We use cookies to deliver essential features and to measure their performance. By using this site you accept our Privacy Policies.
Help keep this site free and ads-free: donate now!
A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
public LocationGreenwich, United Kingdom
TimezoneEurope/London
Sunrise: 5:29 
Transit: 12:55 
Sunset: 20:22
wb_twilight   (Nautical Twilight)   What's Visible Now?
All Constellations »  Hydra »  Deep Sky Objects » 

Messier 83 (Southern Pinwheel Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Hydra

Altitude: 2.3°   Azimuth: 148.3°   Direction: South-South-East

Messier 83 is a Spiral Galaxy in the Hydra constellation. Messier 83 is situated south of the celestial equator and, as such, it is more easily visible from the southern hemisphere.

The image below is a photograph of Messier 83 from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 0.45366666666667x0.45366666666667 degrees (27.22x27.22 arcmins).

Image of Messier 83 (Southern Pinwheel Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Hydra star
/>
DSS2 image of Messier 83 in the Red band. The green region on the image is a representation of the major (13.61 arcmin) and minor (13.21 arcmin) axes of the object's apparent size.

Key facts about Messier 83

Messier 83
Galaxy
Hydra

Messier 83 is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom.

Altitude: 2.3°
Azimuth: 148.3°
Direction: South-South-East

See also Messier 83 rise and set times.

Given its visual magnitude of 7.52, Messier 83 is visible with the help of a binocular with a 40-50mm aperture or a small telescope.

Available Resources for Messier 83 (Southern Pinwheel Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Hydra

Photometric information of Messier 83

The following table lists the magnitude of Messier 83 in different bands of the electomagnetic spectrum (when available), from the B band (445nm wavelength, corresponding to the Blue color), to the V band ( 551nm wavelength, corresponding to Green/Yellow color), to the J, H, K bands (corresponding to 1220nm, 1630nm, 2190nm wavelengths respectively, which are colors not visible to the human eye).

8.11
7.52
5.54
4.87
4.62

For more information about photometry in astronomy, check the photometric system article on Wikipedia.

The surface brightess reported below is an indication of the brightness per unit of angular area of Messier 83.

22.2 mag/arcsec2

Apparent size of Messier 83

The following table reports Messier 83 apparent angular size. The green area displayed on top of the DSS2 image of Messier 83 is a visual representation of it.
13.61 arcmin
13.21 arcmin
45°

Messier 83 (Southern Pinwheel Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Hydra morphological classification

Messier 83 (Southern Pinwheel Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Hydra is classified as Spiral (SAc) according to the Hubble and de Vaucouleurs galaxy morphological classification. The diagram below shows a visual representation of the position of Messier 83 (Southern Pinwheel Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Hydra in the Hubble de Vaucouleurs sequence.

Messier 83 (Southern Pinwheel Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Hydra
Visualization of the morphological classification of Messier 83 (Southern Pinwheel Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Hydra, Spiral (SAc).
Credits for the background image: Antonio Ciccolella / M. De Leo / CC BY

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Messier 83

Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox of Messier 83 are provided in the following table:

13h 37m 00s
-29° 51’ 56”

The simplified sky charts below show the position of Messier 83 in the sky. The first chart has a field of view of 60° while the second one has a field of view of 10°.

Finder chart Messier 83 (Southern Pinwheel Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Hydra star
Simplified finder chart for Messier 83 (Southern Pinwheel Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Hydra.

Finder chart Messier 83 (Southern Pinwheel Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Hydra star
Simplified finder chart for Messier 83 (Southern Pinwheel Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Hydra.

Rise and set times of Messier 83 from your location

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

Today's Messier 83 (Southern Pinwheel Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Hydra rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 119.9°
Max altitude: 8.7°
Azimuth: 240.1°