The American Association of Amateur Astronomers
The Constellation Triangulum - The Triangle
A great galaxy in the autumn sky is the face on spiral galaxy, M33, located
in the constellation Triangulum. M33 is a large, diffuse galaxy, but it is very
dim due to its face-on orientation, and requires a good, steady night for best
views. Nevertheless, it can easily be found with binoculars as a bright fuzzy
patch below M31. M31, M33 and our own galaxy, the Milky Way, are part of a
cluster of galaxies called the Local Group of Galaxies.
To Find M33: First find M31, the Great Galaxy in Andromeda. Start from 3rd base of
the Great Square of Pegasus. Then, simply count stars, 1, 2 to Beta Andromeda
(away from the great square), then up (west) 1, 2 stars, and there it is! Then
once you find M-31, M-33 is on the exact opposite side of Beta And an equal
amount below the star. M33 is not a naked
eye object except in perfectly dark conditions. Messier Objects in Triangulum
|
Con
|
Messier
|
Type
|
R.A.
|
Dec.
|
Mag.
|
Size
|
NGC#
|
|
Tri
|
M33
|
Galaxy
|
1h 33.9
|
30d 40
|
7.0
|
73' X 45'
|
598
|
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