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 in this century was it appreciated that
M83 was
not a gas cloud but a
barred spiral galaxy much like our own
Milky Way Galaxy.
M83,
pictured above in a recently released 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 unusual
double circumnuclear ring has recently been discovered
at the center of
M83 and is still being investigated.
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.
