The Triangulum Galaxy, also known as M33 and NGC 598, is a spiral galaxy of the SA(s)cd type located about 3 million light-years from Earth and located in the constellation Triangulum. In the Anglo-Saxon world M33 is also informally called Pinwheel Galaxy (in Italian literally Girandola Galaxy) in some amateur astronomy publications, but also in some official press releases of professional sites. The Triangulum Galaxy is a rather small galaxy compared to its neighbors — the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy — but it is actually average in size compared to the other spiral galaxies in the Universe. In particular, it is the third largest member of the Local Group, after the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way, and could be a companion of the same Andromeda Galaxy to which it is gravitationally linked. It has two possible low-luminosity satellites: Andromeda XXII and Pisces VII. The Pisces Dwarf Galaxy I (or LGS 3), sometimes referred to as a satellite of M33, has never been confirmed in that role. From the point of view of its conformation, M33 is an example of a flake spiral. Spiral galaxies can have homogeneous and well-defined arms, or arms in which the dust and gas are not distributed uniformly but aggregated in local collapses. The more or less homogenous distribution of the galactic material is thought to depend on the strength of a density wave that carries the material and, in effect, gives rise to the arms themselves. If the density wave is powerful, the material arranges itself in neat and homogeneous arms; if instead the wave is weak or absent, the material aggregates in lumps. The latter situation gives rise to the typical "flaky" appearance of flaky spiral galaxies. The Triangulum galaxy has a nucleus with spectral characteristics similar to those of an H II region and therefore does not present the violent phenomena typical of active galactic nuclei or Seyfert galaxies. In 2005, using VLBA observations of two water masers on opposite sides of the galaxy, astronomers were able to estimate for the first time the angular rotation and proper motion of the Triangulum galaxy. The calculated speed is equal to about 190±60 km/s, relative to the Milky Way, which means that M33 is moving towards the Andromeda galaxy. In 2007, the Chandra X-ray space observatory found evidence of a 15.7 M⊙ black hole belonging to the Triangulum galaxy; the object, dubbed M33 X-7, orbits a companion star that eclipses it every 3.5 days. Six nines have been observed in the galaxy so far.

TS RC 12” truss telescopeIoptron Cem120 mountMoravian off-axis guider with Moravian G0300 cameraMoonlite 3.6” electronic focuser and rotatorCamera Moravian G8300 with internal wheelAstronomik
CLS filters Ccd, R, G, B, Ha, OIII