RA 204.9832° · Dec -31.6401° · openngc
4 more points to reach Rare.
NGC 5253 is an uncommon galaxy. It lies about 18,787,557.4 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Cen and shines at apparent magnitude 10.28.
A barred spiral — a straight bar of stars driving right through the nucleus, feeding gas inwards. Our own Milky Way is one of these.
Look for NGC 5253 in the constellation Cen. At apparent magnitude 10.28, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.
Like any astronomical target, NGC 5253 is best seen from a dark site away from city lights, and when it is above the horizon depends on your latitude and the time of year. The visibility panel above works out tonight's viewing window for your saved location.
NGC 5253 scores 30 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 4 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 3 science badges — Galaxy, Outside our galaxy entirely and Barred spiral galaxy — each earned for a real, measurable property of the object. Rarity on Spacedle is never random: the more remarkable an object's astrophysics, the more badges it collects, the higher it scores, and the rarer it ranks.