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A More Spectacular Sombrero
…
| Title |
A More Spectacular Sombrero (Widescreen Version) |
| Description |
This movie shifts from the well-known visible-light picture of Messier 104 taken by the Hubble Space Telescope to infrared views from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Messier 104 is commonly known as the Sombrero galaxy because in visible light, it resembles the broad-brimmed Mexican hat. However, in Spitzer's striking infrared view, the galaxy looks more like a "bull's eye." Viewed from Earth, the spiral galaxy is seen nearly edge-on, just six degrees away from its equatorial plane. 50,000 light-years across, the Sombrero galaxy is considered one of the most massive objects at the southern edge of the Virgo cluster of galaxies. It is located 28 million light-years away, hosts a rich system of nearly 2,000 globular clusters and may harbor a super-massive black hole. In Hubble's visible light image, only the near rim of dust can be clearly seen in silhouette. Recent observations using Spitzer's infrared array camera uncovered the bright, smooth ring of dust circling the galaxy, seen in red. Spitzer's infrared view of the starlight, pierced through the obscuring dust, is easily seen, along with the bulge of stars and an otherwise hidden disk of stars within the dust ring. Spitzer's full view shows the disk is warped, which is often the result of a gravitational encounter with another galaxy, and clumpy areas spotted in the far edges of the ring indicate young star-forming regions. The Sombrero galaxy is located some 28 million light-years away. Viewed from Earth, it is just six degrees south of its equatorial plane. Spitzer detected infrared emission not only from the ring, but from the center of the galaxy too, where there is a huge black hole, believed to be a billion times more massive than our Sun. The Spitzer picture is composed of four images taken at 3.6 (blue), 4.5 (green), 5.8 (orange), and 8.0 (red) microns. The contribution from starlight (measured at 3.6 microns) has been subtracted from the 5.8 and 8-micron images to enhance the visibility of the dust features. 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. This magnificent galaxy has a diameter that is nearly one-fifth the diameter of the full Moon. |
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Spitzer Spies Spectacular So
…
| Title |
Spitzer Spies Spectacular Sombrero |
| Description |
NASA's Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes joined forces to create this striking composite image of one of the most popular sights in the universe. Messier 104 is commonly known as the Sombrero galaxy because in visible light, it resembles the broad-brimmed Mexican hat. However, in Spitzer's striking infrared view, the galaxy looks more like a "bull's eye." In Hubble's visible light image (lower left panel), only the near rim of dust can be clearly seen in silhouette. Recent observations using Spitzer's infrared array camera (lower right panel) uncovered the bright, smooth ring of dust circling the galaxy, seen in red. Spitzer's infrared view of the starlight, piercing through the obscuring dust, is easily seen, along with the bulge of stars and an otherwise hidden disk of stars within the dust ring. Spitzer's full view shows the disk is warped, which is often the result of a gravitational encounter with another galaxy, and clumpy areas spotted in the far edges of the ring indicate young star-forming regions. The Sombrero galaxy is located some 28 million light-years away. Viewed from Earth, it is just six degrees south of its equatorial plane. Spitzer detected infrared emission not only from the ring, but from the center of the galaxy too, where there is a huge black hole, believed to be a billion times more massive than our Sun. The Spitzer picture is composed of four images taken at 3.6 (blue), 4.5 (green), 5.8 (orange), and 8.0 (red) microns. The contribution from starlight (measured at 3.6 microns) has been subtracted from the 5.8 and 8-micron images to enhance the visibility of the dust features. 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. This magnificent galaxy has a diameter that is nearly one-fifth the diameter of the full Moon. |
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Spitzer Spies Spectacular So
…
| Title |
Spitzer Spies Spectacular Sombrero |
| Description |
NASA's Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes joined forces to create this striking composite image of one of the most popular sights in the universe. Messier 104 is commonly known as the Sombrero galaxy because in visible light, it resembles the broad-brimmed Mexican hat. However, in Spitzer's striking infrared view, the galaxy looks more like a "bull's eye." In Hubble's visible light image (lower left panel), only the near rim of dust can be clearly seen in silhouette. Recent observations using Spitzer's infrared array camera (lower right panel) uncovered the bright, smooth ring of dust circling the galaxy, seen in red. Spitzer's infrared view of the starlight, piercing through the obscuring dust, is easily seen, along with the bulge of stars and an otherwise hidden disk of stars within the dust ring. Spitzer's full view shows the disk is warped, which is often the result of a gravitational encounter with another galaxy, and clumpy areas spotted in the far edges of the ring indicate young star-forming regions. The Sombrero galaxy is located some 28 million light-years away. Viewed from Earth, it is just six degrees south of its equatorial plane. Spitzer detected infrared emission not only from the ring, but from the center of the galaxy too, where there is a huge black hole, believed to be a billion times more massive than our Sun. The Spitzer picture is composed of four images taken at 3.6 (blue), 4.5 (green), 5.8 (orange), and 8.0 (red) microns. The contribution from starlight (measured at 3.6 microns) has been subtracted from the 5.8 and 8-micron images to enhance the visibility of the dust features. 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. This magnificent galaxy has a diameter that is nearly one-fifth the diameter of the full Moon. |
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Spitzer Spies Spectacular So
…
| Title |
Spitzer Spies Spectacular Sombrero |
| Description |
NASA's Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes joined forces to create this striking composite image of one of the most popular sights in the universe. Messier 104 is commonly known as the Sombrero galaxy because in visible light, it resembles the broad-brimmed Mexican hat. However, in Spitzer's striking infrared view, the galaxy looks more like a "bull's eye." In Hubble's visible light image (lower left panel), only the near rim of dust can be clearly seen in silhouette. Recent observations using Spitzer's infrared array camera (lower right panel) uncovered the bright, smooth ring of dust circling the galaxy, seen in red. Spitzer's infrared view of the starlight, piercing through the obscuring dust, is easily seen, along with the bulge of stars and an otherwise hidden disk of stars within the dust ring. Spitzer's full view shows the disk is warped, which is often the result of a gravitational encounter with another galaxy, and clumpy areas spotted in the far edges of the ring indicate young star-forming regions. The Sombrero galaxy is located some 28 million light-years away. Viewed from Earth, it is just six degrees south of its equatorial plane. Spitzer detected infrared emission not only from the ring, but from the center of the galaxy too, where there is a huge black hole, believed to be a billion times more massive than our Sun. The Spitzer picture is composed of four images taken at 3.6 (blue), 4.5 (green), 5.8 (orange), and 8.0 (red) microns. The contribution from starlight (measured at 3.6 microns) has been subtracted from the 5.8 and 8-micron images to enhance the visibility of the dust features. 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. This magnificent galaxy has a diameter that is nearly one-fifth the diameter of the full Moon. |
|
Spitzer Spies Spectacular So
…
| Title |
Spitzer Spies Spectacular Sombrero |
| Description |
NASA's Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes joined forces to create this striking composite image of one of the most popular sights in the universe. Messier 104 is commonly known as the Sombrero galaxy because in visible light, it resembles the broad-brimmed Mexican hat. However, in Spitzer's striking infrared view, the galaxy looks more like a "bull's eye." In Hubble's visible light image (lower left panel), only the near rim of dust can be clearly seen in silhouette. Recent observations using Spitzer's infrared array camera (lower right panel) uncovered the bright, smooth ring of dust circling the galaxy, seen in red. Spitzer's infrared view of the starlight, piercing through the obscuring dust, is easily seen, along with the bulge of stars and an otherwise hidden disk of stars within the dust ring. Spitzer's full view shows the disk is warped, which is often the result of a gravitational encounter with another galaxy, and clumpy areas spotted in the far edges of the ring indicate young star-forming regions. The Sombrero galaxy is located some 28 million light-years away. Viewed from Earth, it is just six degrees south of its equatorial plane. Spitzer detected infrared emission not only from the ring, but from the center of the galaxy too, where there is a huge black hole, believed to be a billion times more massive than our Sun. The Spitzer picture is composed of four images taken at 3.6 (blue), 4.5 (green), 5.8 (orange), and 8.0 (red) microns. The contribution from starlight (measured at 3.6 microns) has been subtracted from the 5.8 and 8-micron images to enhance the visibility of the dust features. 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. This magnificent galaxy has a diameter that is nearly one-fifth the diameter of the full Moon. |
|
A More Spectacular Sombrero
| Title |
A More Spectacular Sombrero |
| Description |
This movie shifts from the well-known visible-light picture of Messier 104 taken by the Hubble Space Telescope to infrared views from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Messier 104 is commonly known as the Sombrero galaxy because in visible light, it resembles the broad-brimmed Mexican hat. However, in Spitzer's striking infrared view, the galaxy looks more like a "bull's eye." Viewed from Earth, the spiral galaxy is seen nearly edge-on, just six degrees away from its equatorial plane. 50,000 light-years across, the Sombrero galaxy is considered one of the most massive objects at the southern edge of the Virgo cluster of galaxies. It is located 28 million light-years away, hosts a rich system of nearly 2,000 globular clusters and may harbor a super-massive black hole. In Hubble's visible light image, only the near rim of dust can be clearly seen in silhouette. Recent observations using Spitzer's infrared array camera uncovered the bright, smooth ring of dust circling the galaxy, seen in red. Spitzer's infrared view of the starlight, pierced through the obscuring dust, is easily seen, along with the bulge of stars and an otherwise hidden disk of stars within the dust ring. Spitzer's full view shows the disk is warped, which is often the result of a gravitational encounter with another galaxy, and clumpy areas spotted in the far edges of the ring indicate young star-forming regions. The Sombrero galaxy is located some 28 million light-years away. Viewed from Earth, it is just six degrees south of its equatorial plane. Spitzer detected infrared emission not only from the ring, but from the center of the galaxy too, where there is a huge black hole, believed to be a billion times more massive than our Sun. The Spitzer picture is composed of four images taken at 3.6 (blue), 4.5 (green), 5.8 (orange), and 8.0 (red) microns. The contribution from starlight (measured at 3.6 microns) has been subtracted from the 5.8 and 8-micron images to enhance the visibility of the dust features. 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. This magnificent galaxy has a diameter that is nearly one-fifth the diameter of the full Moon. |
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Sombrero Galaxy: A Great Obs
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| Name |
Sombrero Galaxy: A Great Observatories View |
| Category |
Normal Galaxies & Starburst Galaxies |
| Release Date |
April 30, 2007 |
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Heritage Project Celebrates
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| Title |
Heritage Project Celebrates Five Years of Harvesting the Best Images from Hubble Space Telescope |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ] |
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Heritage Project Celebrates
…
| Title |
Heritage Project Celebrates Five Years of Harvesting the Best Images from Hubble Space Telescope |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ] |
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The Sombrero Galaxy in Infra
…
| Title |
The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared |
| Explanation |
This floating ring is the size of a galaxy. In fact, it is part of the photogenic Sombrero Galaxy [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m104.html ], one of the largest galaxies in the nearby Virgo Cluster of Galaxies [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050213.html ]. The dark band of dust [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030706.html ] that obscures the mid-section of the Sombrero Galaxy [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sombrero_galaxy ] in optical light actually glows brightly in infrared light. The above image [ http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/releases/ssc2005-11/release.shtml ] shows the infrared [ http://imagers.gsfc.nasa.gov/ems/infrared.html ] glow, recently recorded by the orbiting Spitzer Space Telescope [ http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/about/index.shtml ], superposed in false-color on an existing [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap031008.html ] image taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021124.html ] in optical light. The Sombrero [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sombrero ] Galaxy, also known as M104, spans about 50,000 light years [ http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question19.html ] across and lies 28 million light years away. M104 can be seen with a small telescope in the direction of the constellation Virgo [ http://www.seds.org/Maps/Stars_en/Fig/ virgo.html ]. |
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The Sombrero Galaxy from VLT
| Title |
The Sombrero Galaxy from VLT |
| Explanation |
Why does the Sombrero Galaxy look like a hat? Reasons include the Sombrero [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m104.html ]'s unusually large and extended central bulge of stars, and dark prominent dust [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990509.html ] lanes that appear in a disk that we see nearly edge-on [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981220.html ]. Billions of old stars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991103.html ] cause the diffuse glow of the extended central bulge. Close inspection of the bulge in the above photograph [ http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-2000/phot-07-00.html ] shows many points of light that are actually globular clusters [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/globular_clusters.html ]. M104's spectacular dust rings harbor many younger and brighter stars, and show intricate details astronomers don't yet fully understand [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1995A%26A...303..673E ]. The very center of the Sombrero [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951109.html ] glows across the electromagnetic spectrum [ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/emspectrum.html ], and is thought to house a large black hole [ http://image.gsfc.nasa.gov/poetry/ask/abholes.html ]. Fifty million-year-old light from the Sombrero Galaxy [ http://www.hawastsoc.org/messier/fslide121.html ] can be seen with a small telescope [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap011014.html ] towards the constellation [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/extra/constellations.html ] of Virgo [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Virgo.html ]. |
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The Sombrero Galaxy from HST
| Title |
The Sombrero Galaxy from HST |
| Explanation |
Why does the Sombrero Galaxy look like a hat? Reasons include the Sombrero [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m104.html ]'s unusually large and extended central bulge of stars, and dark prominent dust [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030706.html ] lanes that appear in a disk that we see nearly edge-on [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020703.html ]. Billions of old stars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991103.html ] cause the diffuse glow of the extended central bulge. Close inspection of the bulge in the above photograph [ http://heritage.stsci.edu/2003/28/caption.html ] shows many points of light that are actually globular clusters [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/globular_clusters.html ]. M104 [ http://www.eso.org/outreach/eduoff/catchastar/CAS2002/cas-projects/uk_m104_1/ ]'s spectacular dust rings harbor many younger and brighter stars, and show intricate details astronomers don't yet fully understand [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1995A%26A...303..673E ]. The very center of the Sombrero [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap011021.html ] glows across the electromagnetic spectrum [ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/emspectrum.html ], and is thought to house a large black hole [ http://image.gsfc.nasa.gov/poetry/ask/abholes.html ]. Fifty million-year-old light from the Sombrero Galaxy [ http://www.hawastsoc.org/messier/fslide121.html ] can be seen with a small telescope [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap011014.html ] towards the constellation [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/extra/constellations.html ] of Virgo [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Virgo.html ]. |
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The Sombrero Galaxy in Infra
…
| Title |
The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared |
| Explanation |
This floating ring is the size of a galaxy. In fact, it is part of the photogenic Sombrero Galaxy [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m104.html ], one of the largest galaxies in the nearby Virgo Cluster of Galaxies [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050213.html ]. The dark band of dust [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030706.html ] that obscures the mid-section of the Sombrero Galaxy [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sombrero_galaxy ] in optical light actually glows brightly in infrared light. The above image [ http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/releases/ssc2005-11/release.shtml ] shows the infrared [ http://imagers.gsfc.nasa.gov/ems/infrared.html ] glow, recently recorded by the orbiting Spitzer Space Telescope [ http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/about/index.shtml ], superposed in false-color on an existing [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap031008.html ] image taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021124.html ] in optical light. The Sombrero [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sombrero ] Galaxy, also known as M104, spans about 50,000 light years [ http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question19.html ] across and lies 28 million light years away. M104 can be seen with a small telescope in the direction of the constellation [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constellations ] of Virgo [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Virgo.html ]. |
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The Sombrero Galaxy from HST
| Title |
The Sombrero Galaxy from HST |
| Explanation |
Why does the Sombrero Galaxy look like a hat? Reasons include the Sombrero [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m104.html ]'s unusually large and extended central bulge of stars, and dark prominent dust [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030706.html ] lanes that appear in a disk that we see nearly edge-on [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020703.html ]. Billions of old stars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991103.html ] cause the diffuse glow of the extended central bulge. Close inspection of the bulge in the above [ http://heritage.stsci.edu/2003/28/caption.html ] photograph [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/2003/28/image/a ] shows many points of light that are actually globular clusters [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/globular_clusters.html ]. M104 [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M104 ]'s spectacular dust ring [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050511.html ]s harbor many younger and brighter stars, and show intricate details astronomers don't yet fully understand [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1995A%26A...303..673E ]. The very center of the Sombrero [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sombrero ] glows across the electromagnetic spectrum [ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/emspectrum.html ], and is thought to house a large black hole [ http://www.astronomycafe.net/qadir/abholes.html ]. Fifty million-year-old light from the Sombrero Galaxy [ http://www.hawastsoc.org/messier/fslide121.html ] can be seen with a small telescope [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap011014.html ] towards the constellation [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/extra/constellations.html ] of Virgo [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Virgo.html ]. |
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