M106

In the constellation of Canes Venatici. About 2° south of the star 3 Canum Venaticorum, itself a few degrees south of Phecda, a star in the Big Dipper asterism, lies the galaxy M106, also known as NGC 4258. This galaxy's shape resembles that of Andromeda, though seen from a different angle: it is an example of a “Seyfert galaxy”, most likely hosting a supermassive black hole at its core, estimated at 36 million solar masses concentrated within a region between 1/24 and 1/2 of a light-year across. Its estimated distance from Earth is about 21-25 million light-years, and it is receding from us at 537 km/s. The photo also shows other galaxies, including NGC 4217, a fine example of an edge-on spiral galaxy, located about 60 million light-years away.