BLACK DOG OBSERVATORY

M104 (NGC4594) Sombrero Galaxy

This galaxy is the brightest of the Virgo Galaxies. It has a dark band/lane that cuts through its equator making it look like a sombrero (type of Mexican hat). It has an unusually large central bulge and is rich with several hundred Globular Clusters. It may have a supermassive black hole at its centre. It's 50 million light years away. The dark lane is visible to the right of the central bulge.