active galaxy, which means that a significant fraction of its energy output does not come from normal populations of stars within the galaxy. The extraordinarily high amount of star formation occurring in the nucleus of this galaxy has led astronomers to classify it as a "starburst" galaxy. At a distance of approximately 10.5 million light-years away, NGC 253 is the closest starburst galaxy to our Milky Way galaxy. However, the starburst alone cannot explain all the activity observed in the nucleus. One strong possibility is that a giant black hole lurks at the heart of it all, similar to the one that lies at the center of the Milky Way.

Credit:

NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/Science Source

Unique identifier: SS2512385

Legacy Identifier: BV1251

Type: Image

Size: 4050px × 2531px (~29 MB)

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