Discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1783.

NGC 253 is a member of the Sculptor group of galaxies, which is located around the South galactic pole.  It lies at a distance of approximently 10 to 12 million light years from our location.  NGC 253 is classified as a starburst galaxy with a large amount of interstellar dust and gas available for new star creation.  Several pink HII regions are visible in the image above.  These regions are stellar nurseries where new stars are actively being born.  The Sculptor Group is perhaps the nearest large group of galaxies to our own Local Group.  NGC 253 is one of the brightest galaxies beyond the Local Group.  The galaxy is also know as the Silver Coin Galaxy.

¹https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sculptor_Galaxy