Triangulum Galaxy

The Triangulum Galaxy (M33, Messier 33, or NGC 598) is a nearby spiral galaxy which is about 2.7 million light-years away. It is one of the most distant objects visible by the naked eye, with an apparent magnitude of 5.72. It is estimated to have 40 billion stars, is 60,000 light-years across and is the third largest galaxy of the Local Group after Andromeda (M31) and the Milky Way, the three of which are also the only (traditional) spiral galaxies of the Local Group. There is some suspicion that it could be a satellite galaxy of M31. Though it is probably a little further than M31, being less populated, its individual stars can be easier to observe. Characteristics:

• Triangulum - constellation.
• 01h33m50.02s - right ascension.
• +30deg39m36.7s - declination.
• 2.73 million ly - distance.
• SA(s)cd - galaxy type.
• ~1 degree - apparent dimension (angular diameter).