NGC 598 (Triangulum Galaxy)
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The Triangulum Galaxy (also known as Messier 33 or NGC 598) is a spiral galaxy approximately 3 million light-years away in the constellation Triangulum. It is the third largest galaxy in the Local Group, a group of galaxies that also contains the Milky Way Galaxy and the Andromeda Galaxy, and it may be a gravitationally bound companion of the Andromeda Galaxy. The Triangulum Galaxy can be seen with the naked eye under exceptionally good conditions; it is thus the most distant object that can be seen without aid.
This image of the Triangulum Galaxy was created by combining optical data from the National Science Foundation's 0.9-meter telescope on Kitt Peak in Arizona with radio data from the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array (VLA) telescope in New Mexico and the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) in the Netherlands.
The optical data in this image show the many stars within the galaxy as well as reddish star-forming regions that are filled with hot hydrogen gas. The radio data reveal the cool hydrogen gas within the galaxy, gas which cannot be seen with an optical telescope. Combined together, the radio and optical give a more comprehensive view of star formation in this galaxy. The color image was generated by combining images taken with the 0.9-meter telescope through four filters (B, V, I and Hydrogen-alpha) and 21cm neutral hydrogen data taken with the VLA and WSRT (shown in blue-violet). The image is one square degree in field of view, roughly five times the size of the Moon.
Source : Sky-map
By : Science & Universe