317 second exposure. Modified Canon Digital Rebel DSLR camera.
5" f/5 refractor at prime focus.
M83 is a bright face-on spiral galaxy with a star-like nucleus in Hydra, near the Centaurus border. Easily visible as a nebulus patch in a 6 x 30 finder, M83 is one of the best spiral galaxies in the southern sky. In an 8" telescope it appears as a large circular patch of light with a bright centre. In a 12" under dark skies, the spiral structure is very evident, making M83 a very impressive object.