The Sombrero Galaxy's Tidal Streams: Messier 104 in Virgo | View from Namibia

The Sombrero Galaxy's Tidal Streams: Messier 104 in Virgo | View from Namibia

A deep image of the Sombrero galaxy reveals surprises. Messier 104 (M104) is named the Sombrero galaxy because, on shorter exposures, it looks like a hat. A key defining feature of this huge galaxy is a dark brim of dust that circles the disk galaxy's center. A much longer exposure, however, brings up a hairy past where a bright, hazy halo is revealed that extends well past the central disk and contains many unresolved stars. Surprisingly, in this stellar haze, structures can be seen that include a diagonal ring. These structures and tidal streams provide fresh evidence that M104 had a violent past and is surely the result of collisions and mergers of smaller galaxies. Light takes about 30 million years to reach us from the Sombrero galaxy. It fully spans about 150 thousand light years across. This image was taken over seven days in mid-2026 from Namibia.

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the northeast, approximating a quadripoint, Zimbabwe lies less than 200 meters (660 feet) away along the Zambezi River near Kazungula, Zambia.

Credit & Copyright: Engelbert Vollmer

Engelbert's website: https://app.astrobin.com/u/Fox368
Authors & Editors: Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti, Keighley Rockcliffe
A service of the Astrophysics Science Division (ASD) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Technological University (MTU)
Release Date: Oct. 5, 2026

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