A Spectacular View Of M66 (Leo Triplet)

Hubblecast 34: "Hubble snaps heavyweight of the Leo Triplet".

Hubble has snapped a spectacular view of M66, the largest "player" of the Leo Triplet, and a galaxy with an unusual anatomy: it displays asymmetric spiral arms and an apparently displaced core. The peculiar anatomy is most likely caused by the gravitational pull of the other two members of the trio.

The Leo Triplet (also known as the M66 Group) is a small group of galaxies about 35 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. This galaxy group consists of the spiral galaxies M65, the M66, and the NGC 3628.

The M96 Group is located physically near the Leo Triplet. These two groups may actually be separate parts of a much larger group, and some group identification algorithms actually identify the Leo Triplet at part of the M96 Group.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Triplet

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Travelling through time and space with our host Doctor J a.k.a. Dr. Joe Liske ...

Hubblecast features news and Images from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

Dr. J is the young enthusiastic host of the Hubblecast. He is a German astronomer at the European Organization for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO). His scientific interests are in cosmology, particularly on galaxy evolution and quasars. Dr. J's real name is Joe Liske and he has a PhD in astronomy.

• http://www.spacetelescope.org