Messier 96

This new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows Messier 96, a spiral galaxy just over 35 million light-years away in the constellation of Leo (The Lion). It is of about the same mass and size as the Milky Way. It was first discovered by astronomer Pierre Méchain in 1781, and added to Charles Messier’s famous catalogue of astronomical objects just four days later. The galaxy resembles a giant maelstrom of glowing gas, rippled with dark dust that swirls inwards towards the nucleus.

M96 is very asymmetric; its dust and gas is unevenly spread throughout its weak spiral arms, and its core is not exactly at the galactic center. Because it is gravitationally bound to nearby galaxies, M96 is considered a member of a galaxy group, named the M96 Group, which also includes the bright galaxies Messier 105 and Messier 95, as well as a number of smaller and fainter galaxies. It is the nearest group containing both bright spirals and a bright elliptical galaxy (M105). The asymmetrical arms of M96 are thought to have been influenced by the gravitational pull of nearby galaxies in the group.

M96 was discovered in 1781 by Pierre Méchain, the French astronomer and cartographer. It is located 35 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo. The galaxy has an apparent magnitude of 10.1 and appears very dim in the sky. It can be observed using a medium-sized telescope most easily during April.

For more information about Hubble’s observation of M96, see: