The Sombrero Galaxy, SkipRapp

The Sombrero Galaxy

The Sombrero Galaxy, SkipRapp

The Sombrero Galaxy

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Description

The Sombrero Galaxy is an unbarred spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo located 28 million light years from Earth. It has a bright nucleus, an usually central bulge, and a prominent dust lane in its inclined disk. The dark lane and the bulge give this galaxy the appearance of a sombrero. Astronomers initially thought that the halo was small and light, indicative of a spiral galaxy. It was found that halo around the Sombrero Galaxy is larger and more massive than previoussly thought, indicative of a gaint elliptical galaxy. The galaxy has an apparent magnitude of +9.0, making it easily visible with amateur telescopes. It was discovered by Pierre Mechain in May of 1781.

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The Sombrero Galaxy, SkipRapp