NGC 3227 on the right is a spiral galaxy, interacting with a dwarf elliptical NGC 3226 on the left. They are around 60 million lightyears distant and are members of the Leo II group, a string of galaxies on the right-hand edge of the Virgo cluster.
Streamers of material run from NGC 3226 towards NGC 3227, faintly visible in this image. It may be that a third galaxy was destroyed relatively recently, resulting in a large halo of material around both galaxies. However, NGC 3227 subtends only 4 arcmin, while 3226 is less than 2 arcmin, so am 8-inch scope with a focal length of 1600mm will show limited detail.
This image is the result of 7h of RGB data capture from Horsham, over four evenings in March and April 2025. A ZWO ASI2600 MM Pro camera was used, through an 8-inch Teleskop-Service Ritchey-Chretien reflector.
Date: 01/04/2025
Location: Horsham, West Sussex
Photographer: Graham Wilcock
