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Messier 65

Messier 65 is a member of the Leo Triplet of galaxies.

Distance

35 million light-years

Apparent Magnitude

10.3

constellation

Leo

object type

Spiral Galaxy

M65
ESA/Hubble & NASA

M65 is a spiral galaxy with an apparent magnitude of 10.3. Charles Messier discovered it and its neighbor M66 on the same night in 1780. Located roughly 35 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo, M65 is a member of the Leo Triplet of galaxies. It can be spotted with a small telescope in the same field of view as the other members of the triplet (M66 and NGC 3628). The best time to observe M65 is in April.

This image of M65’s center is a composite created using exposures taken with Hubble at both visible and infrared wavelengths. Its stair-step appearance results from the design of the camera used to take the exposures. The camera consisted of four light detectors, one of which provided a higher resolution but had a smaller field of view than the other three. Because the detector with the higher resolution did not cover as much area as the others, black regions remain when the images from all four detectors are combined into one picture.

For more information about Hubble’s observations of M65, see:

locator star chart for M65
This star chart for M65 represents the view from mid-northern latitudes for the given month and time.
Image courtesy of Stellarium
This star chart for M65 represents the view from mid-southern latitudes for the given month and time.
Image courtesy of Stellarium

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