Messier 104, the Sombrero Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy of somewhat ambiguous classification straddling the Virgo/Corvus border, often described as intermediate between a spiral and a lenticular galaxy.
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Messier 104, the Sombrero Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy of somewhat ambiguous classification straddling the Virgo/Corvus border, often described as intermediate between a spiral and a lenticular galaxy. It lies at a distance of roughly 30 million light-years (estimates commonly range from 28-31 million). Its defining features are an unusually large central bulge, a very bright nucleus (host to a supermassive black hole of roughly a billion solar masses), and a prominent, sharply defined dust lane crossing in front of the disk, which together give it its hat-like silhouette when viewed nearly edge-on. Its high surface brightness makes it a rewarding target even in shorter broadband exposures, though its relatively small apparent size calls for higher magnification/longer focal lengths to resolve the dust lane and bulge structure clearly.
