Facts about Leo Triplet
- 07
At wavelengths of 21 centimeters, radio observations detect neutral hydrogen gas streaming between the Leo Triplet galaxies, revealing ongoing tidal interactions invisible in optical light.
- 06
Multiple observations from the Hubble Space Telescope reveal that NGC 3627 and NGC 3626 are moving toward each other at measurable velocities, suggesting they will eventually merge in several billion years.
- 05
Approximately 90 percent of NGC 3626, the third member of the Leo Triplet, consists of dark matter by mass, making it one of the most dark-matter-dominated galaxies known to astronomers.
- 04
Gravitational interactions between the three Leo Triplet galaxies have visibly distorted NGC 3628's disk, creating its distinctive warped structure observable through modern telescopes.
- 03
NGC 3627, the largest galaxy in the Leo Triplet, rotates with a visible spiral structure containing active star formation regions and a supermassive black hole at its core.
- 02
In 1781, astronomer Pierre Méchain discovered NGC 3628, the faintest member of the Leo Triplet system, while observing nearby galaxies with his telescope.
- 01
The three galaxies comprising the Leo Triplet, located approximately 35 million light-years away, span roughly 200,000 light-years across their gravitational system.