The Leo Triplet is an interesting group of three mutually interacting galaxies that are often observed and photographed within a single field of view. The Leo Triplet includes spiral galaxies M65 (lower right), M66 (lower left), and NGC 3628 (upper left). This group of galaxies is found in the constellation Leo, all of them are about 35 million light years from the earth.
Each one of the galaxies is tilted at a different angle, making them all appear quite different from each other from our vantage point on Earth. NGC 3628 (The Hamburger Galaxy) is seen edge-on, with dark dust lanes that obscure the bright core of the galaxy. M65 and M66 are on angles that show off their beautiful spiral structure.
First, a wide field picture, then below that there are individual close-ups of each of the three galaxies
NGC 3628
M66
and M65
Since the images in this blog are relatively large and contain a lot of detail, if you are using a phone or a small tablet, you might want to consider returning sometime when you can use a computer with its larger screen.
Since the images in this blog are relatively large and contain a lot of detail, if you are using a phone or a small tablet, you might want to consider returning sometime when you can use a computer with its larger screen.