M33-EC1 and M33-EC2 globular clusters (Giuseppe Donatiello)

M33-EC1 and M33-EC2 globular clusters

In the census of satellite galaxies, a dozen massive globular clusters should be included which, most likely, represent the nucleus of dwarf galaxies stripped of peripheral stars, after repeated passages around their parent galaxies.

The largest of these globular super-clusters is Andromeda's M31-G1 (or Mayal II), followed by Omega Centauri belonging to our Milky Way. Less well known are two notable globulars belonging to M33, the third major galaxy in the Local Group.

M33-EC1, discovered in 2008 [R. Stonkute et al. 2008], is 890 kpc from the Milky Way and is separated by 12.5 kpc from M33. It has an average age of about 7 billion years and low metallicity.

M33-EC2, discovered in 2009 [Huxor et al. 2009], is distant 870 kpc from the Milky Way and is separated 37.7 kpc from M33, and has similar characteristics to the previous one.

These two globulars, together with the spheroidal dwarf galaxy Andromeda XXII, form a system of possible satellites of M33 which, in turn, is the major satellite of M31, the Andromeda Galaxy.

The images are obtained with DECaLS raw data. The boxes are 150 arcsec per side.

Please note: The following tables are updated every 24 hours.

Distribution of astrophotographers

This table shows the number of distinct astrophotographers who have been assigned and IOTD/TP award compared to the total number of images awarded.
	Distinct awarded users	Total awarded images
Image of the day
Top picks
Top pick nominations

Distribution of subject types

This table shows the distribution of awards per subject type, compared to the popularity of images of that subject type.
	Image of the day	Top pick	Top pick nominations	Total submitted
Deep sky
Solar system
Extremely wide field
Star trails
Northern lights
Noctilucent clouds
Landscape

Distribution of data sources

This table shows the distribution of awards per data source, compared to the popularity of images acquired from that data source.
	Image of the day	Top pick	Top pick nominations	Total submitted
Backyard
Traveller
Own remote observatory
Amateur hosting facility
Public amaeteur data
Professional, scientific grade data
Mix of multiple sources
Other
Unknown

The “AstroBin Image of the Day and Top Picks”, or IOTD/TP, is a long-running system to promote beautiful, interesting, peculiar, or otherwise amazing astrophotographs, with a focus on technical excellence. Learn more.

Submitted The date and time when you submitted this image for IOTD/TP consideration.	...
Views by Submitters (available since September 19th, 2023) Every image is assigned to 50% of available Submitters. In the event that at least 80% of them don't view the image before its time in the IOTD/TP process expires, it's assigned to the other 50% of Submitters and the process begins anew.
Promotions by Submitters When 3 distinct Submitters promote the image, it moves on to the next stage of the process: evaluation for Top Pick status. This requirement, in addition to anonymization of images and distribution to only a subset of them, prevents biases and ensures that the best images are selected.
Promotions by Reviewers When 3 distinct Reviewers promote the image, it moves on to the next stage of the process: evaluation for IOTD status.
Early dismissal Staff members have a lot of images to inspect on a daily basis, and they can dismiss images if they believe they don't meet the requirements for IOTD/TP selection. If an image is dismissed 5 times, it's removed from the process. This streamlines the process and ensures that any bias present in promotions could be overruled by other staff members.

Status	Basic failed
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Astrometry.net job	4018284
PixInsight job	n/a
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