Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Leo (Leo)  ·  Contains:  M 65  ·  M 66  ·  NGC 3623  ·  NGC 3627  ·  NGC 3628  ·  The star 73Leo
Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
The Leo Triplet, Randal Healey
The Leo Triplet
Powered byPixInsight

The Leo Triplet

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
The Leo Triplet, Randal Healey
The Leo Triplet
Powered byPixInsight

The Leo Triplet

Equipment

Loading...

Acquisition details

Loading...

Description

This group is popular in the northern spring. Famous as the Leo Triplet, the three magnificent galaxies gather in one field of view. they can be introduced individually as NGC 3628 (Top), M66 (bottom), and M65 (Right). All three are large spiral galaxies but they tend to look dissimilar because their galactic disks are tilted at different angles to our line of sight. NGC 3628 is seen edge-on, with obscuring dust lanes cutting across the plane of the galaxy, while the disks of M66 and M65 are both inclined enough to show off their spiral structure. Gravitational interactions between galaxies in the group have also left telltale signs, including the warped and inflated disk of NGC 3628 and the drawn out spiral arms of M66. This region spans about one degree (two full moons) on the sky. The field covers over 500 thousand light-years at the trio's estimated distance of 30 million light-years.

Comments

Revisions

  • The Leo Triplet, Randal Healey
    Original
  • Final
    The Leo Triplet, Randal Healey
    B

Sky plot

Sky plot

Histogram

The Leo Triplet, Randal Healey