{"id":1906717,"date":"2026-04-28T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1906717"},"modified":"2026-04-28T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T06:00:00","slug":"a-gigantic-halo-surrounds-the-sombrero-galaxy-in-new-telescope-images","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1906717","title":{"rendered":"A gigantic halo surrounds the Sombrero Galaxy in new telescope images"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Home<\/a>><\/span>Science<\/a>><\/span>Space<\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

New space images reveal an enormous halo around this famed galaxy<\/h1>\n
This cosmic target had a glow up.<\/div>\n
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\n \u00a0By\u00a0<\/p>\n
Elisha Sauers<\/a><\/p>\n
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\"Mashable<\/p>\n
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Elisha Sauers<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n Elisha Sauers writes about space for Mashable, taking deep dives into NASA’s moon and Mars missions<\/a>, chatting up astronauts<\/a> and history-making discoverers<\/a>, and jetting above the clouds<\/a>. Through 17 years of reporting, she’s covered a variety of topics, including health, business, and government, with a penchant for public records requests. She previously worked for The Virginian-Pilot<\/em> in Norfolk, Virginia, and The Capital<\/em> in Annapolis, Maryland. Her work has earned numerous state awards, including the Virginia Press Association’s top honor, Best in Show<\/u><\/a>,\u00a0and national recognition<\/u><\/a> for narrative storytelling. For each year she has covered space, Sauers has won National Headliner Awards<\/u><\/a>, including first place for her Sex in Space<\/a> series. Send space tips and story ideas to [email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/u><\/a> or text 443-684-2489. Follow her on X at @elishasauers<\/u><\/a>.\n <\/div>\n

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An enormous halo stretching perhaps 150,000 light-years across surrounds the Sombrero Galaxy in the constellation Virgo.<\/span>Credit: CTIO \/ NOIRLab \/ DOE \/ NSF \/ AURA \/ T.A. Rector \/ D. de Martin & M. Zamani <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The famous Sombrero Galaxy<\/u><\/a> now appears as more than a wide-brimmed hat floating in deep outer space<\/u><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

New images from the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile reveal a gigantic halo surrounding the galaxy, stretching three times its width. Already considered one of the largest objects in the Virgo Galaxy Cluster, the galaxy’s expansive glow is roughly 150,000 light-years<\/u><\/a> wide.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The pictures come from the Dark Energy Camera<\/u><\/a>, an instrument mounted on the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Victor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope. Though the camera was built for a study that ended in 2019, it continues to aid astronomers, providing new insights for even the most photographed cosmic targets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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“This may be the first time the halo has been captured with this level of detail and at this large a scale,” according to NOIRLab<\/u><\/a>, a program of the National Science Foundation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

SEE ALSO:<\/span>Mars did have complex carbon. A NASA rover found its hiding place.<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n

Discovered in 1781<\/u><\/a> by the French comet hunter Pierre M\u00e9chain, the Sombrero is a nearly edge-on spiral galaxy about 30 million light-years away from Earth in the Virgo constellation. M\u00e9chain was an associate of renowned astronomer Charles Messier, but the object was only scribbled onto Messier’s personal copy of the Messier Catalogue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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It wasn’t until two other astronomers \u2014 William Herschel and Camille Flammarion \u2014 observed the galaxy that it was formally added to the catalog in 1921. Back then, it was merely known as Messier 104.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The intriguing galaxy later earned its nickname for its uncanny resemblance to a Mexican hat. Its central bulge looks like the crown and a dark dust trail brings to mind a wide brim. Though the object can’t be seen with the naked eye, many amateur astronomers<\/u><\/a> enjoy gazing at it through binoculars and small backyard telescopes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But different observatories tend to bring out different features in the galaxy. The James Webb Space Telescope<\/u><\/a> homed in on the Sombrero about 1.5 years ago, and showed it in a different light \u2014 literally. From Webb’s infrared perspective, the hazy bulge was decapitated, revealing instead a smooth core.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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