Post by glactus on Dec 4, 2008 11:05:03 GMT
The Messier 106 galaxy
Messier 106 (also known as NGC 4258) is a spiral in the constellation of Canes Venatici and was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781.
Distance from Earth is about 22 to 25 million light-years and magnitude is 9.0
It is also a Seyfert II galaxy, which means that due to x-rays and unusual emission lines detected, it is suspected that part of the galaxy is falling into a supermassive black hole in the center.
Messier 106 is receding at 537 km/sec. Sandage suspects it may be a member of the Ursa Major cloud, a loose agglomeration of galaxies which probably also homes M108 and M109.
Credits: This is a NASA/ Spitzer image