| |
Image Data
Designation |
M 104, Sombrero Galaxy,
NGC 4594, Bennett 52 |
Object type |
Spiral galaxy |
Coordinates |
12h40m, - 11d39' |
Constellation |
Virgo (Vir) |
Description |
Called the Sombrero Galaxy
because of its shape, this bright near-edge-on spiral lies 50 million
lightyears away towards the Virgo cluster of galaxies, but very much
nearer to us. M104 features a structured dust lane, a very bright core,
well defined spiral arms and an unusually pronounced halo containing an
extended globular cluster system. It was not listed in the first published
Messier catalog. Charles Messier added it by hand in his personal
copy after identifying it as a 'very faint nebula' in May 1781.
There is also a close-up
image taken with a 14.5" Ritchey-Chretien telescope.
|
Exposure |
LRGB 72:40:40:40 min @ -15°C,
all 1x1 |
Camera |
SBIG ST-10XE selfguided,
CFW-8, SBIG (CS) LRGB Filterset |
Optics |
Astro-Physics AP155EDFS @ f/7.2
(prime focus) |
Mount |
Astro-Physics AP1200GTO |
Software |
MaxIm DL/CCD, DeBloomer, Sigma
Clip (Beta 10), Adobe Photoshop 6.0 |
Location - Date - Time |
San Esteban (Chile) - 02Mar2002 -
08:00 UTC |
Conditions |
Transparency 5, Seeing 6, Temperature
+14°C |
|