Image Credit: Amir Hossein Abolfath

This is the picturesque Triangulum Galaxy (also known as M33), which is located approximately 3 million light-years from Earth in the constellation of Triangulum. It stretches 50,000 light-years across and is one of the most distant objects that can be seen by the naked eye. Meaning, you would likely see it as a single star, when it's really a galaxy with billions of stars spread throughout.

M33 is the third-largest and only unbarred spiral galaxy in our local group of galaxies, which include the Milky Way, Andromeda Galaxy, both of their satellite galaxies along with over 50 additional galaxies in the larger Virgo Supercluster. It may even be a satellite galaxy of Andromeda.

This beautiful shot of the Triangulum Galaxy (or M33) was taken in Iran by the talented astrophotoagrapher Amir Hossien Ablofath, using a Canon 5D MIINo#2719 camera, GSO 10" Newtonian Astrograph and Wynne 3" Corrector—LVI Autoguider on EQ6—7 x 7min on ISO 1600.

You can see additional pictures of M33 here.


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