The Leo Triplet, or the M66 Group, is a group of interacting spiral galaxies located in the northern constellation Leo. The group consists of the galaxies Messier 65, Messier 66 and NGC 3628, also known as the Hamburger Galaxy. The Leo Triplet lies at an approximate distance of 35 million light years from Earth.
The three large spiral galaxies can be seen in a single field of view and are well viewed even in small telescopes. Their galactic disks are tilted at different angles when seen from Earth. NGC 3628 appears edge-on, while M65 and M66 are inclined enough to reveal their spiral arms.
Notes:- The focal length of my telescope is certainly not great for galaxies. I am however pleased with the outcome here. Thank you to @astrocapetown for pointing me to the ArcSinHStretch process in Pixinsight and thank you to Elf of Lothlorien
with an extensive youtube tutorial on post processing where he explains the use of ArcsinHStretch in detail. I did not use an OSC but followed his steps after a normal RGB combine.
Gear Used:- Camera=ZWO ASI1600-mono-cooled
Filters= Astrodon Lum, Red, Green and Blue
Scope=Skywatcher Esprit 100 refractor
Mount=Skywatcher EQ6 with Rowan conversion
Focuser=MyFocusserPro2
Guide Camera=Lodestar x 2
OAG=ZWO
Filter wheel=ZWO
Software Used:-
Collecting Data=Sequence Generator Pro with PHD2 and EQMOD
Stacking Data=Astropixelprocessor
Post Processing=Pixinsight
