- M 106 (NGC 4258) and NGC 4248
M 106 (NGC 4258) is located in the constellation Canes Venatici. It is a grand spiral galaxy reminiscent of the Andromeda Galaxy (M 31). At around 25 million LY, it is ten times as far away as M 31, which accounts for its smaller visual size (18.6 X 7.2 arc-minutes). Physically, M 106 is a huge galaxy, with a diameter of around 135,000 LY. Its two arms originate from a barred structure surrounding the galaxy's core and wind outward, each making more than one complete turn around the galaxy. Numerous pinkish HII regions are visible in the arms, particularly where they depart from the central section of the galaxy. M 106 is thought to be part of the Coma-Sculptor galaxy association. It is itself the center of a local group of 17 objects. Easily visible in my image is NGC 4248, an irregular galaxy lying around 13 arc-minutes to the northwest of M 106. Measurements of the neutral hydrogen field around the galaxies suggests that they may be a physical pair around a million LY apart. Some have speculated that, if this is the case, looking at the combination of M 106 and NGC 4248 would be like looking at our Milky Way galaxy and the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud. M 106 was discovered by Pierre Mechain in 1781, and is one of those objects added in recent times to the Messier list.
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