Sombrero Galaxy M104 Hubble JPL NASA space telescope photo hs-2003-28-a


Sombrero Galaxy M104 Hubble JPL NASA space telescope photo hs-2003-28-a

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Sombrero Galaxy M104 Hubble JPL NASA space telescope photo hs-2003-28-a:
$11.50


This is a fantastic image directly from NASA’s archives and shows the wonders of the universe. Note that some of the NASA spaces images have some slight blurring due to the subject, this is natural.You have your choice of size and finish for the photo. The size you choose may require cropping and the finished image may appear slightly different than the one shown. If preferred a black border can be added above/below or left/right to allow all of the original image to print.Unless requested when placing your order, your image may be cropped. If you would like to see how a specific image will look for the size you have chosen, please contact us and indicate the size you are interested in.
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Sombrero Galaxy, Messier 104
This is a spiral galaxy seen nearly edge-on. We view it from just six degrees north of its equatorial plane. The dark band across the center is the result of material in the flat disk of the galaxy obscuring the light of stars and gas behind it. The glowing bulge holds a population of stars largely different from those in the flat disk. Look close to see numerous globular clusters, which appear as slightly fuzzy stars, each of which is itself composed of many hundreds of thousands of stars. This brilliant galaxy was named the Sombrero because of its resemblance to the broad rim and high-topped Mexican hat.At a relatively bright magnitude of +8, M104 is just beyond the limit of naked-eye visibility and is easily seen through small telescopes. The Sombrero lies at the southern edge of the rich Virgo cluster of galaxies and is one of the most massive objects in that group, equivalent to 800 billion suns. The galaxy is 50,000 light-years across and is located 28 million light-years from Earth.Hubble easily resolves M104\'s rich system of globular clusters, estimated to be nearly 2,000 in number — 10 times as many as orbit our Milky Way galaxy. The ages of the clusters are similar to the clusters in the Milky Way, ranging from 10-13 billion years old. Embedded in the bright core of M104 is a smaller disk, which is tilted relative to the large disk. X-ray emission suggests that there is material falling into the compact core, where a 1-billion-solar-mass black hole resides.In the 19th century, some astronomers speculated that M104 was simply an edge-on disk of luminous gas surrounding a young star, which is prototypical of the genesis of our solar system. But in 1912, astronomer V. M. Slipher discovered that the hat-like object appeared to be rushing away from us at 700 miles per second. This enormous velocity offered some of the earliest clues that the Sombrero was really another galaxy, and that the universe was expanding in all directions.The Hubble Heritage Team took these observations in May-June 2003 with the space telescope\'s Advanced Camera for Surveys. Images were taken in three filters (red, green, and blue) to yield a natural-color image. The team took six pictures of the galaxy and then stitched them together to create the final composite image. One of the largest Hubble mosaics ever assembled, this magnificent galaxy has an apparent diameter that is nearly one-fifth the diameter of the full moon.Object Names: Sombrero Galaxy, M104, NGC 4594Image Type: AstronomicalObject Description: Edge-on Spiral GalaxyPosition (J2000): R.A. 12h 39m 59s.43Dec. -11° 37\' 23\".0Constellation: VirgoDistance: 28 million light-years (9 megaparsecs)Dimensions: This image is roughly 10 arcminutes (82,000 light-years or 25,000 parsecs) wide.Data Description: This image was created from data from HST program 9714: K. Noll, H. Bond, C. Christian, L. Frattare, F. Hamilton, Z. Levay, and T. Royle (STScI).Instrument: ACS/WFCExposure Date(s): May - June 2003Exposure Time: 10.2 hoursFilters: F435W(B), F555W(V), F625W(r)Image Credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)Release Date: October 2, 2003

Sombrero Galaxy M104 Hubble JPL NASA space telescope photo hs-2003-28-a:
$11.50

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