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Explanation: M83 is a bright spiral galaxy that can be found with a small telescope in the constellation of Hydra. 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. The spiral arms are given a blue color by the many bright young stars that have recently formed there. Dark dust lanes are also visible. Stars and gas in spiral arms seem to be responding to much more mass than is visible here, implying that galaxies are predominantly composed of some sort of dark matter. Finding the nature of this dark matter remains one of the great challenges of modern science.
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: M 83 - barred spiral galaxy
Publications with words: M 83 - barred spiral galaxy
See also:
- APOD: 2026 September 11 Á M83: The Southern Pinwheel
- APOD: 2026 May 17 Á NGC 1300: Barred Spiral Galaxy
- NGC 2442: Galaxy in Volans
- APOD: 2025 June 27 Á Messier 109
- APOD: 2025 June 24 Á In the Center of Spiral Galaxy M61
- Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 5335
- APOD: 2025 March 11 Á NGC 1672: Barred Spiral Galaxy from Hubble