M83

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Chandra X-ray
Observatory Center
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
60 Garden St. Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
http://chandra.harvard.edu
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M83 : A spiral galaxy 12 million light years from Earth in the constellation Hydra
(Credit: NASA/CXC/U.Leicester/U.London/R.Soria & K.Wu)

Caption: Chandra's image of M83 shows numerous point-like neutron star and black hole X-ray sources scattered throughout the disk of the galaxy. The bright nuclear region glows prominently due to a cloud of hot gas and a high concentration of neutron stars and black holes that were created during a burst of star formation that is estimated to have begun about 20 million years ago in the galaxy's time frame.

Scale: Image is 11 x 10 arcmin

Chandra X-ray Observatory ACIS Image

CXC operated for NASA by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
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