Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Leo (Leo)  ·  Contains:  HD98388  ·  IC 2708  ·  Leo Triplet  ·  M 65  ·  M 66  ·  NGC 3623  ·  NGC 3627  ·  NGC 3628
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Leo Trio :|, Tom Gray
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Leo Trio :|

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Leo Trio :|, Tom Gray
Powered byPixInsight

Leo Trio :|

Equipment

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Acquisition details

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Description

I always enjoy seeing these three together, after all there are strong interactions, if not attractions, to one another. I imaged these a year a go with my DSI 3 mono camera, and again in April using RGB filters

We see the trio as it was around 35m years ago. M65 (NGC 3623) is the least affected, although there is a prominent dust lane. M66 (NGC 3627) is awash with blue star forming regions, and a clump of red HI emissions from strong interactions with NGC 3628, with its heavy bifurcated bar. 

This is the first test of my Star Adventurer (tracker) in preparation for galaxy season. Seeing was not particularly steady on a cold frosty night, a light wind limited exposures to 2min. I am getting used to holding my breath as well as tiptoeing around this setup.

I’m able to reliably get guided 5 min exposures with this setup, and am confident I can pull out the detail and faint star streams which define this trio.

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Sky plot

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Leo Trio :|, Tom Gray