Messier 95

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title: "Messier 95" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["barred-spiral-galaxies", "m96-group", "leo-(constellation)", "messier-objects", "ngc-objects", "ugc-objects", "principal-galaxies-catalogue-objects", "astronomical-objects-discovered-in-1781", "discoveries-by-pierre-méchain"] description: "Galaxy in the constellation Leo" topic_path: "science/astronomy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_95" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Galaxy in the constellation Leo ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox Galaxy"]

Field	Value
name	Messier 95
image	File:M95 - HST - Potw1841a.tiff
caption	Hubble Space Telescope image of Messier 95
epoch	J2000
ra	{{cite web
website	NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database
title	Results for object MESSIER 095
url	https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/byname?objname=MESSIER+095
access-date	2007-10-03}}
dec
constellation name	Leo
z	778 ± 4 km/s
dist_ly	32.6 ± 1.4 Mly (10.0 ± 0.4 Mpc)
author	Jensen, Joseph B.
display-authors	4
date	2003
title	Measuring Distances and Probing the Unresolved Stellar Populations of Galaxies Using Infrared Surface Brightness Fluctuations
journal	Astrophysical Journal
volume	583
bibcode	2003ApJ...583..712J
doi	10.1086/345430
arxiv	astro-ph/0210129
type	SB(r)b
appmag_v	9.7
size_v	3′.1 × 2′.9
size	80,130 ly (24.58 kpc)
names	NGC 3351, UGC 5850, PGC 32007
::

| name = Messier 95 | image = File:M95 - HST - Potw1841a.tiff | caption = Hubble Space Telescope image of Messier 95 | epoch = J2000 | ra = {{cite web | website=NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database | title=Results for object MESSIER 095 | url=https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/byname?objname=MESSIER+095 | access-date=2007-10-03}} | dec = | constellation name = Leo | z = 778 ± 4 km/s | dist_ly =32.6 ± 1.4 Mly (10.0 ± 0.4 Mpc) | author=Jensen, Joseph B. | author2=Tonry, John L. | author3=Barris, Brian J. | author4=Thompson, Rodger I. | author5=Liu, Michael C. | author6=Rieke, Marcia J. | author7=Ajhar, Edward A. | author8=Blakeslee, John P. | display-authors=4 | date=2003 | title=Measuring Distances and Probing the Unresolved Stellar Populations of Galaxies Using Infrared Surface Brightness Fluctuations | journal=Astrophysical Journal | volume=583 | issue=2 | pages=712–726 | bibcode=2003ApJ...583..712J | doi=10.1086/345430 |arxiv = astro-ph/0210129 | s2cid=551714 }} | type = SB(r)b | appmag_v = 9.7 | size_v = 3′.1 × 2′.9 | size = 80,130 ly (24.58 kpc) | notes = | names = NGC 3351, UGC 5850, PGC 32007

Messier 95, also known as M95 or NGC 3351, is a barred spiral galaxy about 33 million light-years away in the zodiac constellation Leo. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781, and catalogued by compatriot Charles Messier four days later. In 2012 its most recent supernova was discovered.

The galaxy has a morphological classification of SB(r)b, with the SBb notation indicating it is a barred spiral with arms that are intermediate on the scale from tightly to loosely wound, and an "(r)" meaning an inner ring surrounds the bar.{{citation | title=Atlas of Galaxies | postscript=. | display-authors=1 | first1=Ronald J. | last1=Buta | first2=Harold G. | last2=Corwin | first3=Stephen C. | last3=Odewahn | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=2007 | isbn=978-0521820486 | pages=1−25 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g-P7dCbB5MEC&pg=PA1 | first1=L. | last1=Colina | first2=M. L. | last2=Garcia Vargas | first3=J. M. | last3=Mas-Hesse | first4=A. | last4=Alberdi | first5=A. | last5=Krabbe | date=1997 | title=Nuclear Star-forming Structures and the Starburst–Active Galactic Nucleus Connection in Barred Spirals NGC 3351 and NGC 4303 | journal=Astrophysical Journal Letters | volume=484 | issue=1 | pages=L41–L45 | bibcode=1997ApJ...484L..41C | doi=10.1086/310766 | doi-access=free }} The spiral structure extends outward from the ring.

Its ring structure is about (solar masses) in molecular gas and yields a star formation rate of yr−1. The star formation is occurring in at least five regions with diameters between 100 and 150 pc that are composed of several star clusters ranging in size from 1.7 to 4.9 pc. These individual clusters contain of stars, and may be on the path to forming globular clusters.{{citation | title=Kinematics of gas and stars in the circumnuclear star-forming ring of NGC3351 | display-authors=1 | last1=Hägele | first1=Guillermo F. | last2=Díaz | first2=Ángeles I. | last3=Cardaci | first3=Mónica V. | last4=Terlevich | first4=Elena | last5=Terlevich | first5=Roberto | journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society | volume=378 | issue=1 | pages=163−178 | date=June 2007 | doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2007.11751.x | doi-access=free | bibcode=2007MNRAS.378..163H | arxiv=astro-ph/0703140| s2cid=17402226 }}

M95 is one of several galaxies within the M96 Group, a group of galaxies in the constellation Leo, the other Messier objects of which are M96 and M105.{{cite book | first1=R. B. | last1=Tully | date=1988 | title=Nearby Galaxies Catalog | publisher=Cambridge University Press | isbn=978-0-521-35299-4 | first1=P. | last1=Fouque | first2=E. | last2=Gourgoulhon | first3=P. | last3=Chamaraux | first4=G. | last4=Paturel | title=Groups of galaxies within 80 Mpc. II – The catalogue of groups and group members | journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement | date=1992 | volume=93 | pages=211–233 | bibcode=1992A&AS...93..211F | first1=A. | last1=Garcia | date=1993 | title=General study of group membership. II – Determination of nearby groups | journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement | volume=100 | pages=47–90 | bibcode=1993A&AS..100...47G | first1=G. | last1=Giuricin | first2=C. | last2=Marinoni | first3=L. | last3=Ceriani | first4=A. | last4=Pisani | title=Nearby Optical Galaxies: Selection of the Sample and Identification of Groups | journal=Astrophysical Journal | date=2000 | volume=543 | issue=1 | pages=178–194 | bibcode=2000ApJ...543..178G | doi=10.1086/317070 | arxiv=astro-ph/0001140 | s2cid=9618325 | display-authors=1

Supernova

One supernova has been observed in M95:

• SN 2012aw (TypeII-P, mag. 15) was discovered by Paolo Fagotti and independently by Jure Skvarc on 16 March 2012.{{cite web | title=Deep Sky Videos | website=YouTube | url=https://www.youtube.com/user/DeepSkyVideos?feature=watch | access-date=19 March 2012 | title=Supernova 2012aw: the pictures! | url=http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2012/03/20/supernova-2012aw-the-pictures/ | access-date=19 March 2012 | archive-date=20 October 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020161204/http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2012/03/20/supernova-2012aw-the-pictures/ | url-status=dead | title=The Long-lived UV "Plateau" of SN 2012aw | last1=Bayless | first1=Amanda J. | last2=Pritchard | first2=Tyler A. | last3=Roming | first3=Peter W. A. | last4=Kuin | first4=Paul | last5=Brown | first5=Peter J. | last6=Botticella | first6=Maria Teresa | last7=Dall'Ora | first7=Massimo | last8=Frey | first8=Lucille H. | last9=Even | first9=Wesley | last10=Fryer | first10=Chris L. | last11=Maund | first11=Justyn R. | last12=Fraser | first12=Morgan | display-authors=1 |postscript=. | journal=The Astrophysical Journal Letters | volume=764 | issue=1 | id=L13 | pages=6 | date=February 2013 | doi=10.1088/2041-8205/764/1/L13 | bibcode=2013ApJ...764L..13B | arxiv=1210.5496| s2cid=119291438 }} The disappearance of the progenitor star was later confirmed from near-infrared imaging of the region. The brightness from the presumed red supergiant progenitor allowed its mass to be estimated as .{{citation | title=The disappearance of the progenitor of SN 2012aw in late-time imaging | last1=Fraser | first1=Morgan | postscript=. | journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters | volume=456 | issue=1 | pages=L16−L19 | date=February 2016 | doi=10.1093/mnrasl/slv168 | doi-access=free | bibcode=2016MNRAS.456L..16F | arxiv=1507.06579| s2cid=118145431 }}

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Caught_in_the_act_Messier_95.tif" caption="language=en}}"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/NGC_3351_(weic2403m).jpg" caption="MIRI]] and [[NIRCam]] instruments."] ::

References

References

1. "Messier 95".
2. (2012). "Supernova 2012aw in M95 = Psn J10435372+1140177". Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams.
3. "SN{{nbsp}}2012aw". [[International Astronomical Union.
4. "Caught in the act".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::