| Leo Triplet | |
|---|---|
 The Leo Triplet, with M65 (right top), M66 (right bottom) and NGC 3628 (left). North is to the left. | |
| Observation data (EpochJ2000) | |
| Constellation | Leo |
| Right ascension | 11h 17m[1][2] |
| Declination | +13° 25′[1][2] |
| Brightest member | M66[1][2] |
| Number of galaxies | 3-5[1][2][3] |
| Other designations | |
| M66 Group,Arp 317,[4]LGG 231,[1] NOGG P1 533,[2] NOGG P2 543[2] | |
TheLeo Triplet (also known as theM66 Group) is a smallgroup of galaxies about35 millionlight-years away[5] in theconstellationLeo. This galaxy group consists of thespiral galaxiesM65,M66, andNGC 3628.
The table below lists galaxies that have been consistently identified as group members in the Nearby Galaxies Catalog,[3] the Lyons Groups of Galaxies (LGG) Catalog,[1] and the group lists created from the Nearby Optical Galaxy sample of Giuricin et al.[2]
| Name | Type[6] | R.A. (J2000)[6] | Dec. (J2000)[6] | Redshift (km/s)[6] | Apparent Magnitude |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M65 | SAB(rs)a | 11h 18m 56.0s | +13° 05′ 32″ | 807 ± 3 | 9.3[7] |
| M66 | SAB(s)b | 11h 20m 15.0s | +12° 59′ 30″ | 727 ± 3 | 8.9[8] |
| NGC 3628 | SAb pec | 11h 20m 17.0s | +13° 35′ 23″ | 843 ± 1 | 9.5[9] |
Additionally, some of the references cited above indicate that one or two other nearby galaxies may be group members.NGC 3593 is frequently but not consistently identified as a member of this group.
TheM96 Group is located physically near the Leo Triplet.[10] These two groups may actually be separate parts of a much larger group,[10]and some group identification algorithms actually identify the Leo Triplet as part of the M96 Group.[2][11]
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