APOD 4.7
M106 Close Up
2012 May 3
Pierre Mechain discovered M106 in 1781 but he referred it to a friend, Charles Messier, who added it to his catalog of celestial wonders that we all know as the Messier Catalog. What
really caught my eye about this article was the term
island universe. Excuse me but...
That's right an
island universe, but what does this mean? Well apparently the term is less impressive as it sounds; M 106 is not its own independent universe, rather it is a galaxy with a complete misnomer. William Herschel added it to his catalog in 1786 as a galaxy universe, before the true distances of such stellar structures could be appreciated, and made it an island "universe". Additionally the term universe is understood as the entirety of existence, so the term "island universe" has fallen into disuse. This APOD mislead me, just like the "Star Wars" APODs, only this time "island universe" has me thinking of the movie "Cast Away".
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