M104 - The Sombrero Galaxy

The Sombrero, so named for its shape is only visible for a short time above my mountainous horizon; so this is a rather short on exposure image.

We view M104 (or NGC 4594) from sideways on but it is actually another spiral galaxy. It was discovered in 1767 by Pierre Mechain. There is a clear dust band around the galaxy & a significant central bulge, probably due to a super-massive black hole. The galaxy is thought to be about 30 million light years from Earth.

Note in the picture, above the galaxy, there is what appears to be an oblong star; this is in fact an asteroid that was travelling across the field of view.

Image Data:

Focal Length 1500mm
Focal Ratio f10
Exposure 1hr 15mins

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