We report here the results of spectral imaging observations with the ROSAT PSPC of the field surrounding the very nearby ( D = 3.38 Mpc ) Sculptor galaxy , NGC 7793 .
Many point sources are detected within the field , several of them showing evidence for variability .
Seven sources are seen to lie within the optical confines of the system , the brightest ( L _ { X } \approx 9 \times 10 ^ { 38 } erg s ^ { -1 } ) , lying to the southern edge of NGC 7793 .
This source , also observed to be variable , is seen now , not to be associated with a z = 0.071 redshift QSO , as was previously thought .
A number of the other sources within the NGC 7793 disc are likely to be due to X-ray binaries , supernova remnants or superbubbles within the galaxy itself .
Other sources may be associated with background AGN .
In addition to the point source emission , rather uniform unresolved emission is detected in and around NGC 7793 extending to a radius of perhaps 4 kpc .
This emission is likely to be contaminated to some degree by unresolved point sources , as its temperature ( kT \approx 1 keV ) is rather hotter than is seen for the diffuse gas components in other nearby spiral galaxies .
Comparing the X-ray properties of NGC 7793 with those of the remaining Sculptor group members , suggests that it may , in terms of activity , lie somewhere between its quiescent and starburst neighbours .