Photo of the Week for November 13, 2015
Autumn is galaxy time, with two of the best and brightest well positioned for evening viewing. Of course the famed Andromeda Galaxy gets the most attention, but not far away is another fine specimen: M33 in Triangulum. Oriented nearly face-on, M33 has low surface brightness, which makes it a difficult telescope target under suburban skies. And yet, in pristine conditions the galaxy can be glimpsed with the unaided eye.
The portrait of M33 presented here was captured on November 10 by Stuart Heggie from his farm near Lucknow, Ontario. This finely detailed image required a total of six-hours exposure, recorded with an Apogee Alta U16M CCD camera fitted to a 12.5-inch, f/8 PlaneWave Instruments corrected Dall-Kirkham astrographic telescope.
