Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy

For the nearby irregular galaxy, see Sculptor Dwarf Irregular Galaxy.

The Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy (also called the Sculptor Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy or the Sculptor Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy) is a dwarf spheroidal galaxy that is a satellite of the Milky Way. The galaxy is located about 290,000 light-years away. It contains only 4 percent of the carbon and other heavy elements in our own galaxy, making it similar to primitive galaxies seen at the edge of the universe.

Metallicity

The metallicity of Sculptor dwarf stars appears to be broken up into two distinct groups, one with [Fe/H] = -2.3 and the other with [Fe/H] = -1.5. Similar to many of the other Local Group galaxies, the older metal-poor segment appears more extended than the younger metal-rich segment.