The Leo Triplett (M66 group)

This small group of galaxies consists of the Messier objects M65 (NGC 3623) and M66 (NGC 3627) as well as the edge-on spiral NGC 3628. These three galaxies, the heart of the M66 group, form a beautiful and photogenic group which is frequently referred to as the Leo Triplett; Halton Arp has included this group as number 317 in his Catalogue of Peculiar Galaxies (M66 is also Arp 16). Lying at a distance of some 35 million light years, it is probably physically related to the M96 group.

The slightly more distant S0 or "early" Sa galaxy NGC 3593 is probably another member of the group, not in out image.

Our image was obtained by the German amateur Michael Weiland of the Interessengemeinschaft Astronomie at the University of Constance.

More images of the Interessengemeinschaft Astronomie

More images of M65 and M66, sometimes including NGC 3628 (the whole Leo Triplett)

Amateur images of M65 and M66

The table below lists some data for the M66 group members:

Galaxy    Name II   RA (2000.0) Dec  type   m_v       dim     RV

NGC 3593  H I.29    11:14.6 +12:49   Sb     11.0    5.8x2.5  510
M65       NGC 3623  11:18.9 +13:05   Sb/Sa   9.34  10.0x3.3  692
M66       NGC 3627  11:20.2 +12:59   Sb+     9.04   8.7x4.4  623
NGC 3628  H V.8     11:20.3 +13:36   Sb      9.51  14.8x3.6  734

Key: Name: Some catalog number or name; RA/Dec: Position 2000.0; type: Hubble type; m_v: apparent visual magnitude; dim: dimension in arc minutes; RV: radial velocity (all data from the Sky Catalog 2000 when available).

Hartmut Frommert
Christine Kronberg
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Last Modification: October 24, 1999