Galaxy ID needed (help)

[circumpolar (Matt)]

While I was viewing M65 & M66 galaxies in LEO last night I noticed another galaxy just North of this group. When you imagine a line joining the three galaxies together they form a triangle, being all roughly the same distance appart. The galaxy in question seems quite wide and very narrow although slightly less bright than it's companions. The only star map I have is ASTRONOMY 2006 and it is not listed. This seems odd to me as it is very conspicuous when viewed at X50 through my 12 inch dob.

Q: What is this object (galaxy)?
Q: Why would Messier ignor it?

[Miaplacidus (Brian)]

Ngc 3628?

[circumpolar (Matt)]

Originally Posted by Miaplacidus

Ngc 3628?

The question mark has me concerned.
Has any body else seen this object?

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

Yep ngc3628. Dunno why Messier missed it. Hard to see how as it is so close but then he missed ngc3384 when he named M95, 96 and 105 west of M65,66

[RAJAH235]

Circumpolar, fwiw, a quick finder/verifier, of the general area of Leo, with a few more Galaxies for you.
HTH. L.
ps. Just in case you haven't got it, I find CDC very easy to use.
http://www.stargazing.net/astropc/

[cometcatcher (Kevin)]

If Messier had a 12 inch dob he no doubt would have spotted it too but wasn't his most powerful scope a 2 inch? I'm amazed he picked up M65+66 which must have been right on his magnitude limit. NGC 3628 is somewhat fainter and would be lost in smaller scopes.

[astroron (Ron)]

M65&M66 where discovered in March 1780, and even though a comet went through between these two galaxies around that time messier failed to observ it.
I have attached a page from The Messier Album forward by
Owen Gingerich, re the scopes used by Messier.
Ngc 3628 would be quite faint in the scopes Messier used, but there is the possibility that he just moved the scope in the opposite direction.

[AstroBug]

Nice pic of the group here...

http://www.seds.org/messier/more/m065-066_more.html

[circumpolar (Matt)]

Thanks for your help everyone