Zooming in on the HAWK-I infrared view of Messier 83

This zoom sequence starts with a wide-field view of the southern sky, including the arc of the Milky Way. We then slowly home in on the bright galaxy Messier 83. First we see it in visible light and then switch to the new infrared image from the HAWK-I instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope. As well as showing the structure of the galaxy without the obscuring effect of dust, the picture shows huge numbers of stars within the galaxy.