Astronomy Picture for Today(It is not a drawing!)

nasa ^ | 01/16/2006 | DG

[HOTTIEBOY]

The Sombrero Galaxy from HST
Credit: Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI /NASA)

Explanation: 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.

[HOTTIEBOY]

Billion upon billions of stars. All the big stars in this picture are foreground stars in our own galaxy and alot of other galaxys in the background. Their picture would look much the same if someone in that galaxy was looking at us, one of those tiny points of glowing stars being their "Sun".

[EX52D]

That is an awesome picture!

[A Jovial Cad]

Thank you for posting this: it's an amazing picture. Puts our minuscule planet and its problems into perspective.

[Michael Goldsberry]

Great pick today HB!

[mtbopfuyn]

Wow!

[HOTTIEBOY]

ping-a-ling

On or off this list??

[InvisibleChurch]

The Sombrero Galaxy is old hat.

[toomanygrasshoppers]

Breathtaking! Please put me on your ping list. Thanks

[rdb3]

Kewl!

This is a ch__ch. What's missing?

[HOTTIEBOY]

It shall be done...

[hattend]

Excellent photo

I love the Hubble photos...awesome!

[Woman on Caroline Street]

So, uh, can we have your liver then?

[Emmalein]

Great photo! To think of everything that could be out there that we don't know anything about is mind-numbing. Pictures like this just confirm that we still have a lot to learn. Thanks.

[A Jovial Cad]

"So, uh, can we have your liver then?"

Why? Is yours getting a heavy workout today? Posting comments like that, it sure sounds like it.

[HOTTIEBOY]

""""To think of everything that could be out there that we don't know anything about is mind-numbing."""""

That is exactly right. Our Sun is one star. There are billions of stars in our galaxy. And there are billions of galaxies in the universe. The numbers are just too large for the human brain to comprehend. So are the odds....

[Loud Mime]

Hubble is wonderful, but this new generation of telescope may be much better.......We live in good times.

[HOTTIEBOY]

I am surprised the ACLU hasn't come forward to sue NASA for offending Mexicans.

[MozarkDawg]

That is one fabulous photo!! Would you please add me to your ping list? :)

[HOTTIEBOY]

Sure thing, MDD!

[Woman on Caroline Street]

Well, AJC, with the day I'm having, I wouldn't mind a nip from the ole flask. But my comment was in reference to a Monty Python bit in case you're wondering.