Introduction | Map | Find/Identify | Sketch | My Best Own Photos | My Own Observations | References || Appendix: My Own Photos
On this page I collect my observations of the Triangulum galaxy M 33 in the constellation Triangulum, including the enclosed HII region NGC 604.
The Triangulum Galaxy M 33 in constellation Triangulum is the third largest galaxy in the "local group," which also contains our Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy M 31. It is considered to be the most distant celestial object visible to the naked eye. I had problems even with my small refractor to catch just a glow at all. According to Stoyan, the problem with this DSO is that the exit pupil is too low. According to this author, the best magnification for a 3" telescope is 12 x. Thus, for my PS 72/432 it would be even less (10 to 11 x...). Such low magnifications also require a very dark sky so that there is enough contrast to the sky background... In France, I was able to catch at least a faint glow in autumn 2018...
The galaxy M 33 includes a number of HII regions, which correspond to galactic emission nebulae, the brightest of which is NGC 604 that I discovered on an eVscope photo in February 2020.
Size: 30' x 20' (Stoyan)
Distance: 3 million light years
Rating: *** (Stoyan)
M 33 (Triangulum Galaxy) in the constellation Triangulum; the Andromeda Galaxy M 31 is also marked, as well as several open star clusters (Image Courtesy of SkySafari Astronomy, www.simulationcurriculum.com)
Find: I found the Triangulum Galaxy M 33 by moving down from the Andromeda Galaxy M 31 to the bright star Mirach - and then moved about the same distance down in the same direction. See map below:
Identify: Once you have found M 33, you can be sure that it is M 33. (Image Courtesy of SkySafari Astronomy, www.simulationcurriculum.com)
The sketch by Michael Vlasov (DeepSkyWatch.com) provides an impression of what I guessed of the Triangulum Galaxy M 33: Sketch of the galaxy M 33 by Michael Vlasov (Copyright © Michael Vlasov 2016)
Note: I only have the author's permission to link to the sketch.
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M 33 - Oct 30, 2022, original (269 frames = 269 seconds) |
M 33 - Oct 30, 2022, original (269 frames = 269 seconds) processed |
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M 33 - Oct 30, 2022, original (269 frames = 2690 seconds) |
M 33 - Oct 30, 2022, original (269 frames = 2690 seconds) processed |