Mike's Astro Photos

Here’s my latest long exposure photo of the Triangulum Galaxy. The last time I imaged this galaxy was in 2010 and I’ve made some progress since then. For reference, here are some of my first amateur photos of the Triangulum Galaxy. At about 3 million light years away, the Triangulum Galaxy is home to approximately 40 billion stars. Its the 3rd largest galaxy in our local group and you can actually see it with the naked eye under very dark skies. Its apparent size in our sky is actually bigger than the full moon, but because it is so dim, you can’t really see it.

Click the image below for a larger (2000×2000) version of this picture or click here for an even bigger wall paper sized version of the galaxy (4000×4000).

Triangulum Galaxy – October 2013

Image Details for The Triangulum Galaxy
Shot With 2 Hours 40 minutes of RGB and 5 hours of Lum
Total exposure: 12.8 hours
Camera: Apogee U16M
Guider: SBIG 402 with MMOAG Off Axis Guider
Telescope: RCOS 14.5
Mount: Paramount ME
Location: Auberry, CA
Date: October 25,26 2013
Software: The SkyX, MaximDL, FocusMax, CCDAutoPilot, CCDStack, Photoshop

Approximately 3 million light years away in the constellation Triangulum is a spiral galaxy called The Triangulum Galaxy. Catalogued as Messier 33 or NGC 598,it is sometimes icalled the Pinwheel Galaxy, a nickname it shares with Messier 101. The Triangulum Galaxy is the third-largest member of the Local Group of galaxies, which includes the Milky Way Galaxy, the Andromeda Galaxy and about 30 other smaller galaxies.

M33 The Triangulum Galaxy - November 2nd, 2010

Photo Details:
William Optics FLT 98 / CGEM Mount
Canon 20Da Camera
SBIG STV Autoguider
12×5 minute ISO 400 exposures
Deep Sky Stacker
Photoshop cleanup

Here is a picture of the Triangulum Galaxy aka Messier 33, a spiral galaxy three million light years away. This picture is 20×5 minute sub-frames stacked with flats in Deep Sky Stacker.

M33 The Triangulum Galaxy - December 20th, 2009