Messier 104 - NGC 4594 - "The Sombrero Galaxy"
65-million light years away in the
direction of the constellation Virgo is this fantastic looking galaxy with a
very prominent dark lane tracing the circumference of the galaxy. Appropriately
nicknamed the "Sombrero" galaxy due to it's Mexican hat like appearance this 8th
Magnitude spiral galaxy is easily found in amateur telescopes. According to
NASA/Hubble, the centre of this galaxy harbours a compact core emitting strong
X-rays indicating the presence of a black hole with a mass of 1-billion Suns.
| Image Details | 20070412 Messier 104 Sombrero Hat Galaxy. |
| Telescope |
Observatory mounted 12-inch f/5 Newtonian telescope
on Losmandy Gemini G-11 equatorial mount. |
| Guiding | Autoguided with SBIG 402 on 4.5-inch f/9 guidescope using CCDSoft. |
| Camera |
Canon EOS 300D Digital ( Hα enabled ) focused with DSLR Focus. |
| Exposure | 39 minute exposure (13 x 3 min. sub-frames) @ ISO-400 |
| Filter/equipment |
2" Baader Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector
(MPCC). 2" Baader UV/IR Rejection Filter. |
| Sky Conditions | Seeing: 6.5/10. Wind: 6/10. Moisture: 1/10. Very Hazy |
| Image Processing | ImagesPlus, Photoshop. |
(C) Copyright 2007 Paul Mayo.
paulm@skylab.com.au