#ngc3627

Leo Triplet (M66 group)

This small group of galaxies consists of the Messier objects M65 (NGC3623), lower right, and M66 (NGC3627), lower left, along with the edge-on spiral galaxy NGC3628, upper left. These three galaxies form a rather attractive triplet at the heart of the M66 group, which includes a number of other galaxies which are "out of shot". The Leo Triplet also appears in Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies. At a distance of 35 million light-years, maybe a little further, the M66 group may be related to M96 (NGC3368) and the Leo I galaxy group.

credit line: REU program/NOAO/AURA/NSF

M66, NGC3627

M66 is a spiral galaxy of type Sb in the constellation Leo. At a distance of about 35 million light-years, M66 apparently forms a triplet with its neighbors M65 and NGC3628. This image was taken with the WIYN 0.9-meter telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory on the nights of December 19th and 20th 2002 UT. Image size 9.1x11.3 arc minutes.

credit line: NOAO/AURA/NSF 

NGC 3627

NGC 3627, also known as Messier 66, is a barred spiral galaxy located about 30 million light years away towards the constellation Leo, the Lion. The galaxy’s imperfect shape is likely the result of interactions with two neighbors, Messier 65 and NGC 3628. While NGC 3627′s central bar consists mainly of older stars with little star formation, its ends have many active star forming regions.

NGC 3627 contains a bright X-ray source, highlighted in the inset of this image. This may be evidence of a supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy. X-ray and infrared data have also shown that nuclear activity is not necessarily related to the amount of star formation in a galaxy, as previously thought. Rather, the mass of the supermassive black hole and its accretion rate are greater in galaxies with more mass.

NGC 3627

NGC 3627, or Messier 66, is a barred spiral galaxy located about 30 million light years away towards the constellation Leo. Barred spirals are the most common type of disk galaxy in the universe, and our Milky Way is another example. Barred spirals host several characteristically different regions for star formation, offering an interesting lab for the study of this process.

NGC 3627 is slightly distorted, probably due to close interactions with its neighbors Messier 65 and NGC 3628. NGC 3627 was also found to have a strong X-ray source at its center, most likely a supermassive black hole. X-ray data from galaxy surveys has suggested that the mass of the supermassive black hole and the rate it accretes matter are correlated to the mass of the galaxy. This suggests that the nuclear activity of the galaxy is related to these variables, rather than the amount of star formation as previously thought.

NGC 3627

NGC 3627 is a spiral galaxy located about 30 million light years away. This image shows the galaxy in X-ray (blue), infrared (red), and optical data (yellow). The central region plays host to a bright X-ray source, quite possibly a supermassive black hole.

A survey of X-ray data on 63 galaxies showed that 37, including NGC 3627, had X-ray sources that could be supermassive black holes. The study demonstrates the ability of X-ray data to discover supermassive black holes more effectively than optical data.

Messier 66 is an intermediate spiral galaxy about 36 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. M66 is about 95 thousand light-years across with striking dust lanes and bright star clusters along sweeping spiral arms. M66 is part of the famous Leo Triplet, a small group of galaxies that also includes M65 and NGC 3628.