03-11-2012, 12:07 AM
The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared
This floating ring is the
size of a galaxy. In fact, it is part of the photogenic Sombrero
Galaxy, one of the largest galaxies in the nearby Virgo
Cluster of
Galaxies. The dark band of dust that obscures the mid-section of the
Sombrero Galaxy in optical light actually glows brightly in
infrared
light. The above image, digitally sharpened, shows the infrared glow,
recently recorded by the orbiting Spitzer Space Telescope,
superposed
in false-color on an existing image taken by NASA's Hubble Space
Telescope in optical light. The Sombrero Galaxy, also known as
M104,
spans about 50,000 light years across and lies 28 million light years
away. M104 can be seen with a small telescope in the direction of
the constellation Virgo.
This floating ring is the
size of a galaxy. In fact, it is part of the photogenic Sombrero
Galaxy, one of the largest galaxies in the nearby Virgo
Cluster of
Galaxies. The dark band of dust that obscures the mid-section of the
Sombrero Galaxy in optical light actually glows brightly in
infrared
light. The above image, digitally sharpened, shows the infrared glow,
recently recorded by the orbiting Spitzer Space Telescope,
superposed
in false-color on an existing image taken by NASA's Hubble Space
Telescope in optical light. The Sombrero Galaxy, also known as
M104,
spans about 50,000 light years across and lies 28 million light years
away. M104 can be seen with a small telescope in the direction of
the constellation Virgo.