Just 30 million light-years away, the large spiral galaxy NGC 3628 (center left) shares its neighborhood in this small group of galaxies with two other large spirals, in a magnificent grouping also known as the Leo Triplet. about 35 million light years in the direction of the constellation Leo.
But perhaps most curious is the spectacular tail that expands down and to the left for some 300,000 light-years from the warped disk seen from the side of NGC 3628.
This structure, known as a tidal tail, has been blown out of the galaxy by galactic tides during the brief but violent past interactions with its large neighbors. The tidal tail is made up of young bluish star clusters and regions of star formation.
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Authors and copyright :
Marc Valero, Jesús M. Vargas, Bittor Zabalegui & José Esteban
“FAR LIGHT TEAM” Remote Observatory in Spain ( Fregenal de la Sierra ) Badajoz, Extremadura Region, in the hosting of telescopes “Entre Encinas y Estrellas”.
Photographic work done during the month of May 2021
Telescope: Takahashi FSQ 106 – Unguided
CCD: QSI 683 ws8
LRGB Baader planetarium filters
Mount: 10 Micron HPS1000
Rotator: Pegasus
Focuser: Lunatic Armadillo
Software: Mountwizar 4, Voyager, Pixinsight
Lights: ( -15º )
Luminance 44 x 1200″ bininx1
Luminance 25 x 200″ bininx1
R 20 x 300″ bininx2
G 20 x 300″ bininx2
B 20 x 300″ bininx2
Calibration: ( -15º )
50 DARKS x 1200″ bininx1
100 DARKS x 200″ bininx1
75 DARKS x 300″ bininx2
200 BIAS bininx1
200 BIAS bininx2
60 FLATS Luminance
60 FLATS Blue
60 FLATS Green
60 FLATS Red
Larger links:
https://www.sky-astrophotography.com/triplete-de-leo
