Messier 96 (also known as M96 or NGC 3368) is an intermediate spiral galaxy about 31 million light-years away in the constellation Leo.

Ideal minimum resolution, in a good sky, is via a telescope of 25.4 cm (10.0 in) aperture, to reveal its three-by-five-arcminute halo with a brighter core region.

Variations in ultraviolet emission from the core suggest the presence of a supermassive black hole.

It is a very asymmetric galaxy; its dust and gas are unevenly spread throughout its weak spiral arms, and its core is just offset from the midpoint of its extremes.

Its arms are also asymmetrical, thought to have been influenced by the gravitational pull of other galaxies within its group.