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Southern Pinwheel Galaxy (M83)
spiral galaxy in Hydra
The Southern Pinwheel Galaxy is a bright, face-on barred spiral in Hydra, rich in pink star-forming regions and cut by dust lanes. It has hosted several supernovae, and it is among the best galaxy targets in the southern sky.
Save your telescope or lens on the planner to lay your camera frame over this diagram.
// Key facts
- Catalog
- M83
- Type
- spiral galaxy
- Constellation
- Hydra
- Size
- 13′ across
- Brightness
- Magnitude 7.5
- Distance
- about 15 million light-years
- Peak month (any location)
- Apr
- Typical prime months
- Jan to Jun
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Filter
- No filter (broadband); a light-pollution filter is optional
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How to image Southern Pinwheel Galaxy
- It is far south (dec -30), so it stays low from the northern United States. Southern sites see it much better.
- At 13 arcminutes, use 1,000 to 1,500 mm.
- Red hydrogen regions show best in color with long exposure.
Framing: what focal length?
M83 is small, so a "60% of the frame" focal length would be impractical. Here is how much of an APS-C frame it covers at common long focal lengths; expect to crop.
| Focal length | Share of the frame width |
|---|---|
| 1,000 mm | about 16% |
| 2,000 mm | about 32% |
| 3,000 mm | about 48% |
How high does it climb from your latitude?
The highest point M83 reaches in the sky. Above about 60° is excellent, 30° to 60° is workable, and under 30° you are looking through a lot of air.
| Latitude | Highest point | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 55°N (Scotland, Alaska) | 5° | Stays low |
| 45°N (Minneapolis, Milan) | 15° | Stays low |
| 35°N (Los Angeles, Tokyo) | 25° | Stays low |
| 25°N (Miami, Cairo) | 35° | Workable |
| 35°S (Sydney, Santiago) | 85° | High in the sky |
Also worth imaging
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