NGC 3628 is an elongated galaxy with a prominent dust lane cutting across the center of the galaxy. It is a spiral galaxy that we see from an edge-on view. The galaxy shines at magnitude 10.5 in Leo near the M65 and M66 galaxies. NGC 3628 is larger than M65 and M66, measuring about 12 arcminutes in length, but is fainter. These three galaxies form a beautiful trio in amateur size telescopes. Charles Messier did not notice this galaxy, even though it is only 35 arcminutes north of M66. In fact, Messier's comet of 1773 passed through this region on November 2, 1773.
This is an LRGB composite CCD image. The exposures for the L channel were take over two nights, and the RGB data was taken on a third night. An SBIG ST-8E CCD was used on a Takahashi FCT-150 refractor at f7, carried on a Takahashi NJP mount.
NGC 3628
Constellation: Leo
RA: 11h 20m 17s Dec: +13d 35' 24" (J2000)
March 20 & 22-23, 2004
Images by Sid Leach
Scottsdale, Arizona
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