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M65 and M66 are two of the galaxies that make up the “Leo Trio”.  M66 (upper right of image) is a barred-spiral  type of galaxy which lies approximately 35 million light years from Earth. M65 is approximately the same distance from Earth, although it is a relatively close 160,000 light years from M66. This  distance is close enough in galactic terms for the two galaxies to have  dynamic influences on each other  along with influences on neighboring NGC 3628.

180 minutes of Luminance, 1x1 Binning.

120  minutes each of Red, Green and Blue.

Five minute sub-frames.

05/19/13-05/22/13

Image acquired using Apogee A8050 camera with Astrodon filter set through 10” Astro-Tech AT10-RC telescope.

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M65 & M66 in Leo