Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

M83 (NGC 5236), also called the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Hydra, about 15 million light-years from Earth. It is approximately 55,000 light-years in diameter and features well-defined spiral arms and intense star formation. It is one of the brightest and closest spiral galaxies, visible with binoculars in dark skies, especially from the Southern Hemisphere. At least 6 supernovae have been observed in it. Its core is active, with many regions of ionized hydrogen and young stars.