Journey to The Sombrero Galaxy in Virgo | Victor Blanco Telescope

Journey to The Sombrero Galaxy in Virgo | Victor Blanco Telescope

Messier 104, nicknamed the Sombrero galaxy, is a popular target for amateur observing and astronomical research. Its recognizable extended halo and dust-filled disk are captured in this image from the Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera (DECam) mounted on the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile, a Program of NSF NOIRLab.

The Sombrero Galaxy (also known as Messier Object 104, M104 or NGC 4594) is a peculiar galaxy of unclear classification in the constellation borders of Virgo and Corvus, being about 9.55 megaparsecs (31.1 million light-years) from the Milky Way galaxy. It is a member of the Virgo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the southern edge of the Virgo Supercluster. It has an isophotal diameter of 94,900 to 105,000 light-years, making it slightly larger than the Milky Way.

Dark Energy Camera (DECam)

https://noirlab.edu/public/programs/ctio/victor-blanco-4m-telescope/decam/

Learn about the Víctor M. Blanco Telescope:
https://noirlab.edu/science/programs/ctio/telescopes/victor-blanco-4m-telescope

Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/DOE/NSF/AURA
Image Processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), D. de Martin & M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab)

Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: April 24, 2026

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