Central Leo, just below the belly of the lion, is home to the lesser known group of galaxies known as the Leo Trio; unlike the better known Leo Trio to the east, this one (a) comprises three Messier galaxies and (b) includes two additional galaxies that are not difficult to see. Even with just a 400 mm lens, we can see that M95 is not as prominent as M96, and M105 is about in between them in terms of brightness. M95 also has a fainter halo around its core as compared to its Messier neighbors. Close to M105, NGC 3384 is smaller but quite bright, while NGC 3389 is more difficult to detect. Farther afield, we see the small but highly condensed NGC 3412. Unannotated image, Wider view showing more galaxies. |