#caldwell 83

[quiltofstars]

NGC 4945, C83 // Daniel Kucharski

NGC 4945 is a beautiful edge-on barred spiral galaxy about 11.7 million light years away in the constellation of Centaurus, the Centaur. It was discovered by James Dunlop (1793-1848) in 1826 and was thought to be similar to the Milky Way, although its central supermassive black hole is much more active than ours. It is best seen during the autumn months in the southern hemisphere.

[quiltofstars]

NGC 4945, C83 // John Dziuba

NGC 4945 is home to the first water megamaser ever found. Masers are similar to lasers, producing not optical light but instead microwave light. This type of emission has been observed from a variety of molecules throughout the universe, including water molecules. Megamasers are even brighter versions of masers; the one coming from NGC 4945 is about 100 million times brighter than normal masers. Its the radiation from the central supermassive black hole that causes water to emit microwave light!