Sombrero Galaxy (M104)

Lenticular galaxy with a brilliant nucleus, an unusually large central bulge, and a prominent dust lane resembling a hat brim.

Core Principles & Analysis

• Its center harbors a supermassive black hole of about one billion solar masses.
• It is surrounded by roughly 2,000 globular clusters, several times the Milky Way's count.
• Vesto Slipher measured its large recession velocity in 1912, early evidence that spiral 'nebulae' were rushing away from us.

Specifications & Metrics

• GALAXY TYPE: Lenticular (SA(s)a)
• DISTANCE: 31.1 million light-years
• DIAMETER: ~49,000 light-years