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Leo Trio - M65, M66, NGC 3628

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When most people think of tides, they think of oceans, the moon and maybe the sun - but tidal forces can cause structures even as large as galaxies to warp if 2 of them pass too close to each other.

The Leo Trio is a group of three spiral galaxies about 35 million light years away in the constellation of Leo. M65 (lower left) looks normal, but M66 (upper left) and NGC 3628 (upper right) show definite signs of tidal warping in action. It has been inferred that they just missed each other when they passed a few hundred million years ago. There is a thin stream of gas and stars above NGC 3628 that has actually been ejected from the galaxy and is on its way into intergalactic space.

Takahashi NJP Temma II, Takahashi TSA-102 at f/6, FLI ML8300. 135 minutes total exposure time.
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FrenzyWolf's avatar
Takahashi Refractors are just handmade masterpieces.. like this picture.