Posted on May 14, 2021
APOD: 2021 May 14 - M104: The Sombrero Galaxy
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Good Red Friday morning, Rallypoint. Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is titled "M104: The Sombrero Galaxy." Also known as NGC 4594, M104 lies some 25 million light years away in the constellation Virgo. We view it from approximately 6 degrees south of the galaxy's equatorial plane, leading to its 'sombrero' nickname.
The observations surrounding M104 have an interesting history. It was the first object Charles Messier added to his catalog after it was originally published in 1774. Messier's colleague Pierre Méchain mentioned the galaxy as his discovery in a letter dated May 6, 1783. William Herschel found this object independently (dubbed H I.43) on May 9, 1784.
The concept of redshift in wave mechanics (an increase in the wavelength, and corresponding decrease in the frequency of electromagnetic radiation, such as light) was first introduced by French physicist Hippolyte Fizeau in 1848. He proposed that the shift in spectral lines (towards the left/red or right/blue) seen in stars as being due to the Doppler effect. In 1912, American astronomer Vesto Slipher discovered that most spiral galaxies (spiral nebulae at the time, M104 was one of them) had substantial redshifts. This meant that they were moving away from Earth at a high velocity, and provided the first empirical evidence for expansion in the Universe. M104 was officially added to the Messier catalog in 1921 when French astronomer Camille Flammarion realized that Herschel's H I.43 and the Sombrero Galaxy were one in the same.
But back to today's APOD. Pretty stunning photo from a ground-based telescope, isn't it?
The observations surrounding M104 have an interesting history. It was the first object Charles Messier added to his catalog after it was originally published in 1774. Messier's colleague Pierre Méchain mentioned the galaxy as his discovery in a letter dated May 6, 1783. William Herschel found this object independently (dubbed H I.43) on May 9, 1784.
The concept of redshift in wave mechanics (an increase in the wavelength, and corresponding decrease in the frequency of electromagnetic radiation, such as light) was first introduced by French physicist Hippolyte Fizeau in 1848. He proposed that the shift in spectral lines (towards the left/red or right/blue) seen in stars as being due to the Doppler effect. In 1912, American astronomer Vesto Slipher discovered that most spiral galaxies (spiral nebulae at the time, M104 was one of them) had substantial redshifts. This meant that they were moving away from Earth at a high velocity, and provided the first empirical evidence for expansion in the Universe. M104 was officially added to the Messier catalog in 1921 when French astronomer Camille Flammarion realized that Herschel's H I.43 and the Sombrero Galaxy were one in the same.
But back to today's APOD. Pretty stunning photo from a ground-based telescope, isn't it?
APOD: 2021 May 14 - M104: The Sombrero Galaxy
Posted from apod.nasa.gov
NASA
Space
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Astronomy
Edited 3 y ago
Posted 3 y ago
Responses: 9
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Really cool astronomy picture share, looks more like a plate of tortillas Maj William W. 'Bill' Price , have a great
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SPC Michael Duricko, Ph.D
Wonder if there is a salsa galaxy that will colid eventually with Cowboy's tortilla galaxy to form a new taco galaxy?
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SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth
SPC Michael Duricko, Ph.D You never can tell brother SPC Michael Duricko, Ph.D
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SPC Michael Duricko, Ph.D
SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth You are so right. Our knowledge of infinite space is the equivalent of a grain of sand compared to all of the grains of sand on earth.
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Bloody good Jiver!!!!!!
Thank you my friend Maj William W. 'Bill' Price for posting the NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) for Friday, May 14 entitled "M104: The Sombrero Galaxy."
I expect if this Galaxy was being named now it may have been called Frisbee :-)
Image: M104 - The Sombrero Galaxy - Image Credit & Copyright - Bray Falls
APOD Background
"Explanation: A gorgeous spiral galaxy, M104 is famous for its nearly edge-on profile featuring a broad ring of obscuring dust lanes. Seen in silhouette against an extensive central bulge of stars, the swath of cosmic dust lends a broad brimmed hat-like appearance to the galaxy suggesting a more popular moniker, the Sombrero Galaxy. This sharp optical view of the well-known galaxy made from ground-based image data was processed to preserve details often lost in overwhelming glare of M104's bright central bulge. Also known as NGC 4594, the Sombrero galaxy can be seen across the spectrum, and is host to a central supermassive black hole. About 50,000 light-years across and 28 million light-years away, M104 is one of the largest galaxies at the southern edge of the Virgo Galaxy Cluster. Still the colorful spiky foreground stars in this field of view lie well within our own Milky Way galaxy.
The Champs, Sombrero
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAL3o4WZikk
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs SMSgt Lawrence McCarter Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D., Sgt Albert Castro SSG Samuel Kermon Sgt Vance Bonds Maj Robert Thornton PO2 (Join to see) TSgt David L. SSG Michael NollSSG Franklin Briant Sgt (Join to see) CPL Douglas Chrysler SFC William Farrell SMSgt Tom Burns Sgt Albert Castro LTC (Join to see) SGT Denny Espinosa
A1C Riley Sanders
I expect if this Galaxy was being named now it may have been called Frisbee :-)
Image: M104 - The Sombrero Galaxy - Image Credit & Copyright - Bray Falls
APOD Background
"Explanation: A gorgeous spiral galaxy, M104 is famous for its nearly edge-on profile featuring a broad ring of obscuring dust lanes. Seen in silhouette against an extensive central bulge of stars, the swath of cosmic dust lends a broad brimmed hat-like appearance to the galaxy suggesting a more popular moniker, the Sombrero Galaxy. This sharp optical view of the well-known galaxy made from ground-based image data was processed to preserve details often lost in overwhelming glare of M104's bright central bulge. Also known as NGC 4594, the Sombrero galaxy can be seen across the spectrum, and is host to a central supermassive black hole. About 50,000 light-years across and 28 million light-years away, M104 is one of the largest galaxies at the southern edge of the Virgo Galaxy Cluster. Still the colorful spiky foreground stars in this field of view lie well within our own Milky Way galaxy.
The Champs, Sombrero
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAL3o4WZikk
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs SMSgt Lawrence McCarter Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D., Sgt Albert Castro SSG Samuel Kermon Sgt Vance Bonds Maj Robert Thornton PO2 (Join to see) TSgt David L. SSG Michael NollSSG Franklin Briant Sgt (Join to see) CPL Douglas Chrysler SFC William Farrell SMSgt Tom Burns Sgt Albert Castro LTC (Join to see) SGT Denny Espinosa
A1C Riley Sanders
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A1C Riley Sanders
thanks for this post Ltc Stephen Ford, of the Galaxy, some may have called it a flying saucer . good post ! Thanks
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