Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Leo (Leo)  ·  Contains:  M 65  ·  M 66  ·  NGC 3623  ·  NGC 3627  ·  NGC 5498
M65 & M66, AlBroxton
M65 & M66
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M65 & M66

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Description

Messier 66 (also known as NGC 3627) is an intermediate spiral galaxy about 36 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1780. M66 is about 95 thousand light-years across with striking dust lanes and bright star clusters along sweeping spiral arms M66 is considerably larger than its neighbor, M65, and has a well developed but not well defined central bulge, and is therefore classified Sb. Obviously its spiral arms are deformed, probably because of the encounters with its neighbors. They seem to be distorted and displaced above the plane of the galaxy. Note how one of the spiral arms seems to pass over the left side of the central bulge. Much dust is visible here, as well as a few pink nebulae, signs of star formation, near the end of one of the arms. M66 is part of the famous Leo Triplet, a small group of galaxies that also includes M65 and NGC 3628.

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Revisions

  • M65 & M66, AlBroxton
    Original
  • M65 & M66, AlBroxton
    B
  • M65 & M66, AlBroxton
    C
  • M65 & M66, AlBroxton
    D
  • Final
    M65 & M66, AlBroxton
    E

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M65 & M66, AlBroxton

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Allen Broxton
Galaxies