The Hamburger Galaxy is a member of the famous Leo Triplet, alongside Messier 65 and Messier 66. It is known for its distinctive edge-on appearance, which gives it a hamburger-like shape when viewed from Earth. The galaxy features a broad equatorial band of dust that obscures its central region and bright young stars in its spiral arms. NGC 3628 also possesses a vast tidal tail, spanning approximately 300,000 light-years, which is believed to be a result of gravitational interactions with its neighboring galaxies.
Names and Catalog numbers
- Hamburger Galaxy
- Sarah’s Galaxy
- NGC: NGC 3628
- UGC: UGC 6350
- PGC: PGC 34697
- ARP: ARP 317
Position and the cosmic neighborhood
The Hamburger Galaxy can be found in the constellation Leo, approximately 0.5 degrees north of the galaxy pair Messier 65 and Messier 66. It is located between the relatively bright stars Theta and Iota Leonis. As part of the Leo Triplet, NGC 3628 offers astrophotographers an excellent opportunity to capture multiple galaxies in a single frame, showcasing the gravitational interactions between these cosmic neighbors.
Nice to Know
- The Hamburger Galaxy has a vast tidal tail spanning about 300,000 light-years, composed of young open star clusters and starburst regions.
- It is the only galaxy in the Leo Triplet that was not catalogued by Charles Messier, having been discovered later by William Herschel in 1784.
- The stars in NGC 3628 orbit in the opposite direction of the gas in the galaxy, likely due to a recent galactic merger.
- Its dust band obscures the galaxy’s central region, creating a unique visual effect for astrophotographers.
Brightness, distance and size
The Hamburger Galaxy has an apparent magnitude of 10.2, making it a challenging but rewarding target for astrophotographers. It is located approximately 35 million light-years from Earth. NGC 3628 spans about 100,000 light-years across, comparable to the size of our Milky Way. In the night sky, it appears to cover an area of 15 by 3.6 arcminutes, presenting as an elongated streak due to its edge-on orientation. This combination of size and orientation makes the Hamburger Galaxy a captivating subject for both visual observation and astrophotography, especially when captured alongside its companions in the Leo Triplet.
