M65
Discovered by Mechain in 1780 at the same time as M66, M65 is an impressive Spiral Galaxy of type SBa which presents itself as partly edge-on to us with a faint dark rift on one side. At magnitude 9.3 and of size 9.5' x 2.3', it is visible in most amateur 'scopes. It forms a pair with M66, just 20' away and NGC3628, an edge-on galaxy fainter than M65 and M66 which shows a dark rift. All three are visible in the same low power field of view. M65 is part of the Leo group of galaxies and lies some 30 million light years away.
