The Leo Triplet (also called the M66 Group) is a small, gravitationally bound group of three spiral galaxies in the constellation Leo, roughly 30-35 million light-years away: Messier 65, Messier 66, and NGC 3628.
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The Leo Triplet (also called the M66 Group) is a small, gravitationally bound group of three spiral galaxies in the constellation Leo, roughly 30-35 million light-years away: Messier 65, Messier 66, and NGC 3628. M65 and M66 are both relatively undisturbed spirals, while NGC 3628, nicknamed the Hamburger Galaxy for the dark dust lane bisecting its disk, is seen edge-on and shows a faint tidal tail from past interactions with its neighbors. The three galaxies are close enough on the sky to fit in a single wide-field frame, with M65 and M66 separated by only about 160,000 light-years and NGC 3628 a bit farther out.
[Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Triplet; Sky & Telescope, skyandtelescope.org]
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Image Details
| Moon Phase: | Last Quarter |
|---|---|
| Camera: | ToupTek ATR2600C |
| Optics: | Skywatcher Esprit 120ED, 840 mm focal length, f/7 (120 mm aperture, APO triplet) |
| Date: | 2025-04-21 |
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