Messier 95
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 SBb, 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 "" meaning an inner ring surrounds the bar. The latter is a ring-shaped, circumnuclear star-forming region with a diameter of approximately 2,000 light-years. The spiral structure extends outward from the ring. Its ring structure is about 3.5×10⁸ M☉ in molecular gas and yields a star formation rate of 0.38 M☉ 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.