Spiral Galaxy M106

Cepheid variable stars in this galaxy were used to refine the cosmic “distance ladder,” which helps us to understand the vast distances of deep space, and how objects there relate to each other in spacetime. Certain Cepheids have a regular cycle of brightness changes, and this special property of these stars reveals how far away they are from us, providing benchmarks for measuring other objects in the universe.

The image was created by astrophotographer Robert Gendler, who is not a professional astronomer but a civilian who took an interest in space and has been photographing the night sky for decades. He used publicly available Hubble data, combined with his own work and that of another astrophotographer, Jay GaBany, to create this hybrid image.