The Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, also known as Messier 83 (M83), is a grand design spiral galaxy located in the constellation of Hydra. It is located some 15 million light years away, which means that the light you see in this image was emitted 15 million years ago from the combined power of the stars in the galaxy. 

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This image was shot under difficult conditions, as the light pollution from my observing location in the city is severe. Unlike emission nebulae, astronomical filters cannot be used to improve the overall contrast of galaxies, and as such is subject to the full brunt of light pollution. I had some rare nights of incredible sky clarity, however, and I was able to pull out a decent amount of detail from the data I obtained. 

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A hydrogen-alpha filtered channel was also added into the image to bring out the details of the star-forming regions, which are visible as the red patches in the galactic spiral arms.