The Caldwell Objects

magnitude stars, one just to the east of the
nuclear region and one farther to the west. With a
bit of imagination it looks as if the galaxy was
sailing through space until it wedged itself in
between these two stars and became forever
trapped, like a leaf that was floating down a
stream until it got caught between two stones.
Seeing the galaxy beyond these foreground stars
adds a three-dimensional quality to the lowpower
scene. (By the way, the Hipparcos satellite
did triangulate the 9th-magnitude star to the
northeast of the galaxy; it lies 193 light-years
from Earth.) The galaxy's highly condensed inner
region looks mottled. The brightest patch there is
the southwestern edge of the inner nuclear
region; it lies well to the
north of the pair of 9th-magnitude stars. If you
concentrate, this feature takes on a parabolic
shape, with its faintest extension curving gently
to the northeast, toward the bright nucleus.
Another smaller parabolic patch lies diametrically
across from the first one, on the other side of
the nucleus. The northeastern side of this patch
looks frayed, like a tiny feathery tail. The galaxy's
core has a remarkably high surface brightness.
It's hard to judge the galaxy's true
The Caldwell Objects
65
extent at low power; low power emphasizes an
apparently sharp edge that makes the eye want
to extend the galaxy beyond its true borders. Use
moderate magnification (72x) to reliably trace out
NGC 253's farthest reaches.
NGC 253 takes high power very well, and
high power is needed to make out the complex
detail in its center. In fact, at high magnification
it's possible to see some of the galaxy's
compact clumps and stellar associations in a 4inch
telescope. The galaxy's core is also riddled
with dark nebulosity, perhaps too much to draw
precisely. Moderate power only hints at this
detail (or the wealth of it, I should say). High
power and a modest amount of hyperventilating
will help you study the galaxy's nucleus. I found
myself straining to make sense of the vast
amount of detail there, but doing so became
easier once I relaxed and took strong,
261