M33, the Pinwheel Galaxy
Sketch and Details by Jeff Young
William Parsons, the Third Earl of Rosse remarked that M33 was “full of knots. Spiral arrangement. Two similar curves like an “S” cross in the centre.” I seem to have captured many of his knots and the primary “S” shape, but was less successful with the secondary “S”.
M33 has the distinction of being one of the first galaxies identified as a “spiral nebulae” by Lord Rosse in the 19th C, as well as being one of the first “nebulae” identified as galaxies by Edwin Hubble in the early 20th C. Among visual amateurs its distinction is less complimentary: while bright enough to be visible naked-eye from pristine skies, its low surface brightness and large size make it notoriously difficult to discern much of the detail readily visible in photographs.
Sketched 11/30/2008 from County Louth, Ireland,
as viewed through 16” Mak-Cass @105X; Pickering 5, NELM 5.5, SQM 20.4
Daler-Rowney HB Graphic pencil on white cartridge paper. Scanned and inverted in Photoshop.
Cheers,
— Jeff.
Again excellent work Jeff. In Septermeber at the Kelling Heath Star Party in Norfolk UK I studied M33 on 2 consecutive nights with my 20″ and was able to identify a good number of the designated Ha regions, it was very exciting, alas I only made a very rough sketch for id purposes. I must return to this beguiling galaxy with my observatory set up and create a decent sketch.
Thanks again for sharing your inspirational work.
Dale
Jeff,
This sketch of M-33 is very encouraging to visual observers that struggle to see details from poor observing sites. It is just a matter of observing this spiral from darker skies. This is a beautiful impressive sketch.
Frank
Jeff,
A really fine rendering of M33!
Michael Rosolina
Friars Hill, WV USA
Thanks, everyone! I think it’s one of my best efforts to date.
— Jeff.