images

The Sombrero galaxy in Virgo

by

Nasa/Hubble heritage team/Novapix

Reference

a-gax45-94003

Date

2006-09-11

The "Sombrero" is located in the constellation Virgo. This magnificent galaxy is nearly one-fifth the diameter of the full moon. The team used Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys to take six pictures of the galaxy and then stitched them together to create the final composite image. The photo reveals a myriad of stars in a pancake-shaped disk as well as a glowing central bulge of stars.