M33 Triangulum Galaxy Royalty-Free Stock Image

The Triangulum Galaxy (Messier 33 or M33 or NGC 598) is a spiral galaxy approximately 3 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Triangulum. It is sometimes informally referred to as the Pinwheel Galaxy, a nickname it shares with Messier 101. The Triangulum Galaxy is the third-largest member of the Local Group of galaxies, which includes the Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy and about 44 other smaller galaxies, wiith a diameter of about 60,000 light-years. M33 may be a gravitationally bound companion of the Andromeda Galaxy. Past interaction between these two galaxies took place from 2 to 8 billion years ago, and a more violent encounter will occur 2.5 billion years in the future. 9 January 2016, LRGB image total 180 minutes SBIG STT-8300 CCD camera, Takahashi CCA-250 Astrograph, 1,250 mm f/5, Astro-Physics 1200GTO. From Pakchong, Nakornratchasima, Thailand