Sombrero Galaxy (M104)

   The Sombrero Galaxy, or M104, is considered a peculiar galaxy of unclear classification which lies in
constellation Virgo at a distance of 31 million light years.  It has a bright nucleus and distinguished dust
lane in its outer disk to earn its name.  M104 was discovered by Pierre Mechain in 1767 and independently
by William Herschel in 1784 who noted a "dark stratum" in the outer disc.  Official inclusion
to the Messier catalog didn't occur until 1921 when Camille Flammarion discovered a personal list of
Charles Messier (M104 thru M109) which weren't included in the original published catalog.  M104
was the first galaxy for which a large redshift was found, receding at 1100 km/sec, and became
one of the first pieces of evidence of expansion and the Big Bang Theory.
 


   The above was photographed at a darksite near the southern horizon.  The equipment included
a 1 meter focal length and 0.2 m aperture.  Imaging proceeded over 90 minutes with autoguiding
under cloudless skies in average seeing conditions.  Although cloudless skies are frequent in
Southern California, seeing conditions rarely go above average.


{  Photo:  R Lang & Associates }