NGC 253 The Sculptor Galaxy

NGC 253, the Sculptor Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor and one of the brightest galaxies of the night sky. Viewed nearly edge on, it is 11 million light years from Earth and 70,000 light years wide. It is known as a starburst galaxy due to its high rate of star formation, believed to have resulted from a collision with a dwarf galaxy first detected by amateur astronomers 160,000 light years from NGC253.