Messier 106

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Messier 106
Messier Object 106

M 106 and its anomalous arms. Composite of IR (red), x-ray (blue), radio (purple) and visible light view (Image credit: NASA/CXC/University of Maryland)
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Canes Venatici
Right ascension 12h 18m 57.5s[1]
Declination +47° 18′ 14″[1]
Redshift 448 ± 3 km/s[1]
Distance 23.7 ± 1.5 Mly (7 ± 0.5 Mpc)[2][3]
Type SAB(s)bc[1]
Apparent dimensions (V) 18′.6 × 7′.2[1]
Apparent magnitude (V) 9.1[1]
Notable features Maser galaxy,[4] Seyfert II galaxy.[5]
Other designations
M 106, NGC 4258, UGC 7353, PGC 39600.[1][6]

See also: Galaxy, List of galaxies

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

Amateur Image of Messier 106 showing a possible companion galaxy NGC 4217 in the lower right


Contents

[edit] Characteristics

M106 has a water vapor megamaser (the equivalent of a laser operating in microwave instead of light and on a galactic scale) that is seen by the 22-GHz line of ortho-H2O that evidences dense and warm molecular gas. Water masers are useful to observe nuclear accretion disks in active galaxies. The water masers in M106 enabled the first case of a direct measurement of the distance to a galaxy and thereby providing an independent anchor for the cosmic distance ladder.[8][9] M 106 has a slightly warped, thin, almost edge-on Keplerian disc which is on a subparsec scale. It surrounds a central area with mass 4 × 107M⊙.[10]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for Messier 106. Retrieved 2006-12-07. 
  2. ^ Tonry, J. L. et al. (2001). "The SBF Survey of Galaxy Distances. IV. SBF Magnitudes, Colors, and Distances". Astrophysical Journal 546 (2): 681–693. arXiv:astro-ph/0011223. Bibcode:2001ApJ...546..681T. doi:10.1086/318301. 
  3. ^ Macri, L. M. et al. (2006). "A New Cepheid Distance to the Maser-Host Galaxy NGC 4258 and Its Implications for the Hubble Constant". Astrophysical Journal 652 (2): 1133–1149. arXiv:astro-ph/0608211. Bibcode:2006ApJ...652.1133M. doi:10.1086/508530. 
  4. ^ Bonanos, Alceste Z. (2006). "Eclipsing Binaries: Tools for Calibrating the Extragalactic Distance Scale". Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union 2 (S240). arXiv:astro-ph/0610923. Bibcode:2007IAUS..240...79B. doi:10.1017/S1743921307003845. 
  5. ^ Humphreys, E. M. L. et al. (2004). "Improved Maser Distance to NGC 4258". Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society 36: 1468. Bibcode:2004AAS...205.7301H. 
  6. ^ a b "SIMBAD Astronomical Object Database". Results for Messier 106. Retrieved 2006-12-07. 
  7. ^ "A spiral galaxy with a strange core". Astronomy Picture of the Day. 
  8. ^ JR Herrnstein et al. (1999). "A geometric distance to the galaxy NGC 4258 from orbital motions in a nuclear gas disk". Nature 400: 539–541. doi:10.1038/22972. 
  9. ^ Richard de Grijs (2011). An Introduction to Distance Measurement in Astronomy. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-470-51180-0. 
  10. ^ Henkel, C. et al. (2005). "New H2O masers in Seyfert and FIR bright galaxies". Astronomy and Astrophysics 436 (1): 75–90. arXiv:astro-ph/0503070. Bibcode:2005A&A...436...75H. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20042175. 

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Messier 106

Coordinates: Sky map 12h 18m 57.5s, +47° 18′ 14″
List
See also


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