Messier 66, also known as M66 or NGC 3627, is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Leo, discovered by Pierre Mechain in 1780. It is the brightest member of the Leo Triplet, which it forms together with Messier 65 and NGC 3628, lies roughly 31 million light-years from Earth, and shows a distorted spiral structure with an offset core and asymmetric arms attributed to gravitational interaction with its Triplet companions.
Facts
Classification
Constellation Discovery Year In the Other Atlases
In Constellation
Also in Divinity Atlas: the constellation this subject lies in.
Sources
1. Wikidata: Messier 66
- Wikidata Q13992, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
- wikidata-q13992 Wikidata claim (w-bbfill-edspace5-0927)
View the Source2. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia Foundation
Messier 66 (Wikipedia)
Messier 66, Wikipedia - lead section, catalogue classification
Messier 66 or M66, also known as NGC 3627, is an intermediate spiral galaxy located around 31 million light years from Earth in the equatorial half of the Leo constellation.
- In Group: Spiral Galaxies, infobox 'type' field: SAB(s)b (NED classification, de Vaucouleurs system) filed under Spiral Galaxies
View the SourceReader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.