APOD: 2019 December 31 - M33: The Triangulum Galaxy

Good morning, Rallypoint. Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) to close out 2019 is titled "M33 - The Triangulum Galaxy." Also known as the Pinwheel Galaxy, M33 is over 50,000 light-years in diameter, 3,000,000 light years for our own Milky Way, and is the third largest in the Local Group of galaxies (after the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way). Located in the constellation Triangulum (between Andromeda, Perseus, Pisces, and Aries), M33's population of well-measured variable stars have helped make it a cosmic yardstick for establishing the distance scale of the Universe.