Messier 83 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the southern constellation Hydra. Also known as the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, Messier 83 lies about 15 million light-years from Earth. Messier 83 contains around 40 billion stars, has a well-defined spiral structure and is classified as an intermediate spiral, between normal and barred spiral. Star forming regions have been identified as well as numerous supernova events. Charles Messier, the 18th century French astronomer, catalogued over 100 galaxies and clusters. Through the telescopes available at the time, comets, nebulae, globular clusters and galaxies appeared just as faint, diffuse blobs. This image was taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.