M36, also known as the Triangulum Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy located approximately 3 million light-years from Earth. It is one of the closest galaxies to our Milky Way and is part of the Local Group of galaxies. M36 is notable for its bright, well-defined spiral arms and contains a significant number of stars, gas, and dust. Discovered by the astronomer Charles Messier in 1764, M36 is cataloged as one of the objects in his famous list of nebulae and star clusters. The galaxy is often studied for its star formation activity and is visible with binoculars in the constellation Triangulum.