Object Analysis

Messier 106 (M106) is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. It is located about 23.7 million light-years away. It is classified as a Seyfert II galaxy, meaning it has an active galactic nucleus that emits strong spectral lines from highly ionized gas.

M106 is famous for having two extra "anomalous arms" that are not made of stars, but of hot gas. These arms are aligned with the galactic plane but are tilted, likely caused by jets from the supermassive black hole at the galaxy's center plowing through the galactic disk.

The black hole at the center of M106 is particularly active and massive (40 million solar masses). The galaxy also contains a water megamaser—a naturally occurring source of stimulated microwave emission (like a laser but in microwave) that allows astronomers to measure the distance to the galaxy with incredible precision.