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> Galaxy NGC 300 in Sculptor

Galaxy NGC 300 in Sculptor

author: ESO/Novapix

reference: a-gax03-00001

Image Size 300 DPI: 33 * 31 cm

Located some 7 million light-years away, the spiral galaxy NGC 300 is a beautiful representative of its class, a Milky-Way-like member of the prominent Sculptor group of galaxies in the southern constellation of that name. NGC 300 is a big object in the sky - being so close, it extends over an angle of almost 25 arcmin, only slightly less than the size of the full moon. It is also relative bright, even a small pair of binoculars will unveil this magnificent spiral galaxy as a hazy glowing patch on a dark sky background. The comparatively small distance of NGC 300 and its face-on orientation provide astronomers with a wonderful opportunity to study in great detail its structure as well as its various stellar populations and interstellar medium. This image was obtained with the Wide-Field Imager (WFI) on the MPG/ESO 2.2-m telescope at the La Silla Observatory in 2000 

Keywords for this photo:

2000 - ASTRONOMY - GALAXY - LA SILLA - MPG/ESO 2.2m - NGC 300 - Sc - SCULPTOR - SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE - SPIRAL GALAXY - STAR - STAR FORMATION -