Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Leo (Leo)  ·  Contains:  M 65  ·  M 66  ·  NGC 3623  ·  NGC 3627  ·  NGC 3628
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Leo Triplet, Earle Waghorne
Leo Triplet
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Leo Triplet

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Leo Triplet, Earle Waghorne
Leo Triplet
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Leo Triplet

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Description

This beautiful group of interacting spiral galaxies lies about 35 M light-years from us, in the constellation Leo.

The largest of the three, M66, is unusual, having asymmetric spiral arms and an apparently displaced core, most likely caused by the gravitational pull of the other two members of the group, M65 and NGC 3628 [1].

This striking group of galaxies frames itself; you probably can't take a bad photo of it. I had intended to give it two nights but Thursday was exceptional and everything ran like a dream. I got about 7 hours of good subs and couldn't resist processing them. I'll save the next clear night for another target.

CS


[1] https://esahubble.org/images/heic1006a/

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Leo Triplet, Earle Waghorne