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APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Spiral Galaxy M83: The Southern Pinwheel
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 by the Hubble Space Telescope in a recently released image, 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. Several bright supernova explosions have been recorded in M83 . An intriguing double circumnuclear ring has been discovered at the center of of M83 .
Organize Your Universe: Free APOD 2014 Calendar in PDF format
| Date | January 28, 2014 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Image Credit: NASA , ESA , Hubble Heritage Team ( STScI / AURA ), and W. P. Blair ( JHU ) et al. |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |