STAR-FORMATION IN THE TIDAL TAIL OF THE LEO TRIPLET GALAXY NGC-3628

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 t o study the similar to 80 kpc stellar tail, or ''plume,'' extending fr om NGC 3628, which resulted from the tidal effects of its companion ga laxies NGC 3627 and NGC 3623. This plume consists of clumpy star forma tion regions that are near previously measured high-resolution H I pea ks. Comparison of our B-I colors and B luminosities with star cluster evolution models indicates star-forming ages of a few times 10(8) year s and complex masses of 10(6) M-., corresponding to a star formation e fficiency of 3% overall in the plume, or about 26% at the H I peaks.