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Collection:
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NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Collection
Collection
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Collection
Collection
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Name of Image:
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Hubble Reveals Sombrero Galaxy (M104)
Name_of_Image
Hubble Reveals Sombrero Galaxy (M104)
Name of Image
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Full Description:
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In the 19th century, astronomer V. M. Slipher first discovered a hat-like object that appeared to be rushing away from us at 700 miles per second. This enormous velocity offered some of the earliest clues that it was really another galaxy, and that the universe was expanding in all directions. The trained razor sharp eye of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) easily resolves this Sombrero galaxy, Messier 104 (M104). The galaxy is 50,000 light-years across and is located 28 million light-years from Earth at the southern edge of the rich Virgo cluster of galaxies. Equivalent to 800 billion suns, Sombrero is one of the most massive objects in that group. The hallmark of Sombrero is a brilliant white, bulbous core encircled by the thick dust lanes comprising the spiral structure of the galaxy. As seen from Earth, the galaxy is tilted nearly edge-on. We view it from just six degrees north of its equatorial plane. At a relatively bright magnitude of 8, M104 is just beyond the limit of naked-eye visibility and is easily seen through small telescopes. This rich system of globular clusters are estimated to be nearly 2,000 in number which is 10 times as many as in 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. The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) had responsibility for design, development, and construction of the HST.
Full_Description
In the 19th century, astronomer V. M. Slipher first discovered a hat-like object that appeared to be rushing away from us at 700 miles per second. This enormous velocity offered some of the earliest clues that it was really another galaxy, and that the universe was expanding in all directions. The trained razor sharp eye of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) easily resolves this Sombrero galaxy, Messier 104 (M104). The galaxy is 50,000 light-years across and is located 28 million light-years from Earth at the southern edge of the rich Virgo cluster of galaxies. Equivalent to 800 billion suns, Sombrero is one of the most massive objects in that group. The hallmark of Sombrero is a brilliant white, bulbous core encircled by the thick dust lanes comprising the spiral structure of the galaxy. As seen from Earth, the galaxy is tilted nearly edge-on. We view it from just six degrees north of its equatorial plane. At a relatively bright magnitude of 8, M104 is just beyond the limit of naked-eye visibility and is easily seen through small telescopes. This rich system of globular clusters are estimated to be nearly 2,000 in number which is 10 times as many as in 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. The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) had responsibility for design, development, and construction of the HST.
Full Description
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Date of Image:
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2006-06-09
Date_of_Image
2006-06-09
Date of Image
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Category:
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History of Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
Category
History of Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
Category
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term:
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Hubble Space Telescope
Keywords
Hubble Space Telescope
term
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term:
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HST
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term:
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Sombrero Galaxy
Keywords
Sombrero Galaxy
term
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term:
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Messier 104
Keywords
Messier 104
term
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facet_what:
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Earth
facet_what
Earth
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Virgo
facet_what
Virgo
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
facet_what
Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
facet_what
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facet_where:
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Milky Way Galaxy
facet_where
Milky Way Galaxy
facet_where
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facet_where:
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M104
facet_where
M104
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Sombrero Galaxy
facet_where
Sombrero Galaxy
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)
facet_where
Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)
facet_where
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facet_when:
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19th century
facet_when
19th century
facet_when
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Reference Number:
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MSFC-75-SA-4105-2C
Reference_Number
MSFC-75-SA-4105-2C
Reference Number
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MIX #:
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0700065
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NIX #:
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MSFC-0700065
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MSFC Negative Number:
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0700065
MSFC_Negative_Number
0700065
MSFC Negative Number
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UID:
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SPD-MARSH-0700065
UID
SPD-MARSH-0700065
UID
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original url:
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original_url
original url
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