M66 Group (Leo Trio)

M66 Group (Leo Trio): The M66 group of galaxies also includes M65 and NGC 3628. This grouping is also called the Leo Trio, or the Leo Triplet.

Messier: 66
NGC: 3627
Right Ascension: 11 hrs 20.2 min
Declination: 12° 59"
Apparent Magnitude: 8.9

Date: January 2012
Equipment:
Mount: Losmandy G-11 with Gemini 2
Telescope: Orion ED80T CF apo refractor with Televue 0.8x field flattener
Camera: SBIG ST-10XE
Guiding: ST-80 refractor/DSI Pro/PHD

Exposure: Lum: 16x5 minutes, binned 1x1
R: 16x5 minutes, binned 2x2
G: 16x5 minutes, binned 2x2
B: 15x5 minutes, binned 2x2

Processing Notes: Data acquisition with CCDSoft. Reduced and aligned in CCDStack and combined with Sigma Combine. Arcsine stretch import of L into Photoshop. Adjusted curves and levels. RGB combined 1:1.02:1.65 ratio. Adjusted curves and levels, and reduced noise of RGB. Star blooming repairs. L was combined with RGB as a luminance layer. Final adjustment and crop in Photoshop.
Scale: ~3.6"/pixel

Links to images of this object on other sites:
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110803.html
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070727.html

Additional Comments: One of the first images using the G-11 mount and the Orion ED80T CF apo refractor. First image using the field flattener, but there were issues with the focuser attachment. Each of these objects has been individually imaged using the 16" scope. Those images can be found elsewhere on this website.

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