A close-up look at the Triangulum Galaxy

This video sequence gives a very detailed close-up view of the galaxy Messier 33. The VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile captured this beautiful picture of what is often also called the Triangulum Galaxy. This nearby spiral, the second closest large galaxy to our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is packed with bright star clusters, and clouds of gas and dust. This picture is amongst the most detailed wide-field view of this object ever taken and shows the many glowing red gas clouds in the spiral arms with particular clarity.