NGC 55

NGC 55, also known as the String of Pearls Galaxy, is a barred spiral galaxy located about 6.5 million light-years away in the constellation Sculptor. It was discovered on July 7, 1826, by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop. This galaxy is one of the closest galaxies to the Local Group, which includes our own Milky Way. Along with its neighbor NGC 300, it sits between the Milky Way and the Sculptor Group. NGC 55 has an estimated mass of (2.0 ± 0.4) × 10¹⁰ times the mass of the Sun.

Nearby galaxies and group information

NGC 55 and the spiral galaxy NGC 300 have often been considered part of the Sculptor Group, a group of galaxies nearby in the sky. But newer measurements show that these two galaxies are actually closer to us, sitting in front of the group.

It seems that NGC 55 and NGC 300 are connected by gravity, moving together as a pair.

Visual appearance

NGC 55 looks almost flat with an uneven shape. It has some dusty areas near its center, which looks wide and stretched out. One side ends sharply, while the other curves and has a few faint spots. Some people think it looks like a smaller version of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a galaxy close to our own. Long ago, an astronomer named Lewis Swift saw part of NGC 55 and thought he had found something new, which is why it has another name, IC 1537.