Another triplet in Leo

[wimvb]

ngc 2964, 2968 and 2970 form a small galaxy group in Leo. The two smaller of these galaxies are seemingly joined by a tidal stream. It is unclear whether this stream is the result of an interaction betwen ngc 2968 and ngc 2970 or if ngc2968 in the past has merged with a fourth galaxy. The dust band that crosses the galaxy might confirm this latter possibility, because its velocity differs from that of the galaxy itself, and it may therefore be the remnant of a galaxy merger.

The galaxy group is located approximately 60 million light years from the Milky Way in the upper part of the constellation Leo.
Also in this image are various truly faint fuzzies. The most distant galaxy (towards the upper left corner) is approximately 8 billion light years from us.

Acquisition details:

Telescope: SkyWatcher 190MN on a SkyWatcher AZ-EQ6 mount

Camera: ZWO ASI294MM with Optolong 31mm LRGB, and Baader 7 nm Ha filters

Exposuretime: Ha: 320 min, RGB: 520 min, L: 528 min (total integration time just below 23 hours)

Processed in PixInsight.

Inverted annotated luminance image (with reflections from two nearby stars).

Quasi Stellar Objects (QSO) and active galactic nuclei are indicated in red, with their redshift (from Vizier). Distant galaxies are indicated by their LEDA/SDSS identifier.

Edited March 4, 2022 by wimvb

[Astroscot2]

Stunning!