This group of galaxies are known as the Leo Triplet becuse they are in the constellation of Leo. The have astronomical catalog designations of M65 (lower right), M66 (lower left), and NCG 3628 (upper left). This photograph is a combination of nine images that were taken while tracking the stars and combined by averaging them together to reduce the background noise produced by the electronics in the camera.
Photographer: Rick Scott
Date: Apri 18, 2015
Camera: Canon EOS 40D digital camera
Lens: Home-made 10 inch f/4.63 Lurie Houghton Telescope
Mount: Losmandy G-11 equatorial
Exposure: 9 x 60 seconds (and 200 dark frames)
Camera Mode: ISO 800 RAW
Software: PixInsight 1.8 for RAW conversion and pre-processing and stacking; and Adobe Photoshop CS6 final image processing
Updated: May 17, 2015