M83: The Southern Pinwheel Galaxy from VLT
Explanation:
M83 is one of
the closest and brightest
spiral galaxies on
the sky.
Visible with binoculars in the constellation of
Hydra, majestic spiral arms
have prompted its nickname as the Southern Pinwheel.
Although discovered 250 years ago,
only
much later was it appreciated that
M83 was not a nearby gas cloud, but a
barred
spiral galaxy much like our own
Milky Way Galaxy.
M83,
pictured above in a photograph from a
Very
Large Telescope, is a prominent member
of a group of galaxies that includes
Centaurus A and
NGC 5253, all of which lie about 15 million light years distant.
To date, six
supernova explosions
have been recorded in M83.
An intriguing
double
circumnuclear ring has been discovered
at the center
of M83.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
