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Messier 96

This spiral galaxy is asymmetrical because of the gravitational pull of its neighboring galaxies.

Distance

35 million light-years

Apparent Magnitude

10.1

constellation

Leo

object type

Spiral Galaxy

A spiral galaxy, tilted nearly face-on to us, with a slightly unusual shape. Its spiral arms form an oval-shaped ring around the galaxy’s disk, filled with blue light from stars, as well as pink glowing gas bubbles where new stars are forming. Threads of dark red dust swirl around the brightly glowing core, blocking some of its light. The dust lanes extend into and follow the spiral arms.
This Hubble image of M96 from 2025 includes the addition of light that reveals regions of ionized hydrogen (H-alpha) and nitrogen (NII). This data helps astronomers determine the environment within the galaxy and the conditions in which stars are forming. The ionized hydrogen traces ongoing star formation, revealing regions where hot, young stars are ionizing the gas. The ionized nitrogen helps astronomers determine the rate of star formation and the properties of gas between stars, while the combination of the two ionized gasses helps researchers determine if the galaxy is a starburst galaxy or one with an active galactic nucleus. The bubbles of pink gas in this image surround hot, young, massive stars, illuminating a ring of star formation in the galaxy's outskirts. These young stars are still embedded within the clouds of gas from which they were born. Astronomers will use the new data in this image to study how stars are form within giant dusty gas clouds, how dust filters starlight, and how stars affect their environments.
ESA/Hubble & NASA, F. Belfiore, D. Calzetti

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

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.

M96
In this Hubble infrared and visible-light image from 2015, the spiral galaxy M96 resembles a giant maelstrom of glowing gas, rippled with dark dust that swirls inward toward the nucleus. Its dust and gas are unevenly spread throughout its weak spiral arms, which are asymmetrical because of its gravitational interaction with neighboring galaxies. M96 is also remarkable for the location of its core, which is not exactly at the galactic center.
ESA/Hubble & NASA and the LEGUS Team; Acknowledgment: R. Gendler

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

locator star chart for M96
This star chart for M96 represents the view from mid-northern latitudes for the given month and time.
Image courtesy of Stellarium
Annotated star chart for M96 in the southern hemisphere, facing the northern sky in April at 10 PM.
This star chart for M96 represents the view from mid-southern latitudes for the given month and time.
Image courtesy of Stellarium

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