File:The Majestic Sombrero Galaxy (M104).jpg
From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Size of this preview: 800 × 320 pixels. Other resolutions: 320 × 128 pixels | 640 × 256 pixels | 1,024 × 410 pixels | 1,280 × 512 pixels | 2,560 × 1,024 pixels.
Original file (2,560 × 1,024 pixels, file size: 597 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)
File information
Structured data
Captions
Summary
[edit]DescriptionThe Majestic Sombrero Galaxy (M104).jpg |
English: NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has trained its razor-sharp eye on one of the universe's most stately and photogenic galaxies, the Sombrero galaxy, Messier 104 (M104). The galaxy's hallmark 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. 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. |
Date | |
Source | http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?Category=Planets&IM_ID=9967 |
Author | NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) |
Licensing
[edit]Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse |
This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.) | ||
Warnings:
|
File history
Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.
Date/Time | Thumbnail | Dimensions | User | Comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
current | 17:55, 30 January 2013 | 2,560 × 1,024 (597 KB) | Stas1995 (talk | contribs) | User created page with UploadWizard |
You cannot overwrite this file.
File usage on Commons
There are no pages that use this file.
Hidden category: