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M106

NGC 4258

Proper NameName
Messier NumberM106
NGC/IC NumberNGC 4258
ConstellationCanes Venatici
Right Ascension12h 18m 58s
Declination+47° 18' 13"
Distancec.21,500,000 light years
c.6,600,000 parsecs
MagnitudeApparent: +8.31
Absolute: -20.78
Mean DiameterApparent: 17.0'
Actual: 106,000 light years
Hubble TypeSbc Spiral
Optimum VisibilityApril (Usually visible from northern latitudes)
NotesThe spiral structure of M106 is warped and twisted by a second pair of arm-like structures, barely detectable in visible light but showing clearly in X-ray and radio wavelengths, that extend outward from the nucleus at a perpendicular angle to the two spiral arms evident in visible wavelengths.

One of a crop of galaxies scattered through the region either side of the border between Canes Venatici and Ursa Major. M106 lies just within Canes Venatici, the Hunting Dogs, and is an eighth-magnitude galaxy of the spiral type.

M106 is the largest member of the Canes Venatici II Group of galaxies in northern Canes Venatici. Also visible in this image to the northwest of M106 is the smaller NGC 4248, a peculiar spiral with irregular features, somewhat more distant than the large foreground spiral of M106. Imagery provided by Aladin sky atlas

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