M106 is a relatively bright magnitude 9.3 Sb type spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici, located along a line that runs northwest between Beta Canum Venaticorum and Gamma Ursae Majoris. It is often overlooked because of the nearby Whirlpool Galaxy, but is a good object for amateur size telescopes. The small galaxy at the bottom edge of the image is NGC 4248, which is rated at magnitude 12.4. The galaxy visible in the background to the left of M106 is PGC 39615 which is a dim magnitude 15.8 object. The galaxy at the upper right of M106 is PGC 166129. The field of view in this image is 40 x 26 arc-minutes.
This is an LRGB composite CCD image based upon data collected over the course of several nights. An ST-8XE CCD was used at prime focus on a Takahashi FCT-150 refractor at f7. The optical tube assembly was carried on a Takahashi NJP Temma mount. The digital images were acquired and calibrated using MaxIm DL.
M106 (NGC 4258)
Constellation: Canes Venatici
RA: 12h 18m 53.2s Dec: +47d 18' 27"
January 1-2 & 4-8 and February 2 &
4, 2006
Image by Sid Leach
Scottsdale, Arizona
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