Messier 106 is an intermediate spiral galaxy that can be found in the Canes Venatici constellation, some 20 light-years away from our Milky Way.
Rarely spotted before, the M106 group of galaxies is surrounded by a faint IFN (Integrated Flux Nebula) that may be part of the huge cloud of gas and dust that is also detectable around M81 and M82 in the Great Bear (Ursa Major) constellation.
To capture this faint detail I had to stretch the Luminance channel in order to show some IFN detail. I really like to search for these amazing structures in different deep sky fields. But I have to admit that I did not expect to find any galactic cirri around this galaxy.
Image Details
L: 120×120″
RGB: 25×120″ each channel
Hα: 32×300″
All images at 120Gain -15ºC bin2
Calibrated with 50 flats, 50 darks, 50 bias
Total exposure: 9h10’
Average darkness: 21.10 mag/arcsec2
Image resolution: 2.12”/pixel
Equipment
FSQ85ED telescope
Mesu200 mount
ASI294MM Pro camera with ZWO EFW 8 pos
Guiding with ASI174MC and ZWO OAG
Baader filters
Software
SGP, PHD2, APP, PIX, LR, PS, TPZ.
Aleix Roig – Prades, Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain), May 2021.