Sombrero galaxy image reveals hat-shaped appearance in detail
Updated
Updated · Space.com · Apr 29
Sombrero galaxy image reveals hat-shaped appearance in detail
10 articles · Updated · Space.com · Apr 29
The new view of Messier 104, about 28 million light-years away in Virgo, was captured with the Dark Energy Camera on the Victor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope in Chile.
Too dim for the naked eye at magnitude +8, the spiral galaxy can be seen with binoculars or a small telescope, making its broad, flat profile a popular target for skywatchers.
The galaxy contains nearly 2,000 globular star clusters, roughly 10 times the Milky Way's count, and its nickname reflects the human habit of seeing familiar shapes in the cosmos.
Its past was violent, so why does the Sombrero galaxy look so perfectly symmetrical today?
What secrets does the Sombrero's vast new halo hide about its true identity and history?