The James Webb Space Telescope has unveiled a breathtaking new image of Messier 106, also known as NGC 4258. Situated approximately 23 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici, this spiral galaxy is one of our cosmic neighbors and among the brightest and nearest spiral galaxies to the Milky Way.
The image, captured by Webb’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam), highlights the galaxy’s vibrant and complex central region. The active supermassive black hole at Messier 106’s heart is consuming material at a rapid pace, causing the surrounding gas to heat up and emit powerful radiation. This central activity results in an array of colors in the image: blue regions indicate stellar distribution, orange represents warmer dust, while the stronger red hues depict colder dust. Teal, green, and yellow tones near the center reveal varying gas distributions.
Messier 106 is notable for its two anomalous extra arms, visible in radio and X-ray wavelengths. These arms, composed of hot gas rather than stars, are believed to be a result of the intense feedback from the galaxy’s central black hole. This phenomenon creates a striking analogy to waves crashing against rocks on a shore.
Interestingly, while the galaxy bears the name of the 18th-century astronomer Charles Messier, it was actually discovered by his assistant, Pierre Méchain. Messier 106, along with other objects not originally catalogued by Messier, was posthumously added to the Messier catalogue in the 20th century.
