THE LEO TRIPLET - M65, M66 & NGC 3628

Image Title: THE LEO TRIPLET - M65, M66 & NGC 3628

Copyright: Drew Evans

Date image was taken: May 15, 2024

Location: Flagstaff, Arizona

Image Description and Details: The constellation Leo is stuffed with galaxies that are visible in spring time. Three of the brightest and best known galaxies are M65, M66, and NGC 3628, also known as the “Leo Triplet”.
The group contains 3 beautiful spiral galaxies, one of which is edge-on. With all 3 galaxies at once in the field of view, you are seeing the collected light of more than half a trillion stars.
The Leo Triplet of galaxies is 35 million light years from Earth, meaning you are seeing these galaxies as they were 35 million years ago!
How many other more faint distant galaxies can you find in this photo?

Equipment Details: OTA: William Optics FLT132 Triplet Refractor
Mount: iOptron CEM70
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
Gain: 100
Cooling Temperature: -10 degrees celsius
Filters:
Chroma Luminance 57 x 300s = 4.75 hrs
Chroma Red 63 x 300s = 5.25 hrs
Chroma Green 65 x 300s = 5.42 hrs
Chroma Blue 62 x 300s = 5.2 hrs
Chroma 3nm Ha 50 x 600s = 8.3 hrs
29 hours total acquisition time
Auto-guiding: ZWO ASI174MM Mini and ZWO OAG-L
Auto-focusing: ZWO EAF
Control: ZWO ASIAIR Plus
Calibrated and Processed in Pixinsight

Name: Drew Evans

Website or Facebook Profile: http://NAZObservatory.com