Messier 83

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/messier-83

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How heavy is Messier 83?Around 10^6 solar masses
2. What is the morphological classification?SB(s)c. Barred spiral galaxy with loosely wound arms
3. What is the redshift (z)?Approximately 0.0014, indicating a recessional velocity due to cosmic expansion
4. Why is Messier 83 called the Southern Pinwheel?It is called the Southern Pinwheel because its spiral arms look like a pinwheel and it is located in the southern sky. Its bright center and wide arms make it easy to spot from the southern hemisphere.
5. How far away is Messier 83?Messier 83 is about 15 million light‑years from Earth, which means the light we see left the galaxy 15 million years ago.

H II Region: A cloud of ionized hydrogen gas where new stars are actively forming, often appearing bright and pinkish.
Supermassive Black Hole: A black hole with a mass millions or billions of times that of the Sun, found at the center of most large galaxies.
Cepheid Variable: A type of star that pulsates at a predictable rate, used as a standard candle to measure cosmic distances.