Waid Observatory

Object: M105, NGC3384, NGC3389

Date: April , 2020    -    Location: Davis Mountains west of Fort Davis, Texas
Telescope:   -   10 in. RC   -   Camera: Apogee F8300M
Exposure: L = 17x20 min. Ha = 16 x 15 min. RGB = 12 x 10 min. each
Image Credit: Preston Starr and Donald Waid

Click on the image to view at higher resolution.

 

M105

M105, NGC3384, NGC3389 1

This interesting group of galaxies consisting of M105 to the right, NGC3389 in the lower left, and NGC3384 in the upper middle is located in the constellation Leo the Lion.  The best known of this grouping is the large elliptical galaxy M105.  It and NGC3384, also an elliptical galaxy, are part of the larger Leo 1 group of galaxies.  They are approximately 38 million light years from the Earth and are receding from us at a velocity of about 750 km/sec.  The spiral galaxy NGC3389, is considered a background galaxy and not a part of the Leo 1 group.  Its recession velocity is about 1,100 km/sec. There are numerous HII regions located in NGC3389.  These regions stand out in Hydrogen Alpha filtered images.  The pinkish areas in the galaxy are indications of these HII regions.  Investigations of M105 using data from the Hubble Space Telescope indicate that a massive black hole equal to approximately the mass of 50 million of our Suns lies at its center.

1http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m105.html

 
Copyright Donald P. Waid