Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Virgo (Vir)  ·  Contains:  M 104  ·  NGC 4594  ·  Sombrero Galaxy
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The Sombrero Galaxy - M104, Russell Cockman
The Sombrero Galaxy - M104
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The Sombrero Galaxy - M104

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
The Sombrero Galaxy - M104, Russell Cockman
The Sombrero Galaxy - M104
Powered byPixInsight

The Sombrero Galaxy - M104

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Description

Two productive nights at the Astronomical Society of Victoria's dark sky site out of Heathcote. Skies were clear and still and the Milky Way was fabulous after midnight. I've imaged The Sombrero in the past, but I've gained much experience since then. I'm pleased I decided to image it again! The equipment performed very well under the cold, still skies and I am delighted to see the details resolved in the dust lane and hints of structures on the disk in this close-up view.
The Sombrero Galaxy (M104, NGC 4594) is a sizable galaxy about 30 million light years away and located in an attractive field of colourful (Milky Way) stars. Seen close to edge on, its structured dust lane, very bright core and large halo of unresolved reddish-yellow stars are key features. The core is believed to contain a supermassive black hole having a mass of about 1 billion solar masses.

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The Sombrero Galaxy - M104, Russell Cockman