M96 Group
group of galaxies
The M96 Group (also known as the Leo I Group) is a group of galaxies in the constellation Leo. This group contains between 8 and 24 galaxies, including three Messier objects. It also contains the Leo Ring. The group is one of many groups that lies within the Virgo Supercluster (the combined Local Group and Virgo Cluster).
Members
The table below lists galaxies that have been consistently identified as group members in the Nearby Galaxies Catalog, the survey of Fouque et al., the Lyons Groups of Galaxies (LGG) Catalog, and the three group lists created from the Nearby Optical Galaxy sample of Giuricin et al.
Nearby groups
The Leo Triplet, which includes the spiral galaxies M65, M66, and NGC 3628, is located physically near the M96 Group. Some group identification algorithms actually identify the Leo Triplet at part of the M96 Group. The two groups may actually be separate parts of a much larger group.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “M96 Group” is group of galaxies. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Group, group and galaxies, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “group of galaxies” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1577945. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “M96 Group” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.