Spiral Galaxy Messier 83

If our Milky Way were to resemble this one, we certainly would be proud of our home! The beautiful spiral galaxy Messier 83 is located in the southern constellation Hydra (the Water Snake) and is also known as NGC 5236 and as the Southern Pinwheel galaxy. It is about twice the size of the Milky Way and is situated at a distance of 15 million light-years. The image show clumpy, well-defined spiral arms that are rich in young stars, and a disc revealing a complex system of intricate dust lanes. This galaxy is known to be a site of vigorous star formation.