Messier 96 is also known as M96 or NGC 3368. It is an intermediate spiral galaxy. It is located approximately 31 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. It is the brightest member of the M96 Group (or Leo I Group). This group includes other prominent galaxies, such as M95 and M105.
M96 has an asymmetrical structure with unevenly distributed dust and gas and ill-defined spiral arms, likely due to gravitational interactions. Its core is not perfectly centered. It has a diameter of about 100,000 light-years. It contains an estimated 100 billion stars. This makes it comparable in size and mass to the Milky Way.
