Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Leo (Leo)  ·  Contains:  IC 2708  ·  IC 2745  ·  Leo Triplet  ·  M 65  ·  M 66  ·  NGC 3623  ·  NGC 3627  ·  NGC 3628
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Leo Triplet, Kirby Collins
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Leo Triplet

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Leo Triplet, Kirby Collins
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Leo Triplet

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Description

M65, M66, and NGC3628 make up the famous Leo Triplet.  M65 and M66 were discovered by Messier in 1780, who described them as "very faint."  He also noted "The comet of 1773 and 1774 has passed between these two nebulae on November 1 to 2, 1773.  M. Messier didn't see them at that time, no doubt, because of the light of the comet."  Messier also did not see the fainter NGC 3628, which was discovered by William Herschel in 1784.  NGC 3628 is also known as the Hamburger Galaxy, due to the prominent dark dust lane running across its disk.

All three galaxies are probably outlying members of the Leo Group at about 35 million light years away; the deformation and tidal tail of NGC3628 indicates they are interacting gravitationally.

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Leo Triplet, Kirby Collins