M65 / M66 / NGC3628 -- LEO TRIPLET

Object

Type                      Spiral Galaxies

Constellation            Leo

Distance                 35 million light years

Magnitude               9.3 (M65), 8.9 (M66), 9.5 (NGC3628)

Size                       8x1.5 (M65), 8x2.5 (M66) 13x3 (NGC3628) arc-min

Image

Date                       2007-03-18

Place                      TUVA Observatory (Checotah)

Exposure Data          LRGB  120:60:60:60 mins @ -20C

                             Lum 12x10, R 6x10, G 6x10, B 6x10

Notes                     R, G, B filters binned 2x2

Equipment

Optics                    Takahashi FSQ-106

Focal Length            530 mm @f/5

Mount                     Takahashi NJP

Camera                   SBIG ST-10XME

Focuser                  RoboFocus

Filters                     CFW-10, Astrodon LRGB

Software                 TheSky6, CCDSoft, CCDAutopilot3, CCDStack, PhotoShop CS