High-Resolution Image of M83 That I Captured: A 13.27 Billion-Year-Old Galaxy, 15.04 Million Light Years Away, Stunningly Similar to the Milky Way! Zoom in to see hundreds of other galaxies…

**Equipment & Software Used:**

* **Imaging Telescope**: Planewave CDK17
* **Imaging Camera**: Atik APX60 Mono
* **Mount**: Planewave L-600
* **Filters**: Chroma Blue 50mm, Chroma Green 50mm, Chroma H-alpha 5nm Bandpass 50mm, Chroma Lum 50mm, Chroma Red 50mm
* **Software**: Adobe Photoshop, Nikita Misiura DeepSNR, PixInsight by Pleiades Astrophoto, BlurXTerminator, NoiseXTerminator, StarXTerminator by Russell Croman

**Acquisition Details:**

* **Dates**: May 10, 15, 20 & June 15, 18, 2024
* **Integration Time**: 18 hours 45 minutes
* **Frames**:
* Chroma Blue: 27×300″ (2h 15′)
* Chroma Green: 26×300″ (2h 10′)
* Chroma H-alpha 5nm: 28×600″ (4h 40′)
* Chroma Lum: 86×300″ (7h 10′)
* Chroma Red: 30×300″ (2h 30′)

**Imaging Location**: Observatorio El Sauce, Chile

**Additional Info:**

* **Pixel scale**: 0.264 arcsec/pixel
* **Resolution**: 8689×6087
* **File size**: 17.9 MB

I had the incredible opportunity to capture this high-resolution image of M83, also known as the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, thanks to the generosity of Kevin Morefield, who allowed me to use his Planewave CDK17 in Chile. M83’s intricate structure and vibrant colours make it one of the most stunning galaxies visible from the southern hemisphere, and this setup provided the perfect conditions to explore its details.

While weather and technical issues limited us to just under 19 hours of data, the results speak for themselves. Processing this image was a careful balance of sharpening and maintaining natural colours, with a super luminance layer combining Lum, RGB, and H-alpha data to bring out the full dynamic range.

I’m incredibly thankful to Kevin for this opportunity and for inspiring me throughout my astrophotography journey.

Feel free to zoom in and explore this image—you’ll find numerous hidden galaxies! Also, feel free to visit my website to see more of my work: [https://www.steevebody.com](https://www.steevebody.com) as well as the official AstroBin post of this image: [https://www.astrobin.com/xvd1z1](https://www.astrobin.com/xvd1z1)