| Telescope | Takahashi FS60C f/5.9 on Losmandy G-11 with Gemini L3 |
| Focal Length | 264 mm @ f/4.4 with Takahashi focal reducer |
| Guiding | Starlight Xpress SXV guidehead through 10" SCT @ f/6.3 |
| Telescope Control | Maxim DL (V4.5) |
| CCD Camera |
Starlight
Xpress SXV-H9 - USB 2 ExView progressive scan
1392 x 1040 (6.45 uM)
pixel array (8.98 x 6.71 active area)
|
| Image Scale | 5.23 arcsec/pixel |
| Filters |
1.25"
Astronomik Type II Dichroic IR blocking filters in True technology
filter wheel- Clear, Red, Green, Blue, Ha
|
| Exposures | Total exposure time: 245 minutes -Lum 7 x 10 minutes (70) unbinned, Ha 7 x 10 (70) unbinned - RGB 7 x 5 (35) each unbinned Ha & Red mixed 80% (Ha), 20% Red for red channel & mixed with Lum channel (overlay) |
| Calibration | Bias |
| Processing Software | Maxim DL, Photoshop CS (8.0), Sigma combined |
| Location | Chiefland Astronomy Village, FL - 29.393 N , - 82.863 W |
| Date/Time | 11/05/05 '01:40' - '04:58' UT' |
| Designation | Messier 33 (NGC 598) The Pinwheel Galaxy |
| Type | Spiral Galaxy - Type SA(s)cd II-III |
| Constellation | Triangulum |
| Coordinates | Telescope centered at: RA ' 01 34 20' Dec ' +30 33 21' |
| Magnitude |
5.7
|
| Size (subtends) | 45 x 73 arcminutes |
| Image Field |
91 x 113
|
| Actual Size | 500,000 light years in diameter (approx. 30 billion stars) |
| Distance | 2.7 million light years |
| Notes |
M33 is the third largest galaxy in our
Local Group, next to M31 and our own Milky Way galaxy. It is also
the next closest after M31.
M33 is just 1/2 million light years distant
from M31. It is a loosely wound spiral galaxy with very little central
hub compared to M31.
|
|
M33 has a lot of HII regions, the brightest
of which is designated NGC 604. This region is approximately
1,500 light years across and has a spectrum similar to our Orion Nebula
complex.
M33 has an absolute magnitude of -18.6, which is equivalent
to 2.4 billion suns.
| |
