About Image:

The Leo Triplet (M66 Group) is a stunning assembly of three interacting spiral galaxies located approximately 35 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. The trio consists of M65, M66, and NGC 3628. Bound by gravity, their past close encounters have caused spectacular gravitational distortions, warped disks, and tidal tails of gas and stars.

Top right galaxy Messier 65: A classic, tightly wound spiral galaxy with a prominent central bulge and relatively symmetric, calm spiral arms. Compared to its neighbors, M65 exhibits less intense star formation and appears the most "well-behaved" of the group.

Bottom right galaxy Messier 66: The most dynamic member of the triplet. It is an intermediate spiral galaxy with loosely wound, asymmetric arms that show visible signs of gravitational stress. This tidal interaction has triggered bursts of active star formation and dense star clusters throughout its arms.

Mid left galaxy NGC 3628 (The Hamburger Galaxy): Famous for its distinct shape, this unbarred spiral is seen perfectly edge-on from Earth's perspective. A thick, obscuring band of dark cosmic dust slices directly through the galaxy's bright center, earning it its "Hamburger" nickname. Gravitational pull from M65 and M66 has warped its disk and ripped out an enormous tidal tail extending hundreds of thousands of light-years into space.

Equipment & Details:

Optics: Orion 8” inch 3.9f Newtonian astrograph with 2" MPCC Mark III coma corrector

Camera: Canon 60D DSLR unmoddified

Mount: Celestron AVX

Guiding: Orion starshoot autoguider 60mm guide scope

Date: March 31, April 1,3,15,18-2021

Location: Clarksdale Missouri

Exposures: Lights-236 with 4-minutes subs, total 15-hours 34-minutes

Processing: Pixlnsight, Photoshop CS5