This is a widefield view of NGC 253 (bottom left) and NGC 288 (top right):

NGC 253, the Sculptor galaxy, is usually presented alone because it is an impressive galaxy with lots of nice features and colors. I took this image using iTelescope.net and used a very widefield telescope to capture the surrounding region along with the globular cluster NGC 288.

I find that taking very widefield images adds a new perspective on familiar targets. While it’s always nice to look at individual targets, seeing them in the context of the larger sky brings new perspectives.

NGC 253 is 11 million light years from us, and NGC 288 is just 28,000 light years from us but their alignment results in a very nice image.

I composed this image by planning it using theskyx configured to have the field of view of iTelescope.net’s T8 telescope having a field of view of 238 x 238 arcminutes.

For reference, here’s NGC 253 presented on its own – it’s an impressive galaxy: