About   Astrophotos  Contact  News  Star Guide  Telescopes 

Trio in Leo ⬅︎

 ↪︎ toggle
The Trio in Leo, also known as the Leo Triplet or the M66 Group, consists of three galaxies about 35 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. The three include M65, M66 and NGC 3628. They are all dim, around magnitude +9.00 to +9.22 which puts them at the edge of visibility in standard binoculars even from a dark site. A telescope is most likely needed.
Viewing Trio in Leo
LevelChallengingRatingBest ViewingLate March to mid-May
FindA dark site is essential. Find the three stars that form a triangle at the tail-end of Leo: Denebola, Zosma and Chertan. Look below Chertan at an slight east angle about 2° -- a bit more than the width of a single finger. For more help, see the links below on Leo and Constellations of Spring.
Look for three glowing orbs of light. Look for differences in shape and brightness.
▶︎ Constellations of Spring ▶︎ Leo ▶︎ Trio in Leo