Spiral Galaxy in Leo
Messier 95 and its neighbor Messier 96 are a pair of spiral galaxies about 2/3 of a degree apart, both of which are bright enough to be see in even small telescopes. Messier 95 is a good example of a barred spiral, It features a very prominent central bar extending from a bright nucleus, its most prominent feature is its wide central bar, and then bright inner arms that form a nearly perfect circle.
Both M95 and M96 are estimated to be about 30 million light years away.
| Magnitude | 9.7 |
| Apparent Size | 7' x 5' |
| Distance (light yrs) | 30 million |
| Right Ascension | 10:44.0 |
| Declination | +11 42 |
| Field of View | 22' x 17' |
Image details: Exposure times of 195 minutes luminance, and 30 minutes each of red, green, and blue, taken with an SBIG ST-8300M imager and a 14" Meade LX850 telescope at f/8.
March 2018