Panning over Spiral Galaxy M66 | Hubble

Panning over Spiral Galaxy M66 | Hubble

The spiral galaxy Messier 66 is located at a distance of about 35 million light-years in the constellation of Leo (The Lion). Together with Messier 65 and NGC 3628, Messier 66 is a member of the Leo Triplet, a trio of interacting spiral galaxies.

Like all the galaxies in LEGUS, Messier 66 is undergoing vigorous star and star-cluster formation. One of the goals of LEGUS is to sample star-forming regions across each galaxy. Because the galaxies are relatively close to Earth, Hubble can resolve individual stars.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble

Duration: 26 seconds

Release Date: February 17, 2016

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