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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.
Here is a higher
resolution and slightly cropped version for 1600x1200 screen settings.
There is also an earlier
image taken with a 6" refractor.
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Exposure |
LRGB 110:30:40:60 min @ -15°C,
all exposures 10 min, RGB binned 2x2 |
Camera |
SBIG ST-10XE selfguided,
CFW-8, Astronomik Type II RGB Filterset |
Optics |
RCOS 14.5" Ritchey-Chrétien
@ f/9 |
Mount |
Astro-Physics AP1200GTO |
Software |
MaxIm DL/CCD, DeBloomer,
Sigma Pre Beta 11, Adobe Photoshop CS |
Location - Date - Time |
San Esteban (Chile) - 20Feb2004 -
06:30 UTC |
Conditions |
Transparency 7, Seeing 8, Temperature
+14°C |
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