| Galaxy
aka NGC 3368, PGC 32192, MCG 2-28-6, Uppsala 5882 RA: 10h46m45.8s Dec: +11°49'10" (Leo) Integrated Visual Magnitude: 10.1 Angular Diameter: 7.8' x 5.2' Mean Surface Brightness: 22.8 Mag/arc-sec² Minimum requirements to detect: binoculars under country skies |
Messier
96 is a nearly face-on spiral galaxy that makes a famous pair with its
neighbor, M95. Both were discovered by Mechain on the night of March
20, 1781. These two galaxies, the nearby NGC 3379, NGC 3384, NGC
3389 and possibly the other Messier pair in Leo (M65 and M66) are all part
of the Leo galaxy cluster, lying about 30-40 million light year distant.
That's about 15 times farther away than the Local Group member M31 (this
is still quite nearby).
Of the M95/96 pair Walter Scott Houston wrote uncharacteristically that "They are not breathtaking (to say the least) and for users of small telescopes a good description is that they are bright enough to be seen." But don't let that bland description turn you away from this pair; there is more to them that first meets the eye.
M96 is the brighter of the two, appearing as a gray blur in binoculars or small telescopes. In my 18-inch at 94x M96 displayed a bright, non-stellar, inner core surrounded by a large, american football-shaped outer region which tapered gently away. At 270x, a starlike core appeared inside of the larger inner region.
The field in an 6-inch f/8 at 50x. North is down and east is to the right.
| Millennium
Star Atlas Vol II Chart 730
Sky Atlas 2000 Chart 13 Uranometria 2000 Vol I Chart 190 Herald-Bobroff Astroatlas B-05 C-39 |
