NGC 55

Spiral Galaxy NGC 55, type SB(s)m or Sc, in Sculptor

[NGC 55, AAO]

RA:
00 : 14.9
Dec:
-39 : 11
Type:
Sc or SB(s)m
RV:
+129 km/s
Distance:
7,000 kly
Apparent Dimension:
32.4 x 5.6 arc min
Diameter:
Brightness:
8.8 mag
Abs. Mag:
Mass:
Discovered by James Dunlop on August 4, 1826 (Dunlop 507). Cataloged as h 2315 by John Herschel in 1847, and as GC 27 in the 1864 General Catalogue.

Usually regarded as a member of the Sculptor Group (or South Polar Group because of its situation near the South Galactic Pole), this galaxy is listed as a Local Group member by Mateo (1998) who gives a distance of only 5.4 million light-years, compared to the value of 7 million ly given elsewhere.

The image in this page was obtained by David Malin from photographic plates taken with the 3.9-m Anglo-Australian Telescope of the Australian Astronomical Observatory.

  • David Malin's informations on this image

  • NGC 55 was featured as Deep Sky Object of the Month October 2000 by the East Valley Astronomy Club (EVAC)

    References:


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    Last Modification: July 22, 2002