TRIANGULUM FACTS
The home of interesting Triangulum galaxy facts for kids and adults.
Triangulum Facts
Also known as M33, the Triangulum galaxy is the second closest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way at 3 million light-years away, with the closest being Andromeda at 2.5 million light-years away. All three of these galaxies belong to the Local Group – a cluster of around 50 galaxies.
Here we have 10 more facts about the Triangulum galaxy that you may not already know about.
10 Facts about the Triangulum galaxy
1. The centre of the Triangulum is different to other galaxies.
The centre, or core, of this galaxy, is a nebula (a cloud of dust and gas) called an HII region. This type of region is typically ripe for star formation.
Did you know?
Because the core of the Triangulum is a nebular, there is no supermassive black hole there.
2. The Triangulum may not last.
When the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies merge, it is thought the Triangulum galaxy will be affected – if it is, it will either be torn apart or it will be combined with the new larger galaxy.
Did you know?
This merger would not be the first, it happens all over the Universe and Andromeda has itself consumed other galaxies.
3. Triangulum was discovered by an Italian astronomer.
Giovanni Battista Hodierna, an Italian astronomer, is credited with discovering the Triangulum galaxy sometime before 1654.
Did you know?
Giovanni Battista Hodierna published a book titled “De systemate orbis cometici”, which translates to "About the systematics of the cometary orbit". The book included a vague reference that many think is about the Triangulum galaxy.
4. Triangulum is often mistaken for another galaxy.
The Triangulum galaxy is very often mistakenly called the Pinwheel galaxy. There is a galaxy known as Pinwheel, but it isn’t this one.
Did you know?
The officially labelled ‘Pinwheel’ galaxy is catalogued as Messier 101.
5. The Triangulum galaxy could be ‘inside-out’.
Triangulum could be an example of a galaxy formation described as being 'inside-out'. This is where gas is depleted at the centre of the galaxy and accumulates instead at the outer edges. The result is a galaxy with an outer halo and inner core composed in the opposite way they usually are.
Did you know?
It is thought that more stars are formed at the edges of an ‘inside-out’ galaxy as the galaxy itself ages, the nebular core is depleted and the galaxy comes into contact with other matter.
6. Triangulum is one of the easier to spot galaxies.
The Triangulum galaxy is one of the more distant objects in our night sky that can be seen without any aid – in other words, you can see it with the naked eye, that is to say without a telescope or binoculars.
Did you know?
Another deep space object that can be seen without any aid, is the Andromeda galaxy.
7. Triangulum has a ‘monstrous’ nebula at its heart.
The colourful nebula at the heart of the galaxy, called NGC 604, is so vast that it has been described as being ‘monstrous’ by the Space Telescope Science Institute (a campus of offices in Baltimore, Maryland, USA).
Did you know?
NASA has said that NGC 604 would have been the brightest object in our night sky, the moon excepted, if it was the same distance from Earth as the Orion Nebula.
8. Hot new stars indicated.
The bright blue arms of the Triangulum galaxy seem to indicate the presence of exceedingly hot, bright new and young stars. This in turn suggests the galaxy is going through a rapid star formation process.
Did you know?
The rapid star formation could be an equivalent in mass as one of our Suns being created every two years.
9. The Triangulum galaxy is not named for its shape.
You have probably guessed that the Triangulum galaxy is not a triangle, so where is the name from? It is named for the Triangulum constellation that the galaxy can be found in.
Did you know?
The Triangulum constellation was known to the ancient Babylonians around 1000 BC.
10. It’s a long way to walk to.
Although close in galactic terms, the Triangulum galaxy is still a long way away if you wanted to visit. If you walked, at 4 mph, it would take a staggering 399,016,894,255,000.00 years to get there.
Did you know?
Even if you could find a functioning Concorde, and get it to work in space, it would still take 1,040,095,127,543.11 years travelling at Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound).