                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2023 August 13
   A red-tinged ring of dust is seen nearly on edge. In the ring's center
    and extending around the frame, blue gas and stars are shown. Please
             see the explanation for more detailed information.

                       The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared
     Credit: R. Kennicutt (Steward Obs.) et al., SSC, JPL, Caltech, NASA

   Explanation: This floating ring is the size of a galaxy. In fact, it is
   a galaxy -- or at least part of one: the photogenic Sombrero Galaxy,
   one of the largest galaxies in the nearby Virgo Cluster of Galaxies.
   The dark band of dust that obscures the mid-section of the Sombrero
   Galaxy in optical light actually glows brightly in infrared light. The
   featured image, digitally sharpened, shows the infrared glow, recently
   recorded by the orbiting Spitzer Space Telescope, superposed in
   false-color on an existing image taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope
   in visible light. The Sombrero Galaxy, also known as M104, spans about
   50,000 light years across and lies 28 million light years away. M104
   can be seen with a small telescope in the direction of the
   constellation Virgo.

                      Tomorrow's picture: ring strings
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

