Astronomy Picture of the Day - The Sombrero Galaxy from Webb and Hubble

By Free Republic | Created at 2024-11-26 21:01:03 | Updated at 2024-11-26 23:39:50 2 hours ago

Astronomy Picture of the Day - The Sombrero Galaxy from Webb and Hubble
NASA ^ | 26 Nov, 2024 | Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Hubble Heritage Project (STScI, AURA)

Posted on 11/26/2024 1:00:14 PM PST by MtnClimber

Explanation: This floating ring is the size of a galaxy. In fact, it is a galaxy -- or at least part of one: the photogenic Sombrero Galaxy is 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 visible light (bottom panel) actually glows brightly in infrared light (top panel). The featured image shows the infrared glow in false blue, recorded recently by the space-based James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and released yesterday, pictured above an archival image taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in visible light. The Sombrero Galaxy, also known as M104, spans about 50,000 light years and lies 28 million light years away. M104 can be seen with a small telescope in the direction of the constellation Virgo.

TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; nasa

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1 posted on 11/26/2024 1:00:14 PM PST by MtnClimber

To: MtnClimber

2 posted on 11/26/2024 1:00:32 PM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)

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