Galaxy · Elliptical
Sculptor Dwarf
Sculptor Dwarf is a galaxy in the direction of the constellation Sculptor, 280,500 light-years away.
| Type | Elliptical |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Sculptor |
| Distance | 280,500 light-years (86.0 kpc) |
| Diameter | 4,892 light-years · 0.056 × the Milky Way |
| Absolute magnitude | magnitude −11.10 |
| Apparent magnitude | magnitude 8.57 |
| Luminosity | 1.2 × 10⁻⁴ × the Milky Way |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 1h 00m 09.4s |
| Declination (J2000) | −33° 42′ 32″ |
| Source | Compiled catalogue (NED, approximate values) |
In the sky
Too faint for the naked eye (magnitude 8.57); binoculars will find it. Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 56° N. South of latitude 56° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in October, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 280 thousand years ago. At that time Homo sapiens was spreading out of Africa; there was no farming yet. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 5.0 billion years.