wide field astrophotography
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/b650a555-947c-4894-a5e4-24a13ddfcd1d/26a3696c-cc35-480a-a376-a4f2a579c5b6_rw_1200.png?h=378fba8f5b702bae3a76dc493db965dc)
The Leo Triplet (also known as the M66 Group) is a small group of galaxies in the constellation Leo. Located about about 35 million light-years (or about 330 quintillion kilometres) from earth, the triplet includes M65, M66 and NGC 3628 aka the Hamburger Galaxy.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/b650a555-947c-4894-a5e4-24a13ddfcd1d/fb048146-8411-402a-b77c-5c0e9c4ac193_rw_1920.jpg?h=692f07a08b077db48fd17bfd7c5d03ad)
Cropped Version | Nikon D7100 | WO Zenithstar 61ii 360mm | 71 min exposure | 2022-04-29
A fairly small target in the night sky, the Leo Triplet is a bit of a stretch for my small 61mm telescope but was a fun target to acquire nevertheless. To further challenge this image, atmospheric conditions were less than idea on this night and I hope to improve the image with additional data at a future time.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/b650a555-947c-4894-a5e4-24a13ddfcd1d/1658a85b-a9fa-4d20-8b11-28441eb41324_rw_1920.jpg?h=989d9dff75e6353f69821e0d3700eb40)
Full Size Version | Nikon D7100 | WO Zenithstar 61ii 360mm | 71 min exposure | 2022-04-29
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/b650a555-947c-4894-a5e4-24a13ddfcd1d/2b65eab2-b289-4c0f-b8d0-6c37bee41556_rw_1920.jpg?h=143eaa1b36a8503a24f2b665bfd95d57)
Base astrometric annotations for above image courtesy of Astrometry.net
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/b650a555-947c-4894-a5e4-24a13ddfcd1d/28d75bbb-e2b8-4332-9d8b-f9e4950c6f9a_rw_1920.jpg?h=069e79a7fad4b96a34b87f2eff49115a)
Sky map courtesy of Stellarium
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/b650a555-947c-4894-a5e4-24a13ddfcd1d/baad1187-9e96-4efb-bf7f-bad35829fa91_rw_1200.png?h=77b616dc5e1e22114840c6bf39c454ac)