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Dan,
The scaling in your image is interesting, simply for the reason that it is not the "virtually standard" scaling that is often adopted to display galaxy images by amateur CCD imagers. As such, your image emphasizes features that are hard to see in other images..... for instance,the strong bar in M66 is much better seen than usual, and the semi-chaotic dust features in the outer parts of this galaxy are very well seen in your image.
All barred spiral galaxies are perturbed or asymmetrical, to a greater or lesser extent, for instance one strong arm and one weak arm is the normal thing in barred spiral galaxies. But the ability to see major structural features (rather than intricate details) in your image enables this astronomer to conclude that the level of dust asymmetry and the level of spiral-arm asymmetry in M66 are somewhat outside the normal range that is seen in those barred spiral galaxies that are not perturbed by another galaxy.
(I have done a lot of thinking over the years about the degree to which M66 is perturbed by other members of the triplet!!)
Also, I might add, relatively low angular resolution (such as in your shot) can actually be helpful in discerning large scale structural features in galaxies.
As an example, the overall dust lane in N3628 looks very chaotic in a high resolution image of it, so it is easier to see its overall structure in your image. (Sometimes, artificially degrading the resolution of a high-res image can actually reveal the overall shape of a feature much better!)
The galaxy M65 is actually a real puzzle, in terms of its overall morphology, as it is too close to edge-on to really get a clear idea of what it would look like if it were seen in a face-on orientation.
One serious and difficult question is: does M65 contain a bar structure that is seen in a highly foreshortened orientation?
What is particularly well emphasized in your image of M65 is a box or "X" structure in the central regions of this galaxy.....and this is often the signature of a bar that is seen in a relatively edge-on orientation.
Regards,
from Bad Galaxy Man
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