Messier 109
Messier 109 (M109), also known as NGC 3992, is a barred spiral galaxy located roughly 60 million light‑years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It spans about 120,000 light‑years in diameter and is the brightest member of the M109 galaxy group. Notable features include a distinct central bar, spiral arms, and three possible satellite galaxies.
Source: science.nasa.gov
APODs including "Messier 109"
Messier 109
27/06/2025
Big beautiful barred spiral galaxy Messier 109 is the 109th entry in Charles Messier's famous catalog of bright Nebulae and Star Clusters. You can find it just below the Big Dipper's bowl in the northern constellation Ursa Major. In fact, bright dipper star Phecda, Gamma Ursa Majoris, produces the glare at the upper right corner of this telescopic frame. M109's prominent central bar gives the galaxy the appearance of the Greek letter "theta", θ, a common mathematical symbol representing an angle. M109 spans a very small angle in planet Earth's sky though, about 7 arcminutes or 0.12 degrees. But that small angle corresponds to an enormous 120,000 light-year diameter at the galaxy's estimated 60 million light-year distance. The brightest member of the now recognized Ursa Major galaxy cluster, M109 (aka NGC 3992) is joined by spiky foreground stars. Three small, fuzzy bluish galaxies also on the scene, identified (top to bottom) as UGC 6969, UGC 6940 and UGC 6923, are possibly satellite galaxies of the larger barred spiral galaxy Messier 109.