Messier 106 - Intermediate Spiral Galaxy in Canes Venatici
M106 is often overlooked as "just another object in the Messier catalog", most likely because it doesn't have a cool nickname like most of the impressive Messier objects. M106 really IS impressive though, and has a very unique shape! This is due to it being considered as in-between a normal spiral galaxy (like M31, M33, or M81) and a barred galaxy (like M95, or M109).
M106 also has a companion galaxy, NGC 4217 which can be seen from its edge, so challenge yourself to capture it in the same frame! (visible in the corner of our image).
Object Designation: M106, NGC4258
Constellation: Canes Venatici
Object Type: Intermediate Spiral Galaxy
Distance: 23.7 million light-years away
Magnitude: 8.4
Discovery: Pierre Méchain in 1781
We imaged M106 several times, both on our own and as a collaboration with other astrophotographers. You can see our results below!
Imaging M106 for 566 Hours
February-July 2024
In February of 2024, a new project started with the Deep Sky Collective. If you do not know, the Deep Sky Collective is a group that we often collaborate with to image deep sky objects. We started with 255 hours on M51, and did other targets like the Andromeda Galaxy where we all spent in total 1000+ hours on it. This time, it was M106's turn to get captured by the group!
After weeks of coordinating, imaging, and processing (which we explain in our M51 video), the result can be seen below! It looks incredible, and it's especially nice to see all the background galaxies so well in this deep integration picture of the area.
The full details about this image can be found on the official DSC's Astrobin page, which we encourage you to check out!
Click the image to see it in full resolution!
GEAR USED (for our part of the data):
Camera: QHY600M
Telescope: Stellarvue SVX130
Mount: 10Micron GM1000 HPS
Accessories: Moonlite Nitecrawler focuser / Pegasus Astro Ultimate Powerbox
ACQUISITION DETAILS:
Total Exposure Time: 16.9 hours for us, 566 hours total
Exposure Time per frame: 10 minutes
Filters: Chroma 3nm R/G/B/H
Gain: 56
M106 Astrophotography with a Reflector Telescope
April 2019
The image below is our third one taken using our first mono camera, after Thor's Helmet and M97/M108. We used four filters for this: Luminance, Red, Green, and Blue. We made the mistake of not planning ahead and did not spend any time imaging with the Hydrogen Alpha filter on. This is a huge mistake because the beauty of this galaxy mainly comes from the red tint in parts of the arms. On a different night later in the month, we were able to add one hour and a half of Hydrogen Alpha. You can see our final image below, and you can scroll down a little further to see it without the added Ha!
Messier 106 (LRGBHa), with NGC 4217 in the bottom right corner
GEAR USED:
Camera: ZWO ASI 1600mm Pro Mono
Telescope: 8" Astrograph f/3.9
Mount: Equatorial Motorized Mount
Guiding: Autoguider - 50mm Guide Scope
Acquisition: ASIAIR
Processing: Pixinsight
ACQUISITION DETAILS:
Total Exposure Time: 4 hours and 45 minutes
Exposure Time per frame: 3 minutes
Filters: L (51m) / R (48m) / G (48m) / B (48m) / Ha (1.5 hours)
Gain: 139
How to Find Messier 106
M106 can be found in the constellation of the Hunting Dogs: Canes Venatici. The easiest way to find it is to start from Ursa Major on the star-forming the bottom of the Big Dipper: Phecda. Make an imaginary line southwest to Car Caroli, the brightest star in Canes Venatici, and you will find M106 about halfway through from Phecda to Car Caroli.
M106 may be faint but has a high surface brightness making it a good target to look at. Messier 106 can be seen with binoculars and any telescope. Binoculars will show a faint patch of light, whereas telescopes will reveal a little bit of structure and even some details in the spiral arms depending on the size of the instrument.
Cool Facts
Two supernovas were discovered since 1981
Home to more than 400 billion stars
Considered as being between a normal and a barred spiral galaxy
See the different types of galaxies on our galaxy gallery page.
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Messier 106 Information
M106 is one of the largest and brightest galaxies near our Milky Way, similar to M31. It has a Type 2 Seyfert active nucleus and a supermassive black hole. So far, two supernovas have been observed within M106, one in 1981 and one in 2014. The galaxy is believed to be home to at least 400 billion stars.
M106 by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope
On February 5, 2013, NASA and ESA released this beautiful image of Messier 106 taken not only by the Hubble Space Telescope, but also by amateur astronomers (Robert Gendler and Jay GaBany) whose data helped compliment the overall image and colors.
The picture shows the most unique feature of M106: the extra pair of arms. You can see them in the image in red. These are made up not of stars but hot gas. It is believed that the extra pair of arms is due to the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy. They might have formed because of violent winds of matter going around the black hole.
M106 in X-Rays, Radio Waves, Optical Data and Infrared
Another incredible picture released by NASA and ESA is this composite image of the galaxy, made up of four different layers of data. This picture shows M106 not only in optical light from the Hubble Space Telescope, but also with added X-Ray data from Chandra, radio waves from the VLA, and infrared from the Spitzer telescope.
The extra pair of arms is easily visible here, in blue/magenta which is of interest to researchers as they try to understand how the black hole contributed to this.
As for the colors, which may seem all over the place, the X-Ray data is blue, the radio waves are purple, and the infrared is red. The optical data from the HST is yellow and blue.
Blue: X-Ray
Purple: Radio Waves
Red: Infrared
Yellow: Hubble Space Telescope
Blue: Hubble Space Telescope
Single Shot and Processing of Messier106
Like we said, we used four filters to capture Messier 106: L, R, G, and B.
Below you can see the stacked images for each filter. The Luminance filter is the one that yielded the most details.
Messier 106, stacked images for L/R/G/B, with each16 frames (17 for L)
And here is the result when we stack all of these into one image:
The details don't pop out at first glance, but a lot of the noise is gone and it gives us an overall cleaner image ready to be processed.
All four filters stacked - 3 hours and 15 minutes unprocessed
M106 Astrophotography - LRGB vs LRGB+HA
When we first imaged M106, we didn't know if we should have also used an HA filter on top of the LRGB filters. We did not and, after going home, regretted it as we realized there was a lot of star forming regions in the spiral arms of the galaxy.
On a different night later in the month, we went out to image again but this time used an HA filter to gather 1.5 hours of exposure time.
Below you can see what M106 looks like without and with HA added. As you can see, adding even just a little bit of HA data enhances the galaxy quite a bit! It shows the star forming regions glowing in red within the spiral arms, and makes the object look more natural overall.
Messier 106 - LRGB vs LRGBHa
Messier 106 FAQ
In which constellation is the M106 Galaxy located?
You can find the Phantom Galaxy in the constellation of the hunting dogs: Canes Venatici.
How big is Messier 106?
M106 is a large Intermediate spiral galaxy. It has a diameter of approximately 135,000 light-years and an apparent size of 18′.6 × 7′.2.
How far is the M106 Galaxy?
M74 is located approximately 23 to 24 million light-years away from Earth.
How long should my exposure time be when photographing Messier 106?
We took 600-second exposures from our Bortle 1 site using our f/5 telescope. We recommend doing between 300 and 600 seconds to not blow out the core. although it is not that bright in pictures. You can also go longer if you'd imaging in HA and want to get the best results possible.
Should I use a filter to image the M106 Galaxy?
M106 is a good broadband target, so you don't need any specific filter to image it. You can use an HA filter if you'd like to reveal the star formation within the spiral arms, which will enhance your image in the end!
Final Thoughts
Messier 106 is a great target for any Astrophotographer. Using an HA filter on top of L/R/G/B is a great way to enhance the final image! Overall, M106 is beginner-friendly and one of the most popular Messier objects to capture despite not having a nickname.
Clear Skies,
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