Title:[0009] A spiral galaxy seen almost edge-on, NGC 253 Caption:NGC 253 is one of the nearest spiral galaxies. It is the most massive member of a group of galaxies lying in the southern constellation Sculptor and is 10 million light years away. It contains a large amount of obscuring dust and is a strong source of infrared radiation. The upper edge of the galaxy as seen in this image is the nearer to us, and the dust clouds at this edge are clearly silhouetted against the stars behind them Copyright:(c) 1980 Anglo-Australian Telescope Board, photograph by David Malin Credit:D. F. Malin

Title:[0040] A galaxy of the local group, NGC 6822 Caption:NGC 6822 is close enough to be resolved into individual stars, although because of its distance (about 1.8 million light years) only the brightest are seen even with a telescope as powerful as the AAT. It seems to be without symmetry and is classified as an irregular galaxy. At one end of a prominent bar a few clouds of glowing gas can be seen; at the other, bright bluish stars straggle out into what appears to be the first signs of a spiral arm. NGC 6822 is one of the nearest galaxies to us and is a member of a small cluster known as the Local Group to which our Milky Way belongs. Copyright:(c) 1982 Anglo-Australian Telescope Board, photograph by David Malin Credit:D. F. Malin

Title:[0256] The Leo 1 dwarf spheroidal galaxy Caption:The Milky Way belongs to a compact cluster of galaxies known as the Local Group. Like most clusters of galaxies, it contains more dwarf galaxies than any other type. The low surface brightness and lack of bright stars makes dwarfs difficult to study and Leo I presents particular problems because the galaxy is overshadowed by the brilliant star Regulus. Special precautions had to be taken to prevent scattered light from the star obliterating its feeble image. The plates from which this color picture was made will be used to learn more about the origins of star formation in these light-weight objects. Copyright:(c) 1987 Anglo-Australian Telescope Board, photograph by David Malin Credit:D. F. Malin

Title:[0827] Andromeda Galaxy (M31) Caption:Andromeda Galaxy (M31) from the 200' telescope, Palomar Copyright: Credit:National Optical Astronomy Observatories

Title:[0989] The Triangulum galaxy Caption:M33, NGC 598, type Sc spiral galaxy in the constellation Triangulum, one of the spiral galaxies nearest to our own Milky Way, 2.4 million light years distant, and one of the Local Group of Galaxies. Copyright: Credit:National Optical Astronomy Observatories

Title:[1003] M32, NGC 221, type E2 dwarf elliptical galaxy Caption:M32, NGC 221, type E2 dwarf elliptical galaxy in the constellation of Andromeda. This companion to M31 (the Andromeda Galaxy) has a diameter of 2,400 light years. Kitt Peak National Observatory 4-meter Mayall telescope photograph. Copyright: Credit:National Optical Astronomy Observatories

Title:[1058] Prime focus of the Kitt Peak 4-meter telescope Caption:This true-color picture was taken using Ektachrome film at the prime focus of the Kitt Peak 4-m telescope in 1973. Due to reciprocity failure during the quite long exposure needed, the image is slightly bluer than it should be. The spiral structure of the galaxy is clearly seen, as is the giant H II region designated NGC 604 (the reddish spot in the upper left). The third largest galaxy in our own Local Group (after the Andromeda Nebula, M31, and our own Galaxy), M33 (NGC 598) is over 30,000 light years across, and more than two million light years away, appearing on the sky in the constellation Triangulum. Copyright: Credit:National Optical Astronomy Observatories/W. Schoening/N. Sharp

Title:[0155] A nearby galaxy, IC 5152 Caption:This deep AAT picture shows IC 5152 resolved into stars, which indicates that it is relatively near to us. Despite its evident proximity, this small galaxy is probably beyond the Local Group, that loose collection of 30 or so galaxies within 2 or 3 million light years of the Milky Way. Apart from the Milky Way and the similarly massive M31 galaxy in Andromeda, most of our immediate extragalactic neighbors are light-weight collections of stars and gas like IC 5152. The star which appears at its eastern end is in our own Galaxy, and is just too faint to be seen with the unaided eye. Copyright:(c) 1984 Anglo-Australian Telescope Board, photograph by David Malin Credit:D. F. Malin