Hold the cosmos in your hands.
Before the days of high-speed internet, the best way to see the latest robotic exploration images from the Viking and Voyager missions was to write to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and ask for a press packet. We've recreated that thrilling, tactile experience with our exclusive line of high-quality physical photo prints.
This 8.5" x 11" print features M106 - The Active Galaxy. Located about 23 million light-years away in the small constellation Canes Venatici (The Hunting Dogs), Messier 106 is a spectacular spiral galaxy with a very violent secret! While its sweeping blue spiral arms and glowing pink star-forming regions look incredibly peaceful from Earth, M106 is what astronomers call a Seyfert galaxy. Hiding at its very center is an actively feeding supermassive black hole that is constantly gobbling up surrounding gas and dust. As this material spirals down the drain, it heats up and emits massive amounts of radiation, making the galaxy's core glow incredibly bright! This cosmic engine is so powerful that it actually fires out extra "anomalous" arms of glowing red gas that blast right through the galaxy's normal starry disk.
Produced on premium one-sided gloss paper, this piece delivers stunning clarity and vibrant colors on the front. On the reverse side, you'll find an engaging scientific description of this incredible system, along with the exact Bracken Observatory equipment and exposure specs used to capture the shot—including 5 hours and 36 minutes of total exposure time using our RASA 11" telescope—just like the classic JPL media packets of the 1980s.
Whether you're an educator looking for engaging classroom materials, a parent sharing the wonders of the universe with your kids, or an astronomy enthusiast wanting a beautiful physical print to frame, this is the perfect way to experience the cosmos away from a screen.
Product Details:
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Dimensions: 8.5" x 11" (Standard Letter Size)
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Material: Premium one-sided gloss photo paper
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Features: High-resolution image on the front; science facts, shot specs, and an interactive QR code to the online showroom on the back
🔭 From the Desk of Paul Bracken:
"Galaxies like M106 are fascinating because they remind us that the universe is not just sitting still—it's incredibly violent and active. To the naked eye at the eyepiece, it just looks like a faint smudge, but when you put over 5.5 hours of exposure time on it with a fast system like the RASA 11, the sheer scale of what is happening at its core becomes apparent. Holding this print and knowing you are looking at the aftermath of a supermassive black hole blasting out anomalous arms of gas is a truly humbling experience."
