M83 · Southern Pinwheel Galaxy

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Credit NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) · Public domain

Chinese name	南风车星系
Type	Galaxy
Constellation	Hya
RA	13h37m
Dec	−30°
Apparent magnitude	7.5ᵐ
Hemisphere	Southern
Best season	Spring
Difficulty	Moderate
Focal length	中焦 600–1000mm

About

The Southern Pinwheel Galaxy (M83, NGC 5236) lies about 15 million light-years away in Hydra and is one of the southern sky's most spectacular face-on barred spirals. Star formation runs intensely high, with arms studded with pink H II regions and blue young clusters and a bright stellar bar crossing the center. Six supernovae have erupted in it over the past century, among the most of any galaxy, and Hubble imagery has revealed nearly 300 supernova-remnant bubbles. Saturated in color, clear in structure, and fairly large on the sky, it shows its grand sweep even at medium focal lengths, making it one of the most popular southern-hemisphere galaxy targets.