Sombrero Galaxy

Spiral galaxy, M104

From the Sun

31.1 million light-years

Picture: ESO/P. Barthel Acknowledgments: Mark Neeser (Kapteyn Institute, Groningen) and Richard Hook (ST/ECF, Garching, Germany).

What it is

Seen almost edge-on, with a bright bulge and a ring of dust; its black hole weighs about a billion Suns.

The picture hangs at that distance facing Earth, as large as it is on the sky; how deep the object is cannot be seen, so it is flat.

The picture

Taken by: European Southern Observatory
Picture spans: about 61,000 ly
From the Sun: 31.1 million light-years
RA / Dec: 190.00° / -11.62°
Credit: ESO/P. Barthel Acknowledgments: Mark Neeser (Kapteyn Institute, Groningen) and Richard Hook (ST/ECF, Garching, Germany).

Sombrero Galaxy

The Sombrero Galaxy is a peculiar galaxy of unclear classification in the constellation borders of Virgo and Corvus, being about 9.55 megaparsecs from the Milky Way galaxy. It is a member of the Virgo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the southern edge of the Virgo Supercluster.

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