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M106 in Canes Venatici
| Title |
M106 in Canes Venatici |
| Explanation |
Close to the Great Bear (Ursa Major) and surrounded by the stars [ http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/stars/ constellations.shtml ] of the Hunting Dogs (Canes Venatici), this celestial nebula was discovered [ http://www.seds.org/messier/Mdes/dm106.html ] in 1781 by the metric [ http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=52982 ] French astronomer Pierre Mechain [ http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/history/ pmechain.html ] and later added to the catalog of his friend and colleague Charles Messier as M106 [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m106.html ]. Modern deep telescopic views reveal it to be an island universe [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020518.html ] -- a spiral galaxy around 30 thousand light-years across located only about 21 million light-years beyond the stars of the Milky Way. Youthful blue star clusters and reddish stellar nurseries trace the striking spiral arms of M106. Seen so clearly in this beautiful image [ http://www.noao.edu/outreach/aop/observers/m106.html ], the galaxy's bright core is also visible across the spectrum [ http://www.ipac.caltech.edu/Outreach/Multiwave/ ] from radio to x-rays, making M106 a nearby example of the Seyfert class [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981023.html ] of active galaxies. The bright core of a Seyfert galaxy is believed to be powered by matter falling into a massive central black hole [ http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/active/ smblack.html ]. |
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M106 in Canes Venatici
| Title |
M106 in Canes Venatici |
| Explanation |
Close to the Great Bear (Ursa Major) and surrounded by the stars [ http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/stars/ constellations.shtml ] of the Hunting Dogs (Canes Venatici), this celestial nebula was discovered [ http://www.seds.org/messier/Mdes/dm106.html ] in 1781 by the metric [ http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=52982 ] French astronomer Pierre Mechain [ http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/history/ pmechain.html ]. Later, it was added to the catalog of his friend and colleague Charles Messier as M106 [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m106.html ]. Modern deep telescopic views reveal it to be an island universe [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020518.html ] -- a spiral galaxy around 30 thousand light-years across located only about 21 million light-years beyond the stars of the Milky Way. Youthful blue star clusters and reddish stellar nurseries trace the striking spiral arms of M106. Seen so clearly in this beautiful image [ http://www.noao.edu/outreach/aop/observers/m106.html ], the galaxy's bright core is also visible across the spectrum [ http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/ multiwavelength_astronomy/multiwavelength_astronomy/ ] from radio to x-rays, making M106 a nearby example of the Seyfert class [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981023.html ] of active galaxies. The bright core of a Seyfert galaxy is believed to be powered by matter falling into a massive central black hole [ http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/active/ smblack.html ]. |
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