SBIG ST-4000XCM
13x15minImager Temp -20CAPM/TMB 130/780Field Flattener
Full Frame
Link to Larger JPEGLink to Full Resolution ImageThe Triangulum Galaxy Messier 33 (M33, NGC 598) is another prominent member of the
Local Group of galaxies. This galaxy is small compared to its big apparent neighbor, the
Andromeda galaxy M31, and to our
Milky Way galaxy, but more of an average size for spiral galaxies in the universe. M33 may be a remote but gravitationally bound companion of the
Andromeda galaxy M31.
Several knots in the spiral arms of M33 have been assigned their own NGC catalog numbers - the largest of which in this image is in the lower mid-left and is
NGC 604. This is
one of the largest H II regions known at all: it has a diameter of nearly 1500 light-years, and a spectrum similar to the Orion nebula
M42. Over 200 young hot massive stars (of 15 to 60 solar masses) have recently formed here.
Some other catalogued objects are identified in this
map.
December 11, 2009