Prepare to be amazed! Amateur astrophotographer Ron Brecher has recently captured a breathtaking image of the spiral galaxy M106, located a staggering 24 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici.

Brecher dedicated over 32 hours between March 27 and April 17, 2025, to photograph this celestial wonder. The resulting image showcases M106’s spectacular swirling arms, centering around its fiery red core—a hotbed of star formation that harbors a ravenous supermassive black hole.

"M106 is known as a Seyfert galaxy due to its active nucleus," Brecher explained in a stunning post on his website. "Part of this galaxy appears to be falling into its supermassive black hole, as if it's cannibalizing itself!"

While M106 is too distant to be seen with the naked eye, telescope enthusiasts can delight in viewing it with smaller scopes. For those in the northern hemisphere, finding M106 is simple: locate the Big Dipper and use a stargazing app to track the bright star Alkaid and the fainter Psi Ursae Majoris, with M106 nestled between these two stars.

But that’s not all! The image includes another striking galaxy, NGC 4248, seen in the lower left—also displaying mesmerizing pink nebulae. Keep your eyes peeled for fuzzy patches and needle-like structures in the image, which indicate other galaxies lurking in the cosmic backdrop.

Brecher's journey into astrophotography began unexpectedly. He started after purchasing a 4.5-inch reflector telescope for his son and became captivated while calming his newborn daughter under the stars. His initial attempts at photography merely involved holding a 'point and shoot' camera to his telescope's eyepiece.

Now, he skillfully combines various cameras, mounts, and software to capture everything from the Moon to colossal galaxies. His latest masterpiece of Messier 106 was photographed from his home near Guelph, Canada, utilizing a 14-inch Celestron Edge HD telescope in a specially designed SkyShed with a removable roof.

To create this vivid cosmic palette, Brecher employed a combination of red, green, blue, and hydrogen-alpha filters using his QHY600M astronomy camera, followed by meticulous data processing in PixInsight software.

Want to embark on your own cosmic adventures? Check out our guides for the best telescope and binocular deals, as well as the finest cameras and lenses for astrophotography to capture your own stellar moments!