Webb telescope unveils new details of Sombrero galaxy
Scientists named the Sombrero Galaxy because of its resemblance to a Mexican hat. It is located 30 million light-years from Earth. Thanks to new images from the space telescope, we can now take a closer look at its structure.
NASA has released a new image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope. This time, it has captured the Messier 104 Galaxy (M104), also known as the Sombrero Galaxy, which the Hubble Telescope had previously photographed. The Webb Telescope presents a striking image using blue, green, and red light filters.
Both images from the Webb and Hubble telescopes show the distinctive, clumpy dust structure forming the outer ring of the Sombrero Galaxy. However, the picture taken by the Webb Telescope offers more detail.
The galaxy is depicted as a very elongated, blue disk stretched from left to right at an angle, with a bright core in the center. The inner disk is clearly outlined, and star-like dots are visible. The outer disk is white-blue and clumpy, somewhat resembling clouds on Earth.
The Sombrero Galaxy was discovered in the 18th century
The Sombrero Galaxy was discovered in 1781 by the French astronomer and surveyor Pierre Méchain. It was not included in the original printed version of the Messier catalogue, but Méchain added it by hand to his copy. However, it wasn't officially catalogued as Messier M104 until 1921.
