The Sombrero galaxy, also known as M104, is a truly breathtaking sight to behold. Located approximately 28 million light-years away from Earth, this massive spiral galaxy is truly a wonder of the universe. Its distinctive shape, with a bright central bulge bisected by a dark dust lane that gives it the appearance of a sombrero hat, is simply mesmerizing.
Spanning a whopping 50,000 light-years in diameter, the Sombrero galaxy is home to billions of stars, as well as a supermassive black hole at its center. Its stunning beauty and sheer size inspire a sense of wonder and awe in anyone who gazes upon it. From its intricate spiral arms to its mysterious dark dust lane, the Sombrero galaxy is a testament to the vastness and complexity of the universe. Its existence reminds us that there is still so much to discover and explore beyond our own small corner of the cosmos.
Click on the image for a larger version that you can explore.
See this image documented in Catching Ancient Photons on YouTube:
Image Info
- Imaged from KPO, in Saint Cloud, Florida
- Camera : ZWO ASI1600MM Pro
- Scope: Orion RC-12 Ritchey-Chretien Astrograph, 2450mm fl, F/8
- Mount: iOptron CEM-120
- Red: 11 subframes of 300s = 55 min integration
- Green: 12 subframes of 300s = 60 min integration
- Blue: 12 subframes of 300s = 60 min integration
- Luminance: 42 subframes of 300s = 385 min integration
- Total integration time: 560 min = 6.4 hours.
- Captured via ASIAir Pro automation
- Optical tracking via ASIAir automation via the ASI120MM-S guide camera
- Separate channels stacked and LRGB integrated in Astro Pixel Processor
- Image cropped and stretched in Nebulosity.
- Image run through Super DeNoising
- Final processing in Aperture