AAO image reference AAT 61. « Previous || Next »
Top left is NE. Image width is about 10 arc min
Image and text © 1989-2010, Australian Astronomical Observatory, photograph by David Malin.
M65 in Leo is an elegant spiral galaxy which is highly inclined to our line of sight, revealing a prominent and bright central bulge. Apart from the bulge, the other notable feature of M65 is its dust lane, which so obviously surrounds the galaxy but is only clearly seen where it hides a bright background. Elsewhere, dust is associated with bright, clumpy knots of star formation visible along the inner spiral arm. One arm of the galaxy seems slightly displaced, as though it had undergone some interaction with other massive galaxies. This is hardly surprising, since it is a member of a small group about 30 million light years away that includes M66 and NGC 3628.
Related Images
AAT 62. Messier 66 (NGC 3627) spiral galaxy in Leo
AAT 63 . Edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 3628 in Leo
AAT 103. The galaxies of the Leo Triplet
Constellation of Leo (external site)
For details of photographic exposure, search technical table by AAT reference number.