Astrophotographer Ron Brecher has stunned the astronomy community with his incredible deep space image of the spiral galaxy M106, located a staggering 23.5 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici.

Brecher dedicated over 32 hours between March 27 and April 17, 2025, to capture this mesmerizing portrait, showcasing the galaxy's sweeping arms entwined around a fiery, red-hued core—home to an insatiable supermassive black hole.

"M106 is classified as a Seyfert galaxy, meaning its nucleus is active," Brecher revealed on his website. "Part of it is being devoured by the supermassive black hole at its center, almost as if it’s cannibalizing itself!"

While M106 cannot be seen without a telescope, it’s a fantastic target for astronomy enthusiasts. To spot it in the northern hemisphere, stargazers can begin with the Big Dipper and use stargazing apps to locate the bright star Alkaid and the dimmer Psi Ursae Majoris—M106 lies roughly halfway between these two stars.

But that’s not all! Another noteworthy galaxy, NGC 4248, can be spotted in the lower left of the image, complete with stunning pink nebulae. Keep an eye out for fuzzy patches and elongated structures that stand apart from the bright, rounded stars.

Brecher's journey into astrophotography began unexpectedly when he purchased a 4.5-inch reflector telescope for his son. Mesmerized by the night sky while calming his newborn daughter, he first captured images of the moon by simply holding a point-and-shoot camera to his telescope's eyepiece.

His passion has since grown, leading him to experiment with various cameras, mounts, and software, capturing everything from the moon to majestic deep-sky galaxies. This latest masterpiece of Messier 106 was taken from his home near Guelph, Canada, using a powerful 14-inch Celestron Edge HD telescope housed in a specially designed SkyShed with a retractable roof.

Using a combination of red, green, blue, and hydrogen-alpha filters on his CMOS QHY600M astronomy camera, Brecher processed his images with PixInsight software to bring out their stunning details.

For those eager to glimpse galaxies like M106, check out our guides for the best telescope and binocular deals, along with top cameras and lenses for astrophotography, to gear up for your next skywatching adventure!