Charles Messier's famous catalogue of stellar objects often has descriptions referring to spiral nebulae. These faint patches, almost invisible with small telescopes to the human eye, revealed just a tiny glimpse of their glory to the astronomers of the past. I have spent the entire astronomy season of 2024-2025 to gather data for an image of Messier 33 that displays a deep look into the spiral arms of the galaxy.
As the third-largest galaxy in our Local Group, it holds a significant place in our cosmic neighborhood alongside the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) and our own Milky Way. M33 is home to some of the brightest and most active star-forming regions known in our cosmic neighborhood. One of its standout features is NGC 604, the brightest patch of nebulosity on the left of the galaxy's center. This colossal nebula spans nearly 1,500 light-years, making it one of the largest H II regions in the Local Group. This nebula alone is responsible for the birth of thousands of new stars, providing astronomers with a close-up look at the stellar life cycle.
A close up of the image above displays the rich Oxygen III emission on the galaxy's "upper" arm. Some of these bubbles are likely 500-1000 light-years in diameter, even a small patch of nebulosity in the image has a scale that is incomprehensible to us humans - endless.
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