俯瞰M106
(原标题: A View Toward M106)
2024-02-22
浏览次数: 14
巨大、明亮、美丽的螺旋星系，梅西耶106主宰着这幅宇宙图景。近2度宽的望远镜视野朝向训练有素的星群，靠近北斗七星的柄。M106也被称为NGC 4258，直径约8万光年，距离我们2350万光年，是Canes II星系群中最大的成员。对于一个遥远的星系来说，到M106的距离是众所周知的，部分原因是它可以通过跟踪这个星系非凡的微波激光发射来直接测量。非常罕见但自然发生，微波激射是由围绕其活动星系核的分子云中的水分子产生的。另一个突出的螺旋星系是NGC 4217，它几乎是侧面的，位于M106的右下方。NGC 4217的距离不太为人所知，估计约为6000万光年，但明亮的尖状恒星位于前景，远在我们的银河系内部。
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Big, bright, beautiful spiral, Messier 106 dominates this cosmic vista. The nearly two degree wide telescopic field of view looks toward the well-trained constellation Canes Venatici, near the handle of the Big Dipper. Also known as NGC 4258, M106 is about 80,000 light-years across and 23.5 million light-years away, the largest member of the Canes II galaxy group. For a far far away galaxy, the distance to M106 is well-known in part because it can be directly measured by tracking this galaxy's remarkable maser, or microwave laser emission. Very rare but naturally occurring, the maser emission is produced by water molecules in molecular clouds orbiting its active galactic nucleus. Another prominent spiral galaxy on the scene, viewed nearly edge-on, is NGC 4217 below and right of M106. The distance to NGC 4217 is much less well-known, estimated to be about 60 million light-years, but the bright spiky stars are in the foreground, well inside our own Milky Way galaxy.
© Kyunghoon Lim