🔭 M66 — Leo Triplet

Galaxy in Leo

M66, Leo Triplet is a galaxy in the constellation Leo, with an apparent magnitude of about 8.9, roughly 36,000 thousand light-years away.

Data

Catalogue designation	M66
Common name	Leo Triplet
Object type	Galaxy
Constellation	Leo
NGC / IC	NGC 3627
Apparent magnitude	8.9
Distance (approx.)	36,000 thousand light-years

What a galaxy is

A vast, gravitationally-bound system of stars, gas and dust — from small irregular collections to giant spirals containing a trillion suns. Most Messier galaxies are island universes far beyond the Milky Way.

Other Messier objects in Leo: M65, M95, M96, M105.

Data: Messier catalogue & IAU constellations, via English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0) · stored statically.