🔭 M83 — Southern Pinwheel Galaxy

Galaxy in Hydra

M83, Southern Pinwheel Galaxy is a galaxy in the constellation Hydra, with an apparent magnitude of about 7.6, roughly 14 thousand light-years away.

Data

Catalogue designation	M83
Common name	Southern Pinwheel Galaxy
Object type	Galaxy
Constellation	Hydra
NGC / IC	NGC 5236
Apparent magnitude	7.6
Distance (approx.)	14 thousand light-years

What a galaxy is

A vast, gravitationally-bound system of stars, gas and dust — from small irregular collections to giant spirals containing a trillion suns. Most Messier galaxies are island universes far beyond the Milky Way.

Other Messier objects in Hydra: M48, M68.

Data: Messier catalogue & IAU constellations, via English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0) · stored statically.