The Sombrero Galaxy (also known as Messier Object 104, M104 or NGC 4594) is a spiral galaxy[5] in the constellation Virgo located 9.55 Mpc (31,100,000 ly)[2] from Earth. The galaxy has a diameter of approximately 15kpc(50,000 light-years),[6] 30% the size of the Milky Way. It has a bright nucleus, an unusually large central bulge, and a prominent dust lane in its inclined disk. The dark dust lane and the bulge give this galaxy the appearance of a sombrero. Astronomers initially thought that the halo was small and light, indicative of a spiral galaxy, but the Spitzer space telescope found that the halo around the Sombrero Galaxy is larger and more massive than previously thought, indicative of a giant elliptical galaxy.[7] The galaxy has an apparent magnitude of +8.0,[6]making it easily visible with amateur telescopes, and it is considered by some authors to be the brightest galaxy within a radius of 10 megaparsecs of the Milky Way.[3]Its large bulge, its central supermassive black hole, and its dust lane all attract the attention of professional astronomers.
