VLT Zooms in on Nearby Triangulum Galaxy
A new close-up of the Triangle galaxy, captured with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), traces the tangle of gas and dust that shapes the birth of stars and the evolution of galaxies.
This VLT/MUSE image shows part of the Triangulum Galaxy, a spiral galaxy located about 3 million light-years away in the Triangulum constellation. Image credit: ESO / Feltre and others.
The Triangulum Galaxy, also known as Messier 33 or NGC 598, is a spiral galaxy located approximately 3 million light-years from Earth.
Visible under exceptionally dark skies as a pale, hazy spot in the Triangulum constellation, it has long been a favorite target of astronomers.
The galaxy is one of the largest members of the Local Group, a gravitationally bound collection of more than 50 galaxies that includes the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy. It ranks as the third largest galaxy in the group, although it is also the smallest spiral galaxy in the group.
It spans about 60,000 light years, making it much smaller than Andromeda, which spans about 200,000 light years. By comparison, the Milky Way has a diameter of about 100,000 light years.
“Stars are not, as is often imagined, isolated spheres in the dark, but rather live in rich and complex environments that they actively shape,” Dr. Anna Feltre of the INAF-Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory and colleagues said in a statement.
“Studying this cosmic interaction teaches us how stars form and how their radiation affects surrounding matter, which helps us understand how galaxies evolve as a whole.”
In their study, the astronomers used data taken with the VLT’s Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument.
“MUSE’s superpower lies in its ability to split light into different colors of the rainbow, allowing us to examine the chemical composition of interstellar matter at each location across its entire field of view,” they said.
“The different colors in the image represent different elements: blue, green and red indicate the presence of oxygen, hydrogen and sulfur respectively.”
“MUSE has allowed us to map the distribution of many other elements, as well as their movement, essential to understanding the link between stars and their environment. »
“This cosmic interaction produces a spectacular and dynamic landscape, revealing that star birthplaces are far more beautiful and complex than we ever imagined,” concluded Dr. Feltre.
The team’s paper was published online in the journal Astronomy and astrophysics.
_____
A. Feltre and others. 2026. M3D: M33 mosaic with MUSE datacubes. I. Unveiling the diversity of H II regions in M33 with MUSE. A&A 706, A367; doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202557122
