NGC 55 – The Whale Galaxy

New Updated Image: This is a new version with the help of Matt Dietrich wonderful Ha data 28hours, thanks Matt. This really made this galaxy pop.

NGC 55, also occasionally referred to as The Whale Galaxy and Caldwell 72, is a barred irregular spiral galaxy located about five million light years away in the constellation Sculptor. Along with its neighbor NGC 300, it is one of the closest galaxies to the Local Group, probably lying between the Milky Way and the Sculptor Group. It is likely that NGC 55 and its neighbor NGC 300 orbit each other and form a gravitationally bound pair.

Along with NGC 300, NGC 55 is part of the Local Group of Galaxies that also includes the Andromeda galaxy (M31), the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, and 40 other galaxies.

NGC 55 is nearly edge-on and appears asymmetrical, like a cigar. Its bulge is diffuse, broad, and somewhat elongated. The bright core is crossed with clouds of gas and dust, and it has a lot of pinkish active star forming regions, and young blue star clusters. Among all these stars are over a hundred Cepheid Variables.

NGC 55 is thought to be like our galactic neighbor, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), although the LMC is seen face-on, whilst NGC 55 is edge-on.

Taken from SWOS in El Sauce, Chile

24” PlaneWave CDK (LRGBHA) Hanson LRGBHa  8-5-5-5-10 Hours

24” PlaneWave CDK (HA) From Matt Dietrich Ha 28 Hours

Total Hours: 61Hours

Image Processing: Mark Hanson

Image Data: Hanson, Dietrich

Thank you,

Mark and Matt