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This NASA / ESA Hubble Space Telescope image reveals a spiral galaxy called Messier 95 (also known as M95 or NGC 3351). Located about 35 million light-years away from the constellation Leo, this swirling spiral was discovered by astronomer Pierre Méchain in 1781 and cataloged by French astronomer Charles Messier four days later. Messier was primarily a comet hunter and was often frustrated by objects in the sky that looked like comets but did not show up. To help other astronomers to avoid confusing these objects in the future, he created his famous catalog of objects Messier.
Certainly not a comet, Messier 95 is actually a barred spiral galaxy. The galaxy has a cutting bar across its center, surrounded by an inner ring currently forming new stars. Our milky way is also a barred spiral.
In addition to hosting this stellar nursery, Messier 95 is a recognized guest of the dramatic and explosive final stages of massive star life: the supernovae. In March 2016, a spectacular supernova called SN 2012aw was observed in the outer regions of one of Messier 95's spiral arms. Once supernova light faded, astronomers were able to compare observations from the region before and after the explosion to determine which star had "disappeared" – the star progenitor. In this case, the star was a huge red supergiant up to 26 times more massive than the Sun.
Credit: ESA / Hubble & NASA
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