Messier 108 (M108)

Edge-on barred spiral floating in Ursa Major, sprinkled with dust patches and young clusters.

Core Principles & Analysis

• Méchain found it in 1781, but it went unlisted until the catalogue's 1953 restoration.
• Seen edge-on, its dust lanes and clumps scatter across the thin disc.
• The Owl Nebula lies half a degree away on the sky, an unrelated foreground object.

Specifications & Metrics

• GALAXY TYPE: Barred spiral (SBbcd)
• DISTANCE: ~46 million light-years