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This is the constellation of Leo, the lion. The arrival of Leo in the south-eastern sky marks the start of the galaxy season for amateur astronomers, since this constellation and its neighbours play host to many, many of these objects. Leo contains some five Messier objects, all of them galaxies.
If you know just where to look, the galaxies M65 and M66 can be discerned in this picture.
Click the picture to "zoom in" and see a closer picture of the region containing these galaxies
In this picture, the reverse question-mark shape or "Sickle", as it is normally known, of the eastern part of Leo can be seen on the right hand side, punctuated by the bright star Alpha Leonis, or Regulus. The tail of the lion is on the left, finishing in the constellation's second star Beta Leonis, known as Denebola, to the upper left.
This picture was captured on Fuji provia 400F film using a 50mm lens set at f/4.0. The exposure was approximately 20 minutes.
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