Continuing the galaxy season theme, I returned to image Messier 106 last month, one of the brightest galaxies in the northern sky. Located about 24 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici, it is similar in size and luminosity to the much closer Andromeda Galaxy (2.5 million light-years), which therefore appears much larger.  Classified as an active Seyfert galaxy, M106’s core contains a supermassive black and thereby, energetic activity produces unusual arms made of hot glowing gas, which is only visible in radio and X-ray wavelengths.

 

The region around M106 is also very rich with other galaxies, I counted at least another seven. One close companion is NGC 4248, a smaller irregular galaxy gravitationally linked to M106. Nearby in the same field is NGC 4217, an edge-on spiral galaxy appearing thin and elongated through telescopes. More distant background galaxies such as NGC 4220, NGC 4231, and NGC 4232 can also be seen in deep astrophotography images, giving the area a crowded and dramatic appearance.

It’s been six years since my first and only image of M106, which can be see here.  At the time I was thrilled to capture this exciting galaxy but this time the Bortle-4 sky of Somerset has unveiled much more detail and colour than before; it’s always good to see progress with my imaging. Notwithstanding, it was something of a shock that after pre-processing the data using PixInsight’s WBPP calibration and stacking software, the High Rejection from the luminance revealed numerous satellites that had passed overhead, which does not bode well for astronomers in the future!     

IMAGING DETAILS
Main Objects	M106 etc
Constellation	Canes Venatici
Distance	24 million light-years
Size	18.6’ x 7.2’ actual diameter approx. 135,000 light years
Apparent Magnitude	+8,4
Scope	William Optics GT81 + Focal Reducer FL 382mm  f4.72
Mount & Control	ZWO AM5 + ASIair
Guiding	William Optics 50mm guide scope
	+ ZWO 120MM Mini
Camera	ZWO ASI294MM CMOS sensor
	FOV 2.87o x 1.96o Resolution 2.50”/pix  Max. image size 4,144 x 2,822 pix
EFW	ZWOx8 EFW & 31mm Chroma  HLRGB filters
Capture & Processing	ASIair, Deep Sky Stacker & PixInsight v1.9.3 Lockhart
Image Location              & Orientation	Centre = RA 12:18:20.84      DEC +47:16:25.3                         North = Bottom Left
Exposures	Ha x 8 X 600 Sec + L x 43, RGB x14 each @ 300 sec    Total Integration Time: 8hr 25min
	@ Gain 120 & 30 Offset 21 @ -15oC
Calibration	5 x 600 sec & 5 x 300 sec Darks + 20x Flats & Dark Flats          @ ADU 32,000
Location & Darkness	Castle Farm Observatory, Wookey, Somerset – UK      Bortle 4
Date & Time	8th 9th 12th & 13th April 2026 @ +21.30h
Weather	Approx. <6oC   RH >=>70%                  🌙 <= 65% to 30% waning