M106

One of the true spring delights is M106 visible in most types of scope and a very pleasant target for the evening sky

How to Find M106 in the Night Sky

Constellation: Canes Venatici (The Hunting Dogs), a small northern constellation bordering Ursa Major .
Starting Point: Locate the Big Dipper (part of Ursa Major). From the star Merak (δ UMa), move about 5.5 degrees south and slightly east to star 5 Canum Venaticorum (mag. +4.8). M106 lies just over 4 degrees south of 5 Canum Venaticorum, with star 3 Canum Venaticorum (mag. +5.3) roughly halfway between them .
Visibility: M106 has an apparent magnitude around 8.4–9.1, making it visible with binoculars or a small telescope under dark skies .
Best Viewing Time: March, April, and May are the best months to observe M106 from the Northern Hemisphere .

Binoculars: A 40–50mm aperture binocular can detect M106 as a faint smudge .
Small Telescopes: An 80mm (3.1-inch) refractor reveals M106 as a diffuse streak with a brighter core, enough to confirm it as a galaxy.
Medium to Large Amateur Telescopes: A 200mm (8-inch) reflector or larger will show more subtle details such as dusty markings, a faint outer halo, and hints of spiral structure. Larger scopes reveal the galaxy’s spiral arms and finer details near the core .
Recommended Type: Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes (SCT) with focal lengths around 2000mm are well-suited for astrophotography and detailed visual observation of M106.
Additional Tips: Light pollution filters can help in light-polluted areas but may affect color balance, requiring post-processing correction for astrophotography

It is one of the largest and brightest nearby galaxies, similar in size and luminosity to the Andromeda Galaxy.
M106 is classified as a Seyfert II galaxy, meaning it has an active galactic nucleus powered by a supermassive black hole with a mass around 3.9×1073.9×107 solar masses .
The galaxy is about 135,000 light-years in diameter and contains over 400 billion stars.
Unique to M106 are its extra pair of spiral arms made of hot gas rather than stars, likely caused by the energetic activity around its central black hole.
It has played an important role in calibrating cosmic distance measurements due to its Cepheid variable stars with metallicities similar to the Milky Way’s.
Neighboring Galaxies in the Region:

NGC 4248: An edge-on galaxy adjacent to M106 to the lower left, approximately 25 million light-years away.
There are other Galaxies nearby which will be visible I wider field shots these include:
- NGC 4217: An edge-on spiral galaxy with a prominent dust lane, located almost directly to the left of M106, about 60 million light-years away .
- NGC 4226: A barred spiral galaxy near NGC 4217.
- NGC 4218: A spiral galaxy about 34 million light-years away, seen at the bottom of the frame in images of the region.
- Other galaxies nearby include NGC 4144 (barred spiral), NGC 4346 (lenticular), and NGC 4220 (lenticular), all part of the broader Canes II galaxy group .
- NGC 4231 and NGC 4232: A pair of galaxies to the lower left of M106.