The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared
Credit: R. Kennicutt (Steward Obs.) et al., SSC, JPL, Caltech, NASA
Explanation: 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.
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