Hubble Space Telescope image of the Triangulum Galaxy, also known as Messier 33, which is the third-largest galaxy in our Local Group of galaxies – credit, NASA, ESA, M. Boyer (STScI), and J. Dalcanton (University of Washington)

One of our closest and largest neighbors, the Triangulum Galaxy, was recently imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope, proving it’s still useful in the face of the James Webb Telescope’s incredible infrared resolution.

Located within the triangle-shaped constellation Triangulum and about half the size of our Milky Way, this galaxy called Messier 33, or M33 for short, is the third-largest member of our local group of galaxies after the Andromeda galaxy (M31) and the Milky Way.

M33 is known to be a hotbed of star birth, forming stars at a rate 10 times higher than the average of its neighbor Andromeda. Interestingly, M33’s neat, organized spiral arms indicate little interaction with other galaxies, so its rapid star birth is not fueled by galactic collision, as is the dramatic case in many other galaxies.

M33 contains plenty of dust and gas for churning out stars, and numerous ionized hydrogen clouds, also called H-II regions, that give rise to tremendous star formation. Researchers have offered evidence that high-mass stars are forming in collisions between massive molecular clouds within M33.

This image captures reddish clouds of ionized hydrogen interspersed with dark lanes of dust. The apparent graininess of the image is actually swarms of countless stars. M33 is one of less than 100 galaxies close enough for telescopes like Hubble to resolve individual stars, as evident here.

This inset image shows Hubble’s view of the center of galaxy M33 – credit, NASA, ESA, M. Boyer (STScI), and J. Dalcanton (University of Washington)

M33 is known to lack a central bulge, and there is no evidence of a supermassive black hole at its core.

ALSO CHECK OUT: Scientists Identify 7 Stars That Could be Hosting a ‘Dyson Sphere’–the Sci-Fi Concept Turned Realistic Hypothesis

This is considered strange since most spiral-shaped galaxies have a galactic center of densely concentrated stars, and most large galaxies have supermassive black holes at their centers. Galaxies with this type of structure are called “pure disk galaxies,” and studies suggest they make up around 15-18% of galaxies in the universe.

MORE STELLAR PHOTOS: Astronaut’s Jaw-dropping Photos of Powerful Aurora was Also Captured by Airplane Pilot From Another Angle

M33 may lose its streamlined appearance and undisturbed status in a dramatic fashion―it’s on a possible collision course with both the Andromeda galaxy and the Milky Way. This image was taken as part of a survey of M33 in an effort to help refine theories about such topics as the physics of the interstellar medium, star-formation processes, and stellar evolution.

SHARE This Dreamy Image Of Stars And Dust With Your Friends On Social Media…

Source link