Oct 30, 2013
NGC 55
NGC 55 is an irregular galaxy located about 7.5 million light years away towards the constellation Sculptor. It is about 70,000 light years across and seen nearly edge on. The galaxy is thought to be similar to the Large Magellanic Cloud, an irregular galaxy resembling a barred disk galaxy.
Like the Large Magellanic Cloud, NGC 55 is producing new stars, visible from this image with pink emission regions and blue star clusters. The galaxy is a member of the Sculptor Galaxy group, the closest galaxy group to our Local Group, of which the Large Magellanic Cloud is a well known member.
Image from NASA, information from NASA, ESO, and Messier.SEDS.
