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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Triangulum Galaxy in HO, Helge Büsing
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Triangulum Galaxy in HO

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Triangulum Galaxy in HO, Helge Büsing
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Triangulum Galaxy in HO

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Description

The local group is dominated by the Milky Way, Andromeda and the Triangulum Galaxy (M33). The smallest member, M33 lies about 2.7 million light-years away in the constellation of the same name (Triangle). The Triangulum Galaxy is just 60,000 light-years across and hosts stars with a mass of 10 to 40 billion solar masses. No bright central bulge or “bar” is visible, but it contains huge amounts of gas and dust that are rapidly forming stars.

Because of its regular spiral shape, astronomers suspect that the galaxy had no interactions with its neighbors. But that could change. M 33 is not much further away from us than the Andromeda Galaxy and could be its gravitational companion on its journey to the Milky Way.

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