M106
Spiral Galaxy in Canes Venatici

10.1” f/4.5   Mallincam DS432cTEC with Meade Series 4000 Nebular Filter
Exposures = 20 sec, Live-stacked frames = 65, Gain = 50 of 250

Located about halfway between Phecda in the bowl of the Big Dipper and Chara (Beta Canum Venaticorum), M106 is a bright spiral about 24 million light years away. It is listed as an intermediate spiral, i.e. between barred and unbarred classifications. Its two main arms provide a ghostly, wispy looking appearance. According to Wikipedia, M106’s distinctive purple colour is a result of a water vapor megamaser within the galaxy itself. M106 appears to be about 10 x 4 arc minutes in size in this picture, and is quite large at 135,000 light years across and about 24 million light years away.

About 13 arc minutes northwest of M106 is the irregular/pecular dwarf spiral NGC 4248, a small thin fuzzy line about 2 arc minutes long by 1/2 an arc minute thick.

North at 12 o’clock, East at 9 o’clock.