Galaxy Trio Messier 105, NGC 3384, NGC 3389

Galaxy Trio Messier 105, NGC 3384, NGC 3389 from my backyard

In 2012, I imaged the galaxy trio Messier 105 (M105), NGC 3384, and NGC 3389 using my DSLR equipment from my backyard. Despite the suburban conditions, the trio forms a visually striking and scientifically rich grouping in the constellation Leo, making it an attractive target even under modest skies.

From an astrophysical perspective, M105 is an elliptical galaxy (E1) and a prominent member of the Leo I Group, located roughly 32 million light-years away. It hosts a supermassive black hole at its center—estimated at about 200 million solar masses—and shows only minimal star formation due to its old, evolved stellar population.

Its close companion NGC 3384, also part of the Leo I Group, is a lenticular galaxy (S0) distinguished by a smooth disk structure with very faint spiral-like features visible in deep images. Both galaxies represent the older, more quiescent side of galactic evolution.

In contrast, NGC 3389—the third member of the trio—is a background spiral galaxy, situated nearly twice as far away at around 60 million light-years. Its presence in the same field is purely a line-of-sight coincidence, but it adds a dynamic visual counterpoint to the pair of early-type galaxies.

Together, the three galaxies illustrate a beautiful cross-section of galactic morphology and distance, making this compact field an excellent subject for both imaging and exploration.

Data calibration and registration was performed with DeepSkyStacker, the final processing was done with PixInsight. The result was as follows: