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We present the results of a comprehensive photometry and spectroscopic survey of planetary nebulae over the inner 6 disk scale lengths of the Local Group spiral galaxy M33. We use the data to derive the galaxy's distance, probe its disk kinematics, and investigate the progenitors of these extremely luminous stars. We show that the galaxy's velocity ellipsoid becomes more elongated at large radii, that the system's dynamical scale length is more than twice that of its K-band light, and that the disk's stellar mass-to-light ratio increases by a factor of 5 over 6 IR disk scale lengths. We also show that the shape of the PN luminosity function supports the hypothesis that the brightest PN in early-type galaxies evolve from blue stragglers. |