Celestial Objects

Southern Pinwheel Galaxy

Galaxies

Citation Formats

General Reference

Space and Astronomy Atlas. "Southern Pinwheel Galaxy." Accessed September 2, 2026. https://dev-space.interactiveatlas.org/celestial-objects/messier-83.

APA Style

Space and Astronomy Atlas. (n.d.). Southern Pinwheel Galaxy. Retrieved September 2, 2026, from https://dev-space.interactiveatlas.org/celestial-objects/messier-83

BibTeX

@misc{spaceandastronomyatlas-southern-pinwheel-galaxy,
  author = {Space and Astronomy Atlas},
  title = {Southern Pinwheel Galaxy},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://dev-space.interactiveatlas.org/celestial-objects/messier-83},
  note = {Accessed September 2, 2026}
}

The Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, catalogued as Messier 83 and also designated NGC 5236, is a barred spiral galaxy about 15 million light-years away on the border of the constellations Hydra and Centaurus. It was discovered by the French astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille on 17 February 1752 from the Cape of Good Hope, and Charles Messier later added it to his catalogue of nebulous objects in March 1781.

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