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Images of M106 and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
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M106: A Spiral Galaxy with a
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| Title |
M106: A Spiral Galaxy with a Strange Core |
| Explanation |
What's happening at the center of spiral galaxy M106? A swirling disk of stars and gas, M106 [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m106.html ]'s appearance is dominated by two bright spiral arms and dark dust [ ftp://ftp.amara.com/papers/dustevolve.txt ] lanes near the nucleus. Bright newly formed stars near their outer tips distinguish the spiral arms in the above photograph [ http://www.noao.edu/outreach/aop/observers/robserver.html ]. The core of M106 glows brightly in radio waves [ http://imagers.gsfc.nasa.gov/ems/radio.html ] and X-rays [ http://www.optonline.com/comptons/ceo/05250_A.html ] where twin jets have been found [ http://adsbit.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?1995ApJ...440..181C ] running the length of the galaxy. An unusual central glow makes M106 one of the closest examples of the Seyfert class of galaxies [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981023.html ], where vast amounts of glowing gas are thought to be falling into a central massive black hole [ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/black_holes.html ]. M [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/messier.html ]106, also designated NGC [ http://www.aspsky.org/ngc/ngc.html ] 4258, is a relatively close 25 million light years away, spans 30 thousand light years [ http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cosmic_distance.html ] across, and can be seen with a small telescope towards the constellation [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/extra/constellations.html ] of Canes Venatici [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Canes_Venatici.html ]. |
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The Arms of NGC 4258
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The Arms of NGC 4258 |
| Explanation |
Better known as M106 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050730.html ], bright spiral galaxy NGC 4258 is about 30 thousand light years across and 21 million light years away toward the northern constellation Canes Venatici [ http://hawastsoc.org/deepsky/cvn/index.html ]. The yellow and red hues in this composite image [ http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2007/ngc4258/ ] show the galaxy's sweeping spiral arms [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiral_galaxies ] as seen in visible and infrared light. But x-ray [ http://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_astro/medxray.html ] and radio data [ http://www.nrao.edu/whatisra/index.shtml ] (blue and purple) reveal two extra spiral arms -- arms that don't align with the more familiar tracers of stars, gas, and dust [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070328.html ]. In fact, an analysis [ http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0106514 ] of the x-ray [ http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0701569 ] and radio data suggests that the anamolous arms are composed of material heated by shock waves. Detected at radio wavelengths, powerful [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030705.html ] jets originating in the galaxy's core likely drive the shocks into the disk of NGC 4258. |
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M106 in Canes Venatici
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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
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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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