At 2.7m LY from earth M33 is the third of our local group of galaxies, about half the size of our Milky Way at 60,000 LY. It is thought to contain over 40 billion stars, with numerous star clouds and emission nebulae. NGC 604, the largest HII region, is approximately 1500 light years in diameter, is bottom right in my inverted image.
Diwali, the ‘Festival of Lights’ has just been celebrated around the world, culminating at new moon - a fitting time to celebrate the beauty of our neighbouring galaxies M31 and M33, which grace our night skies at this time of year.
Taken on a night which was forecast to be cloudy but turned out clear (I like surprises
) it comprises just over 2 hours L(L)RGB data captured and calibrated in Nebulosity, before processing in Startools. I used an hour of Ha data to accent this, but with little effect and may try adding into the red channel in a future revision. The background is a little dark, and I will add some sky glow to remedy this.
Overall this is an improvement on my previous image, and I’m pleased with the structure, and detail in the spiral arms. Sub-zero temperature improved seeing, but transparency variable between weather fronts, nevertheless uninterrupted by low cloud, which makes a nice change! A longer integration would add further depth, but for the time being I am celebrating this ‘festival of light’.
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