Irregular Barred-Spiral Galaxy, NGC 55

Located in Sculptor, close to NGC 300, with which it is likely gravitationally bound, it is one of the nearest galaxies to our Local Group at around 6.5 Mly. It is seen here in a starry field almost edge-on to us. Its designation as a Magellanic-type barred-spiral galaxy is based on a structural similarity to the Large Magellanic Cloud, LMC. It is clearly asymmetric in having a bulge of older yellowish coloured stars towards one end, but also many reddish star-forming regions and clusters of young blue stars along its "equatorial" region. Little dust is apparent.