NGC 55

NGC 55
NGC 55 is a bright barred irregular galaxy about 70 thousand light years across, located around 6 million light-years away in the constellation of Sculptor.

It is thought that NGC 55 and NGC 300 orbit each other and form a gravitationally bound pair.

NGC 55 is part of the Local Group of Galaxies that also includes the Andromeda galaxy, the Magellanic Clouds, and 40 other galaxies.

NGC 55 is sometimes referred to as The Whale Galaxy, it is nearly edge-on and appears asymmetrical. The bright core is is full of clouds of gas and dust, and there are numerous H Alpha star forming regions, and young blue star clusters.

Imaged in LRGB and H Alpha on our RiDK 400 at El Sauce, Obstech, Chile.
Image Processing: Mike Selby and Mark Hanson