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APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
M104: The Sombrero Galaxy
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.
| Date | November 9, 1995 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit: T. Boroson (NOAO /USGP), W. Keel (UA), KPNO |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |