The Sombrero Galaxy from VLT
			
		
		
		
			Why does the Sombrero Galaxy look like a 
hat?  
Reasons include the 
Sombrero's unusually large and 
extended central bulge of stars, 
and dark prominent 
dust lanes 
that appear in a disk that we see nearly 
edge-on. 
Billions of 
old stars 
cause the diffuse glow of the extended 
central bulge.  
Close inspection of the bulge in the above photograph shows many points of light that are actually 
globular clusters.
M104's spectacular dust rings harbor many younger and brighter stars, 
and show intricate details astronomers 
don't yet fully understand.  
The very center of the 
Sombrero glows across the electromagnetic spectrum, and is thought to house a large 
black hole.  
Fifty million-year-old light from the 
Sombrero Galaxy can be seen with a 
small telescope towards the constellation of Virgo.