Messier 83
Barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Hydra / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This page is about the galaxy, for the band, see M83 (Band).
Messier 83 | |
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Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
Constellation | Hydra |
Right ascension | 13h 37m 00.919s[1] |
Declination | −29° 51′ 56.74″[1] |
Redshift | 0.001721±0.000013[2] |
Heliocentric radial velocity | 508 km/s[3] |
Distance | 14.7 Mly (4.50 Mpc)[3] |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 7.6[4] |
Characteristics | |
Type | SAB(s)c[2] |
Size | 36.24 kiloparsecs (118,000 light-years) (diameter; 26.0 mag/arcsec2 B-band isophote)[2] |
Apparent size (V) | 12′.9 × 11′.5[5] |
Other designations | |
Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, NGC 5236, PGC 48082, UGCA 366[6] |
Messier 83 or M83, also known as the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy and NGC 5236, is a barred spiral galaxy[7] approximately 15 million light-years away in the constellation borders of Hydra and Centaurus. Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille discovered M83 on 17 February 1752 at the Cape of Good Hope.[8] Charles Messier added it to his catalogue of nebulous objects (now known as the Messier Catalogue) in March 1781.[8]
It is one of the closest and brightest barred spiral galaxies in the sky, and is visible with binoculars.[9] It has an isophotal diameter at about 36.24 kiloparsecs (118,000 light-years). Its nickname of the Southern[lower-alpha 1] Pinwheel derives from its resemblance to the Pinwheel Galaxy (M101).