Wednesday, Jun 12, 2024

M104 - Peculiar Galaxy The galaxy Messier104, also known as Sombrero, is a peculiar galaxy of unclear classification, on the borders of the constellation Virgo and Raven. It has a bright core, an unusually large central bulge, and a prominent dust band on its outer disk, which is seen almost from the edge. The dark dust band and protrusion give it the appearance of a sombrero hat (hence the name). Astronomers initially thought the halo was small and faint, indicative of a spiral galaxy; but the Spitzer Space Telescope found that the dust ring was larger and more massive than previously thought, indicative of a giant elliptical galaxy. This image is composed of observations made in visible light using an 8" Ritchey Chrétien Telescope and ASI294MCPRO camera with an L-Quad Optolong filter on a CEM25P mount in the backyard. There were 250 frames of 180sec each. Total of 12.5hs