M33: Pinwheel Galaxy in Triangulum

Imaged on 10/17/09
Scope: Takahashi FSQ 106N
Mount: Losmandy G-11
Camera/Autoguider: SBIG ST10-XME
Exposures: 3 hrs Lum; 30 min each RGB for a total of 4.5 hrs
Site: Palomar Mountain
Temp: 60 deg, mild wind, excellent seeing

M33 is 3 million ly away with a mass of 10-40 billion solar masses. Spectral analyses show that M33 is approaching us at 24 km/second.