Astronomy Picture of the Day . ... M83: A Barred Spiral Galaxy . ... M83 is a member of the Centaurus group of galaxies, a nearby group dominated by the massive galaxy Centaurus A. It takes light about 15 million years to reach us from M83. ... Bright Comet SOHO . ... Discovery Image: Comet SOHO (1998 J1) . ... Staring at the Sun from a vantage point in space (Kids, don't try this at home!), the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) has enabled the discovery of much about our closest star. ...