M 95 (on the left) and M 96 form a beautiful pair of barred spiral
galaxies in the constellation Leo. The central bar of older
yellow stars surrounding the bright core is particularly clear in
M 95, which also shows several "knots" in this ring, which are
regions of new star formation. In both galaxies, the bright arms
which form the inner ring extend outward to form a second, fainter
ring. These galaxies are about 38 million light years away.

Image data:
Camera: Canon 350XT
Exposure: ISO 800, 120 minutes total (5 minutes x 24)
Telescope: 10" Schmidt-Newtonian