Messier 66 or M66, also known as NGC 3627, is an
intermediate spiral galaxy
An intermediate spiral galaxy is a galaxy that is in between the classifications of a barred spiral galaxy and an unbarred spiral galaxy. It is designated as SAB in the galaxy morphological classification system devised by Gerard de Vaucouleur ...
in the southern,
equatorial Equatorial may refer to something related to:
*Earth's equator
**the tropics, the Earth's equatorial region
**tropical climate
*the Celestial equator
** equatorial orbit
**equatorial coordinate system
** equatorial mount, of telescopes
* equatorial ...
half of
Leo. It was discovered by French astronomer
Charles Messier
Charles Messier (; 26 June 1730 – 12 April 1817) was a French astronomer. He published an astronomical catalogue consisting of 110 nebulae and star clusters, which came to be known as the ''Messier objects''. Messier's purpose f ...
[ on 1 March 1780, who described it as "very long and very faint".][ This galaxy is a member of a small group of galaxies that includes M65 and NGC 3628, known as the ]Leo Triplet
The Leo Triplet (also known as the M66 Group) is a small group of galaxies about 35 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. This galaxy group consists of the spiral galaxies M65, M66, and NGC 3628.
Members
The table below lists ...
or the M66 Group.[ M65 and M66 are a common object for amateur astronomic observation, being separated by only .][
M66 has a morphological classification of SABb,][ indicating a spiral shape with a weak bar feature and loosely wound ]arms
Arms or ARMS may refer to:
*Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body
Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to:
People
* Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader
Coat of arms or weapons
*Armaments or weapons
**Fi ...
. The isophotal axis ratio is 0.32, indicating that it is being viewed at an angle.[ M66 is receding from us with a heliocentric ]radial velocity
The radial velocity or line-of-sight velocity, also known as radial speed or range rate, of a target with respect to an observer is the temporal rate of change, rate of change of the distance or Slant range, range between the two points. It is e ...
of .[ It lies 31][ million ]light-year
A light-year, alternatively spelled light year, is a large unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equivalent to about 9.46 trillion kilometers (), or 5.88 trillion miles ().One trillion here is taken to be 1012 ...
s away and is about 95 thousand light-years across[Per the small angle formula: 31 mly × tan( 9′.1 ) = ~82 kly. diameter] with striking dust lane
A dust lane consists of a relatively dense, obscuring clouds of interstellar dust, observed as a dark swath against the background of a brighter object(s), especially a galaxy. These dust lanes can usually be seen in spiral galaxies, such as th ...
s and bright star clusters along sweeping spiral arms. As of 2018, five supernova
A supernova is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. It has the plural form supernovae or supernovas, and is abbreviated SN or SNe. This transient astronomical event occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star or when ...
e have been observed in M66: SN 2016cok,[ 2009hd, 1997bs, 1989B, and 1973R.][ The one detected in 2016, SN 2016cok was discovered by the All-Sky Survey Automated Survey for Supernovae, and it has been categorized as a Type IIp supernova.]
Gravitational interaction from its past encounter with neighboring NGC 3628 has resulted in an extremely high central mass concentration; a high molecular
A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioche ...
to atomic mass
The atomic mass (''m''a or ''m'') is the mass of an atom. Although the SI unit of mass is the kilogram (symbol: kg), atomic mass is often expressed in the non-SI unit dalton (symbol: Da) – equivalently, unified atomic mass unit (u). 1&nbs ...
ratio; and a resolved non-rotating clump of H I material apparently removed from one of the spiral arm
Spiral galaxies form a class of galaxy originally described by Edwin Hubble in his 1936 work ''The Realm of the Nebulae''[Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies
The ''Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies'' is a catalog of peculiar galaxies produced by Halton Arp in 1966. A total of 338 galaxies are presented in the atlas, which was originally published in 1966 by the California Institute of Technology. The p ...]
''.
Gallery
File:Sig05-016.jpg, alt=A "False Color" Version of Messier 66 by the SST (Spitzer Space Telescope), Infrared false color view of M66 from the Spitzer Space Telescope
The Spitzer Space Telescope, formerly the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), was an infrared space telescope launched in 2003. Operations ended on 30 January 2020. Spitzer was the third space telescope dedicated to infrared astronomy, f ...
File:Messier 066 2MASS.jpg, Messier 66 by 2MASS
The Two Micron All-Sky Survey, or 2MASS, was an astronomical survey of the whole sky in infrared light. It took place between 1997 and 2001, in two different locations: at the U.S. Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory on Mount Hopkins, Arizona, and ...
File:Messier 66 - NGC 3627 - GALEX.png, An ultraviolet
Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nanometer, nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 Hertz, PHz) to 400 nm (750 Hertz, THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than ...
image of Messier 66 by GALEX
Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX or Explorer 83 or SMEX-7) was a NASA orbiting space telescope designed to observe the universe in ultraviolet wavelengths to measure the history of star formation in the universe. In addition to paving the way ...
See also
* List of Messier objects
The Messier objects are a set of 110 astronomical objects catalogued by the French astronomer Charles Messier in his ''Catalogue des Nébuleuses et des Amas d'Étoiles'' (''Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters'').
Because Messier was only int ...
References
External links
Spiral Galaxy M66
* Astronomy Picture of the Day
Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is a website provided by NASA and Michigan Technological University (MTU). According to the website, "Each day a different image or photograph of our universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written ...
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Unusual Spiral Galaxy M66 from Hubble
– 2010 April 13
*
*
{{Ngc40
Intermediate spiral galaxies
Messier 066
Messier 066
066
Messier 066
06346
34695
016
HV-016 is a former military unit of Norway, that was a part of the Home Guard. It was established after 1985 to "stop terror- or sabotage actions that could weaken or paralyze Norway's ability to mobilize its military and its ability to resist".
...
Astronomical objects discovered in 1780
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