Astronomy Picture of the Day |
APOD: 2023 August 13 – The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared
Explanation:
This floating ring is the size of a galaxy.
In fact, it is a galaxy -- or at least part of one: the photogenic
Sombrero Galaxy,
one of the largest galaxies in the nearby
Virgo Cluster of Galaxies.
The dark band of
dust that obscures the mid-section of the
Sombrero Galaxy in optical light actually
glows brightly in infrared light.
The featured image, digitally sharpened, shows the
infrared
glow, recently recorded by the orbiting
Spitzer Space Telescope, superposed in false-color on an
existing image taken by
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in
visible light.
The Sombrero
Galaxy, also known as
M104, spans about 50,000
light years across and lies 28 million light years away.
M104
can be seen with a small telescope in the direction of the
constellation Virgo.
APOD: 2022 April 23 - Messier 104
Explanation:
A gorgeous spiral galaxy,
Messier 104 is famous
for its nearly edge-on
profile featuring a broad ring of obscuring dust lanes.
Seen in silhouette against an extensive central bulge of stars,
the swath of cosmic dust lends a
broad brimmed hat-like appearance to the galaxy suggesting
a more popular moniker, the Sombrero Galaxy.
This sharp view
of the well-known galaxy was made
from over 10 hours of
Hubble Space Telescope
image data, processed to
bring out faint details often lost in the overwhelming glare of M104's
bright central bulge.
Also known as NGC 4594, the Sombrero galaxy can be seen
across the spectrum, and
is host to a central
supermassive black hole.
About 50,000 light-years across and 28 million light-years away,
M104 is one of the
largest galaxies at the southern edge of the
Virgo Galaxy Cluster.
Still, the spiky foreground stars in this field of view
lie well within our own Milky Way.
APOD: 2021 July 22 - NGC 7814: Little Sombrero with Supernova
Explanation:
Point your telescope toward the high flying constellation
Pegasus
and you can find this
expanse
of Milky Way stars and distant galaxies.
NGC 7814 is centered in the pretty
field of view that would almost
be covered by a full moon.
NGC 7814 is
sometimes called the Little Sombrero for its
resemblance to the brighter more famous M104,
the Sombrero Galaxy.
Both Sombrero and Little Sombrero are spiral galaxies
seen edge-on, and both have
extensive halos
and central
bulges cut by a thin disk with thinner dust lanes in silhouette.
In fact, NGC 7814
is some 40 million light-years away and an estimated 60,000 light-years
across.
That actually makes the
Little Sombrero
about the same physical size as
its better known namesake, appearing smaller and fainter
only because it is farther away.
In this telescopic view from July 17, NGC 7814 is hosting a newly
discovered supernova, dominant immediately to the left of the galaxy's core.
Cataloged as SN 2021rhu,
the stellar explosion has been identified as a
Type Ia
supernova, useful toward calibrating the
distance scale
of
the universe.
APOD: 2021 May 14 - M104: The Sombrero Galaxy
Explanation:
A gorgeous spiral galaxy,
M104 is famous
for its nearly edge-on
profile featuring a broad ring of obscuring dust lanes.
Seen in silhouette against an extensive central bulge of stars,
the swath of cosmic dust lends a
broad brimmed hat-like appearance to the galaxy suggesting
a more popular moniker, the Sombrero Galaxy.
This sharp optical view of the well-known galaxy made
from ground-based image data was processed to preserve
details often lost in overwhelming glare of M104's
bright central bulge.
Also known as NGC 4594, the Sombrero galaxy can be seen
across the spectrum, and
is host to a central
supermassive black hole.
About 50,000 light-years across and 28 million light-years away,
M104 is one of the
largest galaxies at the southern edge of the
Virgo Galaxy Cluster.
Still the colorful spiky foreground stars in this field of view
lie well within our own Milky Way galaxy.
APOD: 2019 March 29 - M104: The Sombrero Galaxy
Explanation:
The striking spiral galaxy
M104 is famous
for its nearly edge-on
profile featuring a broad ring of obscuring dust lanes.
Seen in silhouette against an extensive central bulge of stars,
the swath of cosmic dust lends a
broad brimmed hat-like appearance to the galaxy suggesting
a more popular moniker, The Sombrero Galaxy.
Hubble Space Telescope data have been used to
create
this sharp
view of the
well-known galaxy.
The processing results in a natural color appearance
and preserves details often lost in overwhelming glare of M104's
bright central bulge when viewed with smaller ground-based
telescopes.
Also known as NGC 4594, the Sombrero galaxy can be seen
across the spectrum and
is host to a central
supermassive black hole.
About 50,000 light-years across and 28 million light-years away,
M104 is one of the
largest galaxies at the southern edge of the
Virgo Galaxy Cluster.
APOD: 2019 February 9 - Comet Iwamoto and the Sombrero Galaxy
Explanation:
Comet Iwamoto (C/2018 Y1), shows off
a pretty, greenish coma at the upper left in this telescopic
field of view.
Taken on February 4 from the
Mount
John Observatory, University of Canterbury,
the 30 minute long total exposure time shows
the comet sweeping quickly across a background of stars and
distant galaxies in the constellation Virgo.
The long exposure and Iwamoto's
rapid
motion relative to the stars and galaxies results
in the noticeable blurred streak tracing the the comet's bright inner coma.
In fact, the streaked coma gives the comet
a remarkably similar appearance to Messier 104 at lower right,
popularly known as the Sombrero Galaxy.
The comet, a visitor to the inner Solar System, is a mere 4
light-minutes away though, while
majestic
Messier 104, a spiral galaxy posing edge-on,
is 30 million light-years distant.
The first
binocular comet of 2019,
Iwamoto will pass closest to Earth on February 12.
This comet's highly elliptical orbit around the Sun stretches beyond the
Kuiper belt
with an estimated 1,371 year orbital period.
That should bring it back to the inner Solar System in 3390 AD.
APOD: 2019 January 1 - The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared
Explanation:
This floating ring is the size of a galaxy.
In fact, it is a galaxy -- or at least part of one: the photogenic
Sombrero Galaxy,
one of the largest galaxies in the nearby
Virgo Cluster of Galaxies.
The dark band of
dust that obscures the mid-section of the
Sombrero Galaxy in optical light actually
glows brightly in infrared light.
The featured image, digitally sharpened, shows the
infrared
glow, recently recorded by the orbiting
Spitzer Space Telescope, superposed in false-color on an
existing image taken by
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope
in optical light.
The Sombrero
Galaxy, also known as
M104, spans about 50,000 light years across and lies 28 million light years away.
M104
can be seen with a small telescope in the direction of the
constellation Virgo.
APOD: 2017 June 30 - NGC 7814: The Little Sombrero in Pegasus
Explanation:
Point your telescope toward the high flying constellation
Pegasus
and you can find this
expanse
of Milky Way stars and distant galaxies.
Dominated by NGC 7814, the pretty
field of view would almost
be covered by a full moon.
NGC 7814 is
sometimes called the Little Sombrero for its
resemblance to the brighter more famous M104,
the Sombrero
Galaxy.
Both Sombrero and Little Sombrero are spiral galaxies
seen edge-on, and both have extensive halos and central
bulges cut by a thin disk with thinner dust lanes in silhouette.
In fact, NGC 7814
is some 40 million light-years away and an estimated 60,000 light-years
across.
That actually makes the
Little
Sombrero about the same physical size as
its better known namesake, appearing smaller and fainter
only because it is farther away.
Very faint dwarf galaxies,
potentially satellites of NGC
7814, have been discovered in deep exposures of the Little Sombrero.
APOD: 2015 October 4 - The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared
Explanation:
This floating ring is the size of a galaxy.
In fact, it is a galaxy -- or at least part of one: the photogenic
Sombrero Galaxy,
one of the largest galaxies in the nearby
Virgo Cluster of Galaxies.
The dark band of
dust that obscures the mid-section of the
Sombrero Galaxy in optical light actually
glows brightly in infrared light.
The above image, digitally sharpened, shows the
infrared
glow, recently recorded by the orbiting
Spitzer Space Telescope, superposed in false-color on an
existing image taken by
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope
in optical light.
The Sombrero
Galaxy, also known as
M104, spans about 50,000 light years across and lies 28 million light years away.
M104
can be seen with a small telescope in the direction of the
constellation Virgo.
APOD: 2015 July 26 - The Sombrero Galaxy from Hubble
Explanation:
Why does the Sombrero Galaxy look like a hat?
Reasons include the
Sombrero's unusually large and extended central bulge of stars,
and dark prominent dust lanes
that appear in a disk that we see nearly
edge-on.
Billions of old stars
cause the diffuse glow of the extended central bulge.
Close inspection of the bulge in the
above
photograph shows many points of light that are actually
globular clusters.
M104's spectacular dust
rings harbor many younger
and brighter stars, and show intricate details astronomers
don't yet fully understand.
The very center of the
Sombrero glows across the
electromagnetic spectrum, and is thought to house a large
black hole.
Fifty million-year-old light from the
Sombrero Galaxy can be seen with a
small telescope towards the constellation of Virgo.
APOD: 2015 February 5 - M104: The Sombrero Galaxy
Explanation:
The striking spiral galaxy
M104 is famous
for its nearly edge-on
profile featuring a broad ring of obscuring dust lanes.
Seen in silhouette against an extensive bulge of stars, the swath of
cosmic dust lends a
broad brimmed hat-like
appearance to the galaxy suggesting
the more popular moniker, The Sombrero Galaxy.
Hubble Space Telescope
and ground-based Subaru data have been
reprocessed with amateur color image data to
create this sharp view of
the well-known galaxy.
The processing results in a natural color appearance
and preserves details often lost in overwhelming glare of M104's
bright central bulge when viewed with smaller ground-based
instruments.
Also known as NGC 4594, the Sombrero galaxy can be seen
across the spectrum
and is thought to host a central
supermassive
black hole.
About 50,000 light-years across and 28 million light-years away,
M104 is one of the largest galaxies at the southern edge of the
Virgo
Galaxy Cluster.
APOD: 2013 October 25 - NGC 7814: The Little Sombrero in Pegasus
Explanation:
Point your telescope toward the high flying
constellation
Pegasus
and you can find this
expanse of Milky Way stars and distant galaxies.
Centered on NGC 7814, the pretty
field of view
would almost
be covered by a full moon.
NGC 7814 is
sometimes called the Little Sombrero for its
resemblance to the brighter more famous M104,
the Sombrero Galaxy.
Both Sombrero and Little Sombrero are spiral galaxies
seen edge-on, and both have extensive central
bulges cut by a thinner disk with dust lanes in silhouette.
In fact, NGC 7814
is some 40 million light-years away and an
estimated 60,000 light-years across.
That actually makes the Little Sombrero about the same physical size as
its better known namesake, appearing to be smaller and fainter
only because it is farther away.
A very faint dwarf galaxy,
potentially a satellite of NGC 7814,
is revealed in the deep exposure just below the Little Sombrero.
APOD: 2013 July 15 - The Sombrero Galaxy from Hale
Explanation:
What's going on in the center of this spiral galaxy?
Named the Sombrero Galaxy for its hat-like resemblance,
M104
features a prominent dust lane and a bright halo of stars and globular
clusters.
Reasons for the
Sombrero's
hat-like appearance include an unusually large and extended central bulge of stars,
and dark prominent dust lanes
that appear in a disk that we see nearly
edge-on.
Billions of old stars
cause the diffuse glow of the extended central bulge
visible in the
above image from the
200-inch Hale
Telescope.
Close inspection of the
central bulge shows many points of light that are actually
globular clusters.
M104's spectacular
dust rings harbor many younger
and brighter stars, and show intricate details astronomers
don't yet fully understand.
The very center of the
Sombrero glows across the electromagnetic spectrum, and is thought to house a large
black hole.
Fifty million-year-old light from the
Sombrero Galaxy can be seen with a
small telescope towards the constellation of Virgo.
APOD: 2012 March 11 - The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared
APOD: 2011 May 15 - The Sombrero Galaxy from Hubble
APOD: 2008 March 8 - M104 Hubble Remix
APOD: 2007 May 5 - Sombrero Galaxy Across the Spectrum
APOD: 2007 January 21 - The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared
APOD: 2006 September 29- NGC 5905 and 5908
APOD: 2006 January 15 - The Sombrero Galaxy from HST
APOD: 2005 May 11 - The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared
APOD: 2003 October 8 - The Sombrero Galaxy from HST
APOD: 2001 October 21 - The Sombrero Galaxy from VLT
APOD: 2001 May 10 - Spirals On Edge
APOD: 2000 February 28 - The Sombrero Galaxy from VLT
APOD: August 15, 1999 - M104: The Sombrero Galaxy
APOD: February 23, 1998 - M104: The Sombrero Galaxy
APOD: February 8, 1997 - M104: The Sombrero Galaxy
APOD: November 9, 1995 - M104: The Sombrero Galaxy
Explanation:
This floating ring is the size of a galaxy.
In fact, it is part of the photogenic
Sombrero Galaxy,
one of the largest galaxies in the nearby
Virgo Cluster of Galaxies.
The dark band of
dust that obscures the mid-section of the
Sombrero Galaxy in optical light actually
glows brightly in infrared light.
The
Explanation:
What's going on in the center of this spiral galaxy?
Named the Sombrero Galaxy for its hat-like resemblance,
M104
features a prominent dust lane and a bright halo of stars and globular
clusters.
Reasons for the
Sombrero's
hat-like appearance include an unusually large and extended central bulge of stars,
and dark prominent dust lanes
that appear in a disk that we see nearly
edge-on.
Billions of old stars
cause the diffuse glow of the extended central bulge.
Close inspection of the bulge in the
above
photograph shows many points of light that are actually
globular clusters.
M104's spectacular
dust rings harbor many younger
and brighter stars, and show intricate details astronomers
don't yet fully understand.
The very center of the
Sombrero glows across the electromagnetic spectrum, and is thought to house a large
black hole.
Fifty million-year-old light from the
Sombrero Galaxy can be seen with a
small telescope towards the constellation of Virgo.
Explanation:
The striking spiral galaxy
M104 is famous
for its nearly edge-on
profile featuring a broad ring of obscuring dust.
Seen in silhouette against a bright bulge of stars, the swath of
cosmic dust lanes lends a hat-like
appearance to the galaxy in optical images suggesting
the more popular moniker,
The Sombrero
Galaxy.
Here, Hubble Space Telescope
archival image data
has been reprocessed to create this alternative look at the
well-known galaxy.
The newly developed
processing
improves the visibility
of details otherwise lost in overwhelming glare, in this case
allowing features of the galaxy's dust lanes to be followed
well into the bright central region.
About 50,000 light-years across and 28 million light-years away,
M104 is one of the largest galaxies at the southern edge of
the Virgo Galaxy Cluster.
Explanation:
Appropriately
famous for its broad ring of obscuring dust and
hat-like appearance, the Sombrero Galaxy (aka
spiral galaxy M104)
is featured in this
unique
composite view
that spans the
electromagnetic spectrum, from three major
space-based observatories.
Exploring the Sombrero's high-energy x-ray emission (blue), the
Chandra
contribution highlights the pervasive,
tenuous, hot gas that extends some 60,000 light-years from
the galaxy's center.
Hubble's optical
view (green) shows the more familiar emission from
the Sombrero's population of stars, seen from a nearly
edge-on
perspective and noticeably bulging at the galaxy's bright core.
The broad ring of dust that blocks light in other bands, glows in the
infrared contribution (red) from the
Spitzer Space Telescope.
The Sombrero Galaxy is about 28 million light-years away, near
the southern edge of the extensive
Virgo
cluster of galaxies.
Explanation:
This floating ring is the size of a galaxy.
In fact, it is part of the photogenic
Sombrero Galaxy,
one of the largest galaxies in the nearby
Virgo Cluster of Galaxies.
The dark band of
dust that obscures the mid-section of the
Sombrero Galaxy in optical light actually
glows brightly in infrared light.
The above image shows the
infrared
glow, recently recorded by the orbiting
Spitzer Space Telescope, superposed in false-color on an
existing image taken by
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope
in optical light.
The Sombrero
Galaxy, also known as M104, spans about 50,000 light years across and lies 28 million light years away.
M104 can be seen with a small telescope in the direction of the
constellation Virgo.
Explanation:
These two
beautiful galaxies, NGC 5905 (left) and
NGC 5908 lie about 140 million light-years distant in
the northern constellation
Draco.
Separated by about 500,000 light-years,
the pair are actually both
spiral
galaxies and nicely illustrate
the striking contrasts in appearance
possible when viewing spirals from different perspectives.
Seen face-on, NGC 5905 is clearly a
spiral galaxy with bright star clusters tracing arms
that wind outward from a prominent
central bar.
Oriented edge-on
to our view, the spiral nature of NGC 5908
is revealed by a bright nucleus and dark band
of obscuring dust characteristic of a spiral galaxy's disk.
In fact, NGC 5908 is similar in appearance to the well studied
edge-on spiral galaxy M104 -
The Sombrero Galaxy.
Explanation:
Why does the Sombrero Galaxy look like a hat?
Reasons include the
Sombrero's unusually large and extended central bulge of stars,
and dark prominent dust lanes
that appear in a disk that we see nearly
edge-on.
Billions of old stars
cause the diffuse glow of the extended central bulge.
Close inspection of the bulge in the
above
photograph shows many points of light that are actually
globular clusters.
M104's spectacular
dust rings harbor many younger
and brighter stars, and show intricate details astronomers
don't yet fully understand.
The very center of the
Sombrero glows across the electromagnetic spectrum, and is thought to house a large
black hole.
Fifty million-year-old light from the
Sombrero Galaxy can be seen with a
small telescope towards the constellation of Virgo.
Explanation:
This floating ring is the size of a galaxy.
In fact, it is part of the photogenic
Sombrero Galaxy,
one of the largest galaxies in the nearby
Virgo Cluster of Galaxies.
The dark band of
dust that obscures the mid-section of the
Sombrero Galaxy in optical light actually
glows brightly in infrared light.
The above image shows the
infrared
glow, recently recorded by the orbiting
Spitzer Space Telescope, superposed in false-color on an
existing image taken by
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope
in optical light.
The Sombrero
Galaxy, also known as M104, spans about 50,000 light years across and lies 28 million light years away.
M104 can be seen with a small telescope in the direction of the
constellation of Virgo.
Explanation:
Why does the Sombrero Galaxy look like a hat?
Reasons include the
Sombrero's unusually large and extended central bulge of stars,
and dark prominent dust lanes
that appear in a disk that we see nearly
edge-on.
Billions of old stars
cause the diffuse glow of the extended central bulge.
Close inspection of the bulge in the
above photograph shows many points of light that are actually
globular clusters.
M104's spectacular dust rings harbor many younger
and brighter stars, and show intricate details astronomers
don't yet fully understand.
The very center of the
Sombrero glows across the electromagnetic spectrum, and is thought to house a large
black hole.
Fifty million-year-old light from the
Sombrero Galaxy can be seen with a
small telescope towards the constellation of Virgo.
Explanation:
Why does the Sombrero Galaxy look like a
hat?
Reasons include the
Sombrero's unusually large and
extended central bulge of stars,
and dark prominent
dust lanes
that appear in a disk that we see nearly
edge-on.
Billions of
old stars
cause the diffuse glow of the extended
central bulge.
Close inspection of the bulge in the above photograph shows many points of light that are actually
globular clusters.
M104's spectacular dust rings harbor many younger and brighter stars,
and show intricate details astronomers
don't yet fully understand.
The very center of the
Sombrero glows across the electromagnetic spectrum, and is thought to house a large
black hole.
Fifty million-year-old light from the
Sombrero Galaxy can be seen with a
small telescope towards the constellation of Virgo.
Explanation:
Spiral galaxies viewed face-on display a
grand design, with
graceful spiral arms traced by bright star clusters and
glowing stellar nurseries.
When seen edge-on, their appearance is very different but no less striking
as their central regions bulge and dark cosmic
dust lanes appear silhouetted against starlight from flattened galactic disks.
This masterful mosaic of
digital images
shows nine prominent edge-on
spirals arranged as follows:
top;
NGC2683,
M104,
NGC4565,
middle;
NGC891,
NGC4631,
NGC3628, and
bottom;
NGC5746,
NGC5907, and
NGC4217.
Perhaps the best known of these is
M104 (NGC4594)
whose
more descriptive moniker is the Sombrero Galaxy.
Notably, the edge-on perspective of these galaxies
allows
a measurement of their
galactic rotation speed using the
Doppler
effect.
Plotting rotation
speed versus distance from the
center determines a galaxy's gravitational mass and
historically led to premier evidence
for mysterious Dark Matter.
Explanation:
Why does the Sombrero Galaxy look like a
hat?
Reasons include the
Sombrero's unusually large and
extended central bulge of stars,
and dark prominent
dust lanes
that appear in a disk that we see nearly edge-on.
Billions of old stars cause the diffuse glow of the extended
central bulge.
Close inspection of the bulge in the above photograph shows many points of light that are actually
globular clusters.
M104's spectacular dust rings harbor many younger and brighter stars,
and show intricate details astronomers
don't yet fully understand.
The very center of the
Sombrero glows across the electromagnetic spectrum, and is thought to house a large
black hole.
Fifty million-year-old light from the
Sombrero Galaxy can be seen with a
small telescope towards the constellation of Virgo.
Explanation:
What's going on in the center of this spiral galaxy? Named the Sombrero Galaxy for its hat-like resemblance,
M104 features a prominent
dust
lane and a bright halo of stars and
globular clusters.
Something truly energetic is going on in the
Sombrero's center, as it not only appears bright in visible light,
but glows prodigiously in
X-ray
light as well. This X-ray emission coupled with unusually
high central stellar speeds
cause many astronomers to speculate that a
black hole lies at the Sombrero's center - a black hole possibly a billion
times the mass of our Sun.
Explanation:
What's going on in the center of this spiral galaxy? Named the Sombrero Galaxy for its hat-like resemblance,
M104 features a prominent
dust
lane and a bright halo of stars and
globular clusters.
Something truly energetic is going on in the
Sombrero's center, as it not only appears bright in visible light,
but glows prodigiously in
X-ray
light as well. This X-ray emission coupled with unusually
high central stellar speeds
cause many astronomers to speculate that a
black hole lies at the Sombrero's center - a black hole possibly a billion
times the mass of our Sun.
Explanation: The famous Sombrero galaxy (M104) is a bright
nearby spiral galaxy. The prominent
dust lane and halo of stars and globular clusters
give this galaxy its name. Something very energetic is going on
in the Sombrero's
center, as much X-ray light
has been detected from it. This X-ray
emission coupled with unusually high central stellar velocities
cause many astronomers to speculate that a black hole
lies at the Sombrero's center
- a black hole
a billion times the mass of our Sun.
Explanation:
The famous Sombrero galaxy (M104) is a bright nearby
spiral galaxy. The
prominent
dust lane and halo of
stars and
globular clusters give this
galaxy its name. Something
very energetic is going on in the Sombrero's center, as much
X-ray
light has been detected from it. This X-ray emission
coupled with unusually high central stellar velocities cause many
astronomers to speculate that a
black hole
lies at the Sombrero's center - a
black hole a billion times the mass of our
Sun. This image was taken
in blue light by the 0.9 meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory.
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