Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]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.

                                2022 April 23
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                                 Messier 104
          Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]ESA, [5]Hubble Legacy Archive;
               Processing & Copyright: [6]Ignacio Diaz Bobillo

   Explanation: A gorgeous spiral galaxy, [7]Messier 104 is famous for its
   nearly [8]edge-on profile featuring a broad ring of obscuring dust
   lanes. Seen in silhouette against an extensive central bulge of stars,
   the swath of [9]cosmic dust lends a broad brimmed hat-like appearance
   to the galaxy suggesting a more popular moniker, the Sombrero Galaxy.
   [10]This sharp view of the well-known galaxy was made from over 10
   hours of [11]Hubble Space Telescope image data, processed to bring out
   faint details often lost in the overwhelming glare of M104's bright
   central bulge. Also known as NGC 4594, the Sombrero galaxy can be seen
   [12]across the spectrum, and [13]is host to a central supermassive
   black hole. About 50,000 light-years across and 28 million light-years
   away, [14]M104 is one of the largest galaxies at the southern edge of
   the Virgo Galaxy Cluster. Still, the spiky foreground stars in this
   field of view lie well within our own Milky Way.

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    Authors & editors: [26]Robert Nemiroff ([27]MTU) & [28]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([29]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [30]Specific rights apply.
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                A service of: [32]ASD at [33]NASA / [34]GSFC
                           & [35]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2204/M104_HST_final2_4096.jpg
   3. https://www.nasa.gov/
   4. https://www.esa.int/
   5. https://hla.stsci.edu/
   6. http://www.pampaskies.com/gallery3/index.php
   7. http://messier.seds.org/m/m104.html
   8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010510.html
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190101.html
  10. http://www.pampaskies.com/gallery3/Deep-Space-Objects/M104_HST_final_small
  11. https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/happy-32nd-birthday-to-hubble
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070505.html
  13. https://arxiv.org/abs/1107.1238
  14. https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/30855
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220422.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  19. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  24. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=220423
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220424.html
  26. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  27. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  29. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  31. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  32. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  33. https://www.nasa.gov/
  34. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  35. http://www.mtu.edu/