---
title: "APOD – 3/2/13 – Southern Pinwheel Galaxy"
description: "[![]()]() *Image credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA).*"
date: "2013-03-04"
modified: "2013-03-04"
authors:
  - name: "Futurism"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/admin"
url: "https://futurism.com/apod-3213-southern-pinwheel-galaxy"
categories:
  - "From Quarks to Quasars"
---

# APOD – 3/2/13 – Southern Pinwheel Galaxy

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/625600_427494947336920_755260111_n.jpg>)

[![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/625600_427494947336920_755260111_n-298x300.jpg>)](<http://tinyurl.com/apod-m83-large>)
*Image credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA).*

This beautiful image shows one of the spiral arms of the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, also known as M83 or NGC 5236. This galaxy is located about 15-million light-years from Earth in the constellation Hydra. M83 is a barred spiral galaxy and is one of the closest such objects to Earth; it is easily visible with binoculars.

This particular image, taken in 2009 by the Hubble Space telescope, imaged wavelengths from ultraviolet and near-infrared, revealing the history of star formation in this sector of the galaxy. Here, you can see M83’s galactic core, many bright blue star forming areas containing stars between 1 and 10 million years, and the remnants of about 60 supernovae.

See a larger image [here](<http://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/files/2013/01/Star_birth_in_Messier_83-600x603.jpg>).