The Triangulum Galaxy, or M-33, has been imaged in a composite photograph, revealing intricate detail of the family of stars. The galaxy is the second-closest sizable galaxy to our own family of stars. Also known as NGC 598, the galaxy is located roughly three million light years from Earth.
VLT Survey Telescope (VST) astronomers imaged M33, using the instrument, having a diameter of almost nine feet across. Images produced with the telescope can show a field of view as much as one degree from side to side - roughly twice the angular size of a full moon.
The image was created from a series of exposures, a fraction of which were created using a filter that accentuates red clouds of hydrogen gas excited by external forces. One of these emission nebulae, NGC 604, is readily visible in the new composite photograph. The feature is much like the Orion nebula, but is roughly 40 times the size of its better-known celestial cousin.
"A closer look at this beautiful new picture not only allows a very detailed inspection of the star-forming spiral arms of the galaxy, but also reveals the very rich scenery of the more distant galaxies scattered behind the myriad stars and glowing clouds of NGC 598," researchers stated.
The Triangulum Galaxy was likely first discovered by Giovanni Battista Hodierna in the middle of the 17th Century. However, Charles Messier is the astronomer usually credited with first recording the galaxy, which he did in August 1764. The French scientist listed the object as the 33rd object in his catalog of fuzzy objects in the sky, giving the galaxy its designation of M-33, after Messier.
The VLT Survey Telescope (VST) is located at Paranal Observatory in Chile.
The Triangulum Galaxy is rushing toward our own family of stars at a speed of over 62,000 miles per hour. It is the third-largest of the 50-odd galaxies, including our own Milky Way, that makes up the Local Group.
"Although the Triangulum Galaxy lies in the northern sky, it is just visible from the southern vantage point of ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile. However, it does not rise very high in the sky," European Southern Observatory officials wrote in a press release announcing the new image.
On an extremely dark night, with proficient eyesight, it is sometimes possible to see NGC 598 without the use of a telescope or other optical aid. Located in the constellation of Triangulum, it is usually considered to be the most distant object visible to the naked eye.
