| Leo Triplet or M66 Group of Galaxies M65 right top (NGC3623) right top, M66 right bottom (NGC 3627) & NGC3628 lower left. North is to the left This trio of galaxies located in the rear leg area of the Constellation LEO, the lion. They are situated halfway between the stars Chertan (3.3 magnitude) on top and 78-Iota Leonis magnitude 4.46, at a distance of 35 million light years. Shinning at magnitude 10.3, 9.7 and 9.4 respectfully, they are visible through a good pair of binoculars or small 4-6" telescope. Wide field eyepieces with larger aperture instruments of 12-16" really show them well.. |
| Telescope / Lens | TEC 140 f/7 |
| Mount Type | Astrophysics 1200 |
| Camera | SBIG ST10XME |
| Filters | Astrodon LRGB |
| Film | CCD |
| Exposure | 165 minutes (2 hours 45 minutes); LRGB (L=120,RGB=15 each) 5 minute exposures |
| Processing | CCDSoft, CCDStack, AIP, Photoshop CS2 |
| Date | 05/21/2009 |
| Location | Eagles Ridge; 25 Miles South of Dexter, Oregon 122° 42' 45" W,
43° 48' 17"N Observing site used by Eugene Astronomical Society ( http://www.eugeneastro.org/ ) |
| Conditions | 3411' elevation, magnitude 6 Skies; Clear ; Humidity 60-82% 45 degrees, wind 5-10 M.P.H. |