This is the pairing of the bright and large edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 253 with the large and loose globular star cluster NGC 288. The two are just 1.75 degrees apart in the constellation Sculptor, but are actually 12 million light years apart in space, with NGC 288 belonging to our Milky Way Galaxy, while NGC 253 is another galaxy altogether!

They lie close to the South Galactic Pole, so are directly below the plane of the Milky Way, indeed as far from the Milky Way band as you can get!

NGC 253 is one of the brightest galaxies in the sky and belongs to the Sculptor Group, one of the next galaxy groups out from our own Local Group that includes the Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies. NGC 253 is a spiral galaxy, while NGC 288 is a Class X globular, meaning it is loose and easily resolved.

NGC 253 is also known as the Silver Coin Galaxy and is Caldwell 65 in Sir Patrick Moore's list of non-Messier objects.

The field is 3º by 2º.

Technical:
This is a stack of 20 x 3-minute exposures with the Askar APO120 refractor with its 0.8x Reducer for 560mm focal length and f/5.6, and the Canon Ra at ISO 1600. No filter was employed. The mount was the Astro-Physics AP400, autoguided with the MGEN3 autoguider. Taken Oct 2/3, 2024 from the Quailway Cottage in southeastern Arizona, where even from latitude 32º N the objects are still fairly low in the south.