M83: The Thousand Ruby Galaxy . ... Prominent spiral arms traced by dark dust lanes and blue star clusters lend this galaxy its popular name, The Southern Pinwheel. But reddish star forming regions that dot the sweeping arms highlighted in this sparkling color composite also suggest another nickname, The Thousand-Ruby Galaxy. ... In fact, the core of M83 itself is bright at x-ray energies , showing a high concentration of neutron stars and black holes left from an intense burst of star formation. ...