Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Triangulum (Tri)  ·  Contains:  IC 131  ·  IC 132  ·  IC 133  ·  IC 135  ·  IC 136  ·  IC 137  ·  IC 142  ·  IC 143  ·  M 33  ·  NGC 588  ·  NGC 592  ·  NGC 595  ·  NGC 598  ·  NGC 604  ·  Triangulum Galaxy  ·  Triangulum Pinwheel
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M33, Kirby Collins
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M33

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M33, Kirby Collins
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M33

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Description

M33 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Triangulum.  It was cataloged by Messier in 1764, who described it as having "a whitish light of almost even density."  In a report describing objects photographed with the Crossley reflector at Lick Observatory, Heber Curtis described it as "A close rival to the Nebula of Andromeda as the most beautiful spiral known."  

M33 is  about half the size of the Milky Way, making it the third largest galaxy in the Local Group, but has a very high rate of star formation.  From observations made with the Hubble Space Telescope, M33 is creating new stars at 10 times the rate of M31 (Andromeda), the other nearby large spiral.

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M33, Kirby Collins