NGC 253
Constellation: Scl
Object Type: Galaxy
RA: 0h 47m 33s
Dec: -25° 17' 17"
Magnitude: 8.0
Recommended minimum aperture: 50mm
Charts for 100mm Binocular (2.5° aperture circle). Click on a chart to print it.
Location:
Nearly 5° to the S of Diphda (β Cet), you will find a right triangle of 5th magnitude stars. NGC 253 is nearly 3° to the S this triangle.
What You Should See:
This bright galaxy shows as an elongated glow with a brighter core. It is a relatively easy object, even from the latitude of Britain, despite to its low culmination. It is so bright and large (its major axis is about 2⁄3 the diameter of the Moon) that it is possible to find and identify, even in 50mm binoculars as long as you have the essential ingredient of a good southern horizon.
The globular cluster NGC 288, which lies three quarters of a field to the SE, is another easy object, showing as a dim circular glow with about half the diameter of the galaxy.
