De Vaucouleurs Atlas Type: I0 pec

Filter: B

Telescope: UH 2.2-m
North up , East left
Field Dimensions: 6.2 x 4.6 arcminutes

RC3 Type: Pec
RSA Type: Amorph
Surface Brightness Range Displayed: 16.5-26.0 mag per square arcsec
Absolute Blue Magnitude: -17.4

De Vaucouleurs Atlas Description:

NGC 5253 shows a highly resolved, dusty section imbedded within a smooth background like an S0 disk. This is a very good example of what de Vaucouleurs called an I0 , and what Sandage and Brucato (1979) called an ``Amorphous" type. These galaxies have a smooth background dominated by the light of spectral class A stars. The appearance suggests a merger or interaction. The B-I color index map shows that the inner zone includes a very blue nucleus surrounded by a mix of red and blue supergiants, and young clusters.

NGC 5253 is a nearby starburst galaxy and has been the subject of many studies. In one study, Calzetti et al. (1997) argue that the core of NGC 5253 has undergone at least two starbursts in the past 100 Myr.