When the constellation of the Lion culminates, I always shift my gaze to the M66 Group of galaxies. While these galaxies are fairly easy to see with a small telescope, they offer a challenge for small binoculars. Under the mag 5 sky of my backyard, I can only detect M66, which has a total magnitude of 8.9 . M65, with a magnitude of 9.3, remains invisible.
Last weekend, I was fortunate to observe from a darker site near the High Fens (Hautes Fagnes in Belgium). That region offers a nelm of 6.0, which is not a bad value for my standards. When I set up my gear, I could not resist to hunt for M66 and M65. Aiming the 8x56 is very easy, as Theta and Iota Leonis border the northern and southern edge of the binocular field of view. I noticed the oval glow of M66 immediately near the center of the fov. And with averted vision, I could finally spot the faint glow of M65. It was a memorable sight, while I realized that the light produced by this duo of galaxies traveled more than 25 million light-years to reach my eye. At that moment, I forgot that I was 80 miles from home. I actually felt at home, under this familiar sky full of shiny stars…

(you might need to adapt your monitor settings in order to see the galaxies at all)

Site : Sourbrodt, Belgium
Date : April 26, 2008
Time : around 21.30UT
Binoculars : Bresser 8x56
FOV: 5.9°
Filter : none
Mount : Trico Machine Sky Window
Seeing : 3/5
Transp. : 4/5
Nelm : 6.0
Sketch Orientation : N up, W right.
Digital sketch made with PhotoPaint, based on a raw pencil sketch.