Another member of this
triplet of galaxies in Leo is a spiral galaxy known as M66. This
galaxy is much larger than its close neighbor, M65. Its visual
appearance is a bit unusual in that its spiral is irregular in
shape. The galaxy's spirals are believed to have been deformed
by close encounters with its neighbors. M66 is located about 35
million light-years from Earth. Its magnitude of 9.0 makes it a
little easier to observe with binoculars. A good telescope and
dark skies will reveal some of the detail in this galaxy.
