Galaxy
Messier 106
Also M106 · NGC 4258
A spiral galaxy with an active core, whose orbiting water masers give a precise geometric distance, an anchor of the cosmic distance ladder.
Measured
- Distance
- 24.7 million light-years
- Size
- about 124,000 light-years across (approximate)
- Constellation
- Canes Venatici
- Position (J2000)
- RA 12h 18m 58s, Dec +47.30°
How far, from the Sun
24.7 million light-years. To cross it:
- Light24.7 million years
- Voyager 1's speed439 billion years
- Driving at 100 km/h267 trillion years
Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.
Facts
- Water masers orbiting its central black hole weigh it at about 40 million times the Sun's mass.
- It is used as an anchor for the cosmic distance ladder.
- It is moving away from us at about 460 km/s (NASA/IPAC NED).
Where this comes from
- The maser distance itself: Reid, Pesce & Riess 2019, arXiv:1908.05625 (7.576 ± 0.082 ± 0.076 Mpc), read 2026-10-31
- This research has made use of the SIMBAD database, CDS, Strasbourg, France (Wenger et al. 2000, A&AS 143, 9).
- This research has made use of the VizieR catalogue access tool, CDS, Strasbourg, France (DOI: 10.26093/cds/vizier).
Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.