SIMBAD references

Deep CCD images of the Leo Triplet in the B and I bands were obtained with the Burrell-Schmidt telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory to study the ∼80 kpc stellar tail, or ``plume,'' extending from NGC 3628, which resulted from the tidal effects of its companion galaxies NGC 3627 and NGC 3623. This plume consists of clumpy star formation regions that are near previously measured high-resolution H I peaks. Comparison of our B-I colors and B luminosities with star cluster evolution models indicates star-forming ages of a few times 10⁸ years and complex masses of 10⁶ M_☉, corresponding to a star formation efficiency of 3% overall in the plume, or about 26% at the H I peaks.