Messier_102 is a spiral galaxy located approximately 39 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. It was cataloged by the French astronomer Pierre Méchain in 1781 and later included in the Messier catalog, which lists astronomical objects that are of interest to astronomers. The galaxy is often considered to be a duplicate entry for NGC 5866, another spiral galaxy in the same region. Messier_102 is characterized by its bright core and prominent dust lane, making it an interesting subject for both amateur and professional astronomers studying galaxy formation and structure.