Triangulum Galaxy (M33) Crop

Triangulum Galaxy (M33) Crop

Hubble Maps an Undisturbed Spiral Galaxy in the Milky Way's Backyard

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has produced its largest mosaic image ever of the Triangulum galaxy (M33). This image spans 14,500 light-years.

Triangulum seems to have emerged from the ages having interacted little with other galaxies, maintaining a neat, organized spiral and plenty of material for churning out new stars. Astronomers will investigate the impact of Triangulum's high star formation rate density as they comb through the huge trove of data gathered by Hubble. These contradictory features — a quiet past coupled to vigorous star formation — make Triangulum a fascinating member of the Local Group, providing key comparisons and contrasts with the Milky Way and our most massive neighbor, Andromeda.

This mosaic was created from images taken by Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) between February 2017 and February 2018. The panoramic image will be presented at the 233rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle, Washington.

Credits

NASA, ESA, and M. Durbin, J. Dalcanton, and B.F. Williams (University of Washington)

About The Object
Object Name Triangulum Galaxy, Messier 33
Object Description Spiral Galaxy
R.A. Position 01:34:33.5
Dec. Position +30:47:58.48
Constellation Triangulum
Distance 2.73 million light-years
Dimensions Image is about 18 arcmin across (about 14,500 light-years)
About The Data
Data Description Hubble data for this release were obtained from HST proposal (J. Dalcanton)
Instrument ACS/WFC
Exposure Dates 54 observations between Feb 2017 and Feb 2018
Filters F475W, F814W
About The Image
Color Info These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the ACS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample narrow wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Cyan: F475W Orange: F814W
About The Object
Object Name A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
Object Description The type of astronomical object.
R.A. Position Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
Dec. Position Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
Constellation One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
Distance The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
Dimensions The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
About The Data
Data Description
  • Proposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
  • Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
Instrument The science instrument used to produce the data.
Exposure Dates The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
Filters The camera filters that were used in the science observations.
About The Image
Image Credit The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content.
Publication Date The date and time the release content became public.
Color Info A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.
Orientation The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere.

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