M95 (NGC 3351)
A relatively nearby barred spiral galaxy
(type SB(r)b) located about 38 million light-years away in the constellation
Leo. Messier 95 (M95) is part
of the M96 Group of galaxies, which also includes M96 (another spiral) and
M105 (an elliptical). It was discovered by Pierre Méchain
| M95. Image credit: Spitzer Infrared
Nearby Galaxy Survey (SINGS)
| M95, view through an amateur telescope (Celestron
C-9.25" on a Losmandy G11 with Gemini; imager is an SBIG ST9XE with
CFW9 filter wheel). The central bar and outer regions of the galaxy
are visible. Image credit: James A. Hardy
M95 is remarkable for a ring of very active star formation, centered on
the galactic nucleus, which lies just outside the central bar.
||3.1' × 2.9'
||38 million light-years
(4.5 million pc)
||R.A. 10h 43m 57.7s,
Dec. +11° 42' 14"
||UGC 7996, PGC 43495