“They point and marvel, calling me their neighbor.
As if they could ever truly cross the distance, bridge the gap between their world and mine.”
Messier 33 – Triangulum Galaxy – LRGBHa
Description
The M33 galaxy, also known as the Triangulum Galaxy, shines as a nearby cosmic gem within the Local Group, which includes the Milky Way and Andromeda. Located around 3 million light-years away, M33 impresses with its compact spiral shape, glowing with young, blue stars and vast star-forming regions. Spanning about 60,000 light-years, this galaxy is smaller than its neighbors but astoundingly active, boasting vast nurseries like NGC 604, one of the largest star-forming regions in the known universe.
Known as an astronomical hotspot, M33’s intense star formation and brilliant nebulae make it ideal for studying galactic evolution. It notably lacks a central bulge—a trait rare among spirals—hinting at its young, dynamic state. Some believe M33 may be slowly interacting gravitationally with Andromeda and even our Milky Way, foreshadowing cosmic events that may shape all three galaxies over billions of years. M33 remains an elegant yet dynamic spectacle, a testament to the universe’s beauty and mystery.
Image Information
| Object(s) Catalog No. | Messier 33 |
| Object Type | Spiral Galaxy |
| Constellation | Triangulum |
| Size | 70.8 × 41.7 arcminutes |
| Magnitude | 5.72 |
| Distance | 3.2 Mly |
Conditions
| Date | October 24th , 2024 |
| Astronomical Dusk: | 19h22 |
| Moon Age | 19 days |
| Moon Phase | Waxing Gibbous (92.5% illumination) |
| Temperature | 8.3 Celcius |
| Transparency | Average |
| Seeing | Above Average |
| Wind | 5.4 km/h |
| Humidity | 66% |
Equipment
Software
| Mount | CGEM – OnStep Retrofit |
| Imaging Scope | Modified Orion ED80T CF |
| Guiding Scope | APM 60mm Image Maste |
| Imaging Camera | ASI294M Pro |
| Guiding Camera | QHY5L-II-M |
| Additional Optics | SharpStar Field Flattener – 2.5″ |
| Filters | Antlia LRGB-V Pro Series Ha 3nm Pro |
| Acquisition | N.I.N.A. |
| Auto-Guiding | PHD2 |
| Processing | Pixinsight |
Acquisition Details
Number of files acquired: 198 (17.2 GB)
Total Integration Time: 4.5 hours
Single or Multiple Nights: 1 Nights
Start Time – Stop Time: [20h30 – 2h-3h]
| Filters | L | R | G | B | Ha | OII | SII |
| Camera Temperature | -10 | -10 | -10 | -10 | -10 | ||
| Binning | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Number of sub-frames | 90 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 18 | ||
| Sub-frames duration (sec) | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 300 | ||
| Number of good sub-frames | 90 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 20 | ||
| Number of Flats | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | ||
| Flats Duration (sec) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 20 | ||
| Number of Darks | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | ||
| Number of Flat Darks | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | ||
| Darks Duration (sec) | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 300 | ||
| Number of Bias | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Auto-Focuser Position: 2798
Autoguiding Average 0.72″
Acquisition Notes
100% unattended acquisition. Refocus was happening more often. Meridian flip worked again like a charm.
Processing Notes
I had dust off my LRGB processing workflow. It ended up working nicely after a couple of attemps.