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Messier Index/M106

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Messier 106
M106 taken at St. Francis Xavier University. Composite of IR, x-ray, radio and visible light view (X-ray - blue, Optical - gold, IR - red, Radio - purple)
Observation data (w:J2000 epoch)
Constellationw:Canes Venatici
Right ascension12h 18m 57.5s[1]
Declination+47° 18′ 14″[1]
Redshift448 ± 3 km/s[1]
Distance23.7 ± 1.5 Mly (7.3 ± 0.5 Mpc)[2][3]
TypeSAB(s)bc[1]
Apparent dimensions (V)18′.6 × 7′.2[1]
Apparent magnitude (V)9.1[1]
Notable featuresMaser galaxy,[4] Seyfert II galaxy[5]
Other designations
M 106,[6] NGC 4258,[1] UGC 7353,[1] PGC 39600[1]

Messier 106 (also known as NGC 4258) is a w:spiral galaxy in the w:constellation w:Canes Venatici. It was discovered by w:Pierre Méchain in w:1781. M106 is at a distance of about 22 to 25 million w:light-years away from w:Earth. It is also a Seyfert II galaxy, which means that due to w:x-rays and unusual w:emission lines detected, it is suspected that part of the galaxy is falling into a w:supermassive black hole in the center.[7] w:NGC 4217 is a possible companion galaxy of Messier 106.[6]

Amateur Image of Messier 106 Showing Possible Companion Spiral NGC 4217 Lower Right Courtesy Hunter Wilson

Characteristics

M106 has a water vapor w:maser that is seen by the 22GHz line of ortho-H2O that evidences dense and warm molecular gas. Water masers are useful to observe nuclear w:accretion disks in w:active galaxies. M106 has a slightly warped, thin, almost edge-on w:Keplerian disk which is on a subparsec scale. It surrounds a central area with mass four × 107M⊙.[8]

References

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for Messier 106. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
  2. ↑ J. L. Tonry, A. Dressler, J. P. Blakeslee, E. A. Ajhar, A. B. Fletcher, G. A. Luppino, M. R. Metzger, C. B. Moore (2001). "The SBF Survey of Galaxy Distances. IV. SBF Magnitudes, Colors, and Distances". Astrophysical Journal. 546 (2): 681–693. doi:10.1086/318301.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ↑ Macri, L. M.; Stanek, K. Z.; Bersier, D.; Greenhill, L. J.; Reid, M. J. (2006). "A New Cepheid Distance to the Maser-Host Galaxy NGC 4258 and Its Implications for the Hubble Constant". The Astrophysical Journal. 652 (2): 1133–1149. doi:10.1086/508530.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ Bonanos, Alceste Z. (2006). "Eclipsing Binaries: Tools for Calibrating the Extragalactic Distance Scale". Binary Stars as Critical Tools and Tests in Contemporary Astrophysics, International Astronomical Union. Symposium no. 240, held 22-25 August, 2006 in Prague, Czech Republic, S240, #008.
  5. ↑ Humphreys, E. M. L.; Greenhill, L. J.; Reid, M. J.; Argon, A. L.; Moran, J. M. (2004). "Improved Maser Distance to NGC 4258". American Astronomical Society Meeting 205, #73.01; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society. 36: 1468.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ a b "SIMBAD Astronomical Database". Results for Messier 106. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
  7. ↑ "A spiral galaxy with a strange core".
  8. ↑ Henkel, C.; Peck, A. B.; Tarchi, A.; Nagar, N. M.; Braatz, J. A.; Castangia, P.; Moscadelli, L. (June 2005). "New H2O masers in Seyfert and FIR bright galaxies". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 436 (1): 75–90. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20042175.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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