NGC253 is a barred spiral galaxy, located about 10 million light years away in the direction of Sculptor. Active star formation is taking place in both the disk and nucleus. The galaxy is about 70,000 light years in diameter.
This galaxy is very difficult to image from northern Italy because of its negative declination. I can just imagine what a beautiful sight it must be from southern sites!
Imaging details: Shoot at 20° above local horizon with an 8" Meade LX200R and an Atik 4000C CCd camera cooled at -25°C. 25 x 300 seconds exposure.
