Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2026 September 11
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                         M83: The Southern Pinwheel
                   Image Credit & Copyright:: Aldo Zanetti

   Explanation: Beautiful and bright [3]spiral galaxy M83 lies some twelve
   million light-years away, near the southeastern tip of the very long
   constellation [4]Hydra. Prominent spiral arms traced by dark dust lanes
   and blue star clusters lend this galaxy its popular name, the Southern
   Pinwheel. Still, reddish [5]star forming regions that dot this cosmic
   pinwheel's spiral arms have suggested another nickname, the
   [6]Thousand-Ruby Galaxy. A mere 40,000 light-years across, smaller than
   the Milky Way, M83 is a member of a group of galaxies that includes
   active galaxy [7]Centaurus A. In fact, the core of M83 itself is bright
   [8]at x-ray energies, showing a high concentration of neutron stars and
   black holes left from an intense burst of star formation. This sharp,
   groundbased telescopic view also features foreground Milky Way stars
   and distant background galaxies.

        APOD's main NASA site is [9]moving: From [10]apod.nasa.gov to
                          [11]science.nasa.gov/apod
                    Tomorrow's picture: lunar sun catcher
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      Authors & editors: [23]Robert Nemiroff ([24]MTU) & Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([25]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [26]Specific rights apply.
            [27]NASA Web Privacy, [28]Accessibility, [29]Notices;
                A service of: [30]ASD at [31]NASA / [32]GSFC,
                         [33]NASA Science Activation
                           & [34]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2609/M83_Final2_1x.jpg
   3. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-83/
   4. http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/hya/index.html
   5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap061123.html
   6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190629.html
   7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080110.html
   8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030206.html
   9. https://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?t=45023
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/
  11. https://science.nasa.gov/apod
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260910.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  16. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  18. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  21. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260911
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260912.html
  23. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/department/faculty/nemiroff/
  24. https://www.mtu.edu/physics
  25. https://www.astro.umd.edu/
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  27. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  28. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  29. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  30. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  31. https://www.nasa.gov/
  32. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  33. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  34. http://www.mtu.edu/