Leo triplet, also known as the M66 group is a small group of galaxies. They are 35million Ly away and are situated in the constellation of Leo. The three main galaxies are M65, M66 and NGC 3628.
M66 (Bottom right galaxy) is classed as an intermediate spiral galaxy which was discovered by Charles Messier in 1780 who described it as 'Very faint'. M66 is classed as a SABb - having a spiral shape with a weak bar feature and loose spiral arms (Ann et al., 2015). M66 lies thirty-one million Ly away and is approximately 95000 ly across and has a magnitude of 8.9
M65 (top right galaxy) again is an intermediate spiral galaxy, first discovered by Charles Messier in 1780. M65 is classed as SAB(rs) a by NASA/PAC. the galaxy has low amounts of dust and gas meaning few star formations happen, but occasionally they do happen.
NGC 3628 or the Hamburger Galaxy as it is known is an unbarred spiral galaxy about thirty-five million Ly away with a magnitude of 9.5. Dust lanes are very clear due to the side view of the galaxy and can be seen stretching out past the 'bulge' of the inner core.
M66 (Bottom right galaxy) is classed as an intermediate spiral galaxy which was discovered by Charles Messier in 1780 who described it as 'Very faint'. M66 is classed as a SABb - having a spiral shape with a weak bar feature and loose spiral arms (Ann et al., 2015). M66 lies thirty-one million Ly away and is approximately 95000 ly across and has a magnitude of 8.9
M65 (top right galaxy) again is an intermediate spiral galaxy, first discovered by Charles Messier in 1780. M65 is classed as SAB(rs) a by NASA/PAC. the galaxy has low amounts of dust and gas meaning few star formations happen, but occasionally they do happen.
NGC 3628 or the Hamburger Galaxy as it is known is an unbarred spiral galaxy about thirty-five million Ly away with a magnitude of 9.5. Dust lanes are very clear due to the side view of the galaxy and can be seen stretching out past the 'bulge' of the inner core.
This Target is easy to capture. Exposure times as short as 1 minute can be used and as much total exposure as possible will lead to an ever-increasing amount of data which will improve your picture. The picture above was taken with 3-minute exposures with an UV/IR filter from Optolong
I am aiming to get more data on this target over the coming months before the end of the galaxy season, or worst case, the next galaxy season, to improve the overall picture quality.
I am aiming to get more data on this target over the coming months before the end of the galaxy season, or worst case, the next galaxy season, to improve the overall picture quality.