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.

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.