Credit: Ctio/Noirlab/Doe/NSF/AURA
The Galaxy of the South wheel (M83) in Hydra controls almost every box that an amateur astronomer could desire. This extraordinary barred spiral extends over a heavy 14 ‘and, in magnitude 7.5, is among the 10 brightest galaxies of the sky. Its only disadvantage is the position: with a declination of -30 °, it is more south than any other galaxy in the Messier catalog. M83 stands out for its extraordinary spiral arms, which have an abundance of sparkling blue stars clusters and the nebulous pink emissions that give them to light. Astronomes think that the high star training rate of the galaxy derives from a meeting with another galaxy. Some researchers suspect that the nearby irregular NGC 5253 is the cause, while others indicate a possible second nucleus in the nucleus of M83 as a residue of the offensive galaxy.
