This is a photo of a dusty island universe and is one of the brightest spiral galaxies in planet Earth's sky. NGC 253 is only 13 million light-years away, and is the largest member of the Sculptor Group of galaxies and is neighbor to our own local galaxy group. This is a five frame mosaic based on data assembled from the Hubble Legacy Archive. Beginning on the left near the galaxy's core, the image follows dust filaments, interstellar gas clouds, and even individual stars toward the galaxy's edge at the right. The vista spans nearly 50,000 light-years. The frame at the far right has been compressed slightly to bring into view an interacting pair of background galaxies. Designated a starburst galaxy because of its "frantic" star forming activity, NGC 253 features tendrils of dust rising from as galactic disk laced with young star forming regions. NGC 253 is also known to be a strong source of high-energy x-rays and gamma rays, likelydue to massive black holes near the galaxy's center.
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