This is an excellent example of a spiral or "pinwheel" galaxy, known as the Triangulum Galaxy and given the designation M33 by Charles Messier in 1764. Located roughly 3 million light-years from Earth, this galaxy is faintly visible to the naked eye but only from areas with very dark skies. This image represents 90 minutes of total exposure time, made up of a series of 5 minute and 10 minute exposures digitally combined.

The telescope used for this image is a 11" Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain, operating at f/6.3 via a focal reducer. The camera is a QHY-8 dedicated, cooled CCD camera.

Captured at the Astronomy Society of Kansas City's "Dark Sky Site" located near Butler, MO, on the evening of Ocober 10, 2010.