Sombrero Galaxy

a galaxy M 104 · NGC 4594 Virgo 8.3ᵐ

A galaxy turned nearly edge-on: a broad band of dust across a bright bulging nucleus does look like a hat. Its dark lane was among the first evidence that galaxies contain dust at all.

Where to look

Data

Type
a galaxy
Constellation
Virgo
Magnitude
8.3
Apparent size
8.9 
Distance
29.3 million light years

An estimate. NGC 2000.0 carries no distances, and published measurements disagree by up to a third.

Right ascension
190.000 °
Declination
-11.617 °
Designations
M 104 · NGC 4594
NGC description
!, vB, vL, eE 92deg , vsmbMN; = M104

The Messier list and the NGC/IC designations come from NGC 2000.0 (Sinnott, 1988), CDS Strasbourg.

Nearby in the same constellation

Designations Type Magnitude Apparent size
M49 · M 49 a galaxy 8.4 8.9′
M87 · Virgo A a galaxy 8.6 7.2′
M60 · M 60 a galaxy 8.8 7.2′
M86 · M 86 a galaxy 9.2 7.4′
M84 · M 84 a galaxy 9.3 5.0′
M90 · M 90 a galaxy 9.5 9.5′
M61 · M 61 a galaxy 9.7 6.0′
M58 · M 58 a galaxy 9.8 5.4′
M59 · M 59 a galaxy 9.8 5.1′
M89 · M 89 a galaxy 9.8 4.2′