M 95

Photo by Pittendreigh

HOW TO FIND IT:

Sweep between Alpha and Theta. You should be able to locate star 52. Moving away from the brighter stars of Leo, you will find star 53. These galaxies can be found sweeping the area between 53 and 52. M95 and M96 are 9 degrees east of Alpha, or Regulus. M95 and M96 can be viewed together at a low power.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

M95 and M96 can be viewed in the same field, if the power is low enough, but many will want to view each separately.

M95 will appear very circular. M96 will appear somewhat more oval. Look for a dark lane in M96. I've seen the dark lane in an 8 inch telescope, but not in smaller instruments.

M96 will be the brighter of the two galaxies.

M105 is nearly a degree northeast of M96 and is in another visual cluster of galaxies.

M105 has one of the smallest apparent diameters of the Messier objects. It will look like a circular nebula with a bright center. Actually, it may look similar to a globular cluster.

When observing M105, look for two other galaxies in the field of view. These will be NGC 3384, which will appear as a slightly elongated nebula, and NGC 3389 which is very difficult to see with a shape that is difficult to discern.