Date: 11/13/2012
Target: M33 - Triangulum Galaxy
Telescope: Orion 8" f/4.9
Camera: ST-8300M
Filters: LRGB
Exposures: L:R:G:B=175:60:60:60 (L=1x1,RGB=2x2)
Framing: North is left
Sensor Temp: -15C
Location: Mocksville, NC
Seeing: 3/5
Transparency: 4/5
Start Time: 7:30PM
End Time: 3:00AM
Captured with Sequence Generator Pro, processed with PixInsight.


The Triangulum Galaxy (also known as Messier 33 orNGC 598) is a spiral galaxy approximately 3 million light-years away in the constellation Triangulum. The galaxy is also sometimes informally referred to as the Pinwheel Galaxy by some amateur astronomy references[6] and in some public outreach websites.[7] However, the SIMBAD Astronomical Database, a professional astronomy database that contains formal designations for astronomical objects, indicates that the name "Pinwheel Galaxy" is used to refer toMessier 101,[8] and several other amateur astronomy resources and other public outreach websites also identify Messier 101 by that name.[9][10] With a diameter of about 50,000 light-years, it is the third largest galaxy in the Local Group, a group of galaxies which also contains the Milky Way Galaxy and the Andromeda Galaxy, and it may be a gravitationally bound companion of the Andromeda Galaxy. Estimates indicate that Triangulum may be home to between 30 and 40 billion stars,[11] compared to the 1000 billion stars for Andromeda and c. 200-400 billion for the Milky Way. The Pisces Dwarf (LGS 3), one of the small Local Group member galaxies, is possibly a satellite of Triangulum.