"The new images of the Sombrero Galaxy, captured by the 570-megapixel Dark Energy Camera, reveal its bright core amid 2,000 globular star clusters tightly bound by gravity."
"The disk's rim appears darker, indicating the accumulation of space dust and hydrogen, forming a dust lane where the majority of the galaxy's star formation occurs."
"Messier 104 spans 50,000 light-years and features a central supermassive black hole with a mass roughly equivalent to one billion suns."
"The halo surrounding the galaxy appears to be around three times its width, potentially captured with unprecedented detail in these new images."
Astronomers released new images of the Sombrero Galaxy, also known as Messier 104, captured by the Dark Energy Camera in Chile. Located in the Virgo constellation, it is about 30 million light-years from Earth. The galaxy appears flat with a significant central bulge, earning its sombrero nickname. The images show a bright core surrounded by 2,000 globular star clusters and a darker rim indicating a dust lane where star formation occurs. Messier 104 spans 50,000 light-years and contains a supermassive black hole with a mass equivalent to one billion suns.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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