Spiral galaxy Messier 83*

This dramatic image of the galaxy Messier 83 was captured by the Wide Field Imager at ESO's La Silla Observatory, located high in the dry desert mountains of the Chilean Atacama Desert. Messier 83 lies roughly 15 million light-years away towards the huge southern constellation of Hydra (the sea serpent). It stretches over 40 000 light-years, making it roughly 2.5 times smaller than our own Milky Way. However, in some respects, Messier 83 is quite similar to our own galaxy. Both the Milky Way and Messier 83 possess a bar across their galactic nucleus, the dense spherical conglomeration of stars seen at the centre of the galaxies.

Crédit:

ESO

À propos de l'image

Identification:eso0825a
Type:Observation
Date de publication:2 septembre 2008
Communiqués de presse en rapport:eso0825
Taille:4432 x 4432 px

À propos de l'objet

Nom:Messier 83
Type:Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral
Distance:15 million années lumière
Constellation:Hydra
Catégorie:Galaxies

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Coordinates

Position (RA):13 37 0.91
Position (Dec):-29° 51' 56.57"
Field of view:17.59 x 17.59 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 0.0° left of vertical