Don’t Let the Name Fool You
Triangulum Galaxy with my Canon EOS Rebel T6 and WO RedCat 51 II telescope
Tonight I added another spiral galaxy to my collection of adventures in the night sky. Behold Messier 33, the Triangulum galaxy!
You probably already guessed that M33 gets it’s namesake from being a part of the constellation Triangulum. Looking at the star charts, you might notice that it’s not exactly located in the main triangle, but not to worry! This galaxy is found in the same neighborhood as some of our other targets and pretty easy to find.
Several references in the night sky can help lead you over to the Triangulum galaxy! Sometimes it can be a little tricky finding Triangulum itself. Personally, I like to star hop between the constellations Andromeda and Aries.
You will find the galaxy nestled right between the bright stars, Mirach and Hamal (which is where you’ll also find the top point of the Triangulum constellation). See the Stellarium screen shot below for a better visual! Side note, I’m not affiliated with Stellarium in any way, but I love using their free tool to plan out my imaging sessions!
Triangulum constellation and surrounding star formations. Image Credit: Courtesy of Stellarium
According to NASA, the best time to catch this spiral galaxy is during the month of October. The Triangulum galaxy is visible through a telescope but is actually better viewed through binoculars or a wide field lens in order to really help bring out the outer spiral arms.