File:Irregular_Galaxy_NGC_55_(ESO_0914a).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
NGC 55
Sign in to saveAlso known as C 72, Caldwell 72, Nuevo Catálogo General 55, String of Pearls Galaxy
spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor
Key facts
- Constellation
- Sculptor
- Right ascension
- 00 14 53.6
- Declination
- −39 ° 11 ′ 47.9 ″
- Heliocentric radial velocity
- 131 ± 2 km/s
- Distance
- 6.5 ± 0.65 Mly , (2.00 ± 0.2 Mpc )
- Type
- SB(s)m
- Mass
- (2.0 ± 0.4) × 10 M ☉
- Size
- ~68,500 ly (20.99 kpc ) (estimated)
- Apparent size v
- 32.4′ × 5.6′
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Constellation
- Sculptor
- Distance from Earth
- 1.6
- Image
- Irregular Galaxy NGC 55 (ESO 0914a).jpg
Show 11 more facts
- Commons category
- NGC 55
- galaxy morphological type
- Irr
- catalog code
- SUMSS J001458-391226
- discoverer or inventor
- James Dunlop
- time of discovery or invention
- 1826-08-04
- apparent magnitude
- 6.249
- redshift
- 0.000430
- right ascension
- 3.7233417
- declination
- -39.1966278
- radial velocity
- 129.0
- epoch
- J2000.0
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~2 min read
Encyclopedic overview
NGC 55, also known as the String of Pearls Galaxy, is a Magellanic type barred spiral galaxy located about 6.5 million light-years away in the constellation Sculptor. It was discovered on 7 July 1826 by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop. 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 has an estimated mass of (2.0 ± 0.4) × 10 M☉.
Nearby galaxies and group information
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “NGC 55” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.