Triangulum Galaxy M33

M33, the Triangulum Galaxy, is a difficult target in the city. I can't see it visually in the telescope here, but even under better skies it's tough because its light is distributed over a broad area (roughly twice the apparent size of the moon). You need dark skies and a scope with a wide field of view like the new Tak (or perhaps large binoculars). I managed to capture its core on CCD below.

This galaxy is a member of our Local Group. The larger knots in its spiral arms are emission nebulae that have NGC numbers of their own (a couple of these can be seen below). The Triangulum Galaxy has a total mass equivalent to 10 to 40 billion solar masses.

Triangulum Galaxy M33
(Click image to enlarge)

Object Details:

Type: Spiral Galaxy
Constellation:  Triangulum
Distance:  3 million light-years
Diameter:  50,000 light-years

Image Details:

Date: August 14, 2004
Site: Harahan, LA
Exposure: CCD, 10 x 5 min.
Filters: Orion SkyGlow LPR
Processing: MSB Astroart 3.0
Telescope: 10" Meade LX200
Reducer: Meade, f/4.3
CCD: Starlight Express MX7C
Autoguider: S.T.A.R. 2000