Spiral Galaxy - When Stars Are Not Enough Small Gift Bag

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series: A fabulous gift bag featuring a repeating image of an amazing galaxy for when stars just aren't enough! 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's also a Seyfert II galaxy, which means that due to x-rays and unusual emission lines detected, it's suspected that part of the galaxy is falling into a supermassive black hole in the center. image code: m106cv Image credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), and R. Gendler (for the Hubble Heritage Team), J. GaBany