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NOIRLab Unveils New Sombrero Galaxy Image, Shows Stellar Stream

4/25/2026

Summary

NOIRLab Releases Photo

NOIRLab released a new photo of the Sombrero galaxy Friday.
A Chilean telescope captured the image four years ago, with color processing completed this week.
Messier 104 lies about 30 million light-years away in the Virgo constellation and spans roughly 50,000 light-years across.
A dark-energy camera recorded a stream of stars exiting the galaxy’s southern edge, which astronomers say likely contains stars stripped from other galaxies in an ancient collision.

Summary

DOE Camera Installed

The Department of Energy’s 570-megapixel Dark Energy Camera was installed on the National Science Foundation’s Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter telescope at Cerro Tololo, showcasing cross-agency collaboration.
NSF notes that the Sombrero Galaxy’s striking look makes it a favorite for amateur astronomers and citizen-science projects.
T.A. Rector of the University of Alaska Anchorage processed the image together with D. de Martin and M. Zamani of NOIRLab.

Summary

DECam Reveals Halo

DECam image shows roughly 2,000 globular clusters swarming around the galaxy’s bright nucleus.
A thin, dark band of cold dust and hydrogen gas outlines the galaxy’s disk, marking the region where most new stars are forming.
The halo surrounding the Sombrero appears in unprecedented detail, extending more than three times the galaxy’s visible diameter.
DECam’s 570-megapixel resolution distinguishes structures only a few hundred light-years across.

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NOIRLab Releases Photo

NOIRLab released a new photo of the Sombrero galaxy Friday.
A Chilean telescope captured the image four years ago, with color processing completed this week.
Messier 104 lies about 30 million light-years away in the Virgo constellation and spans roughly 50,000 light-years across.
A dark-energy camera recorded a stream of stars exiting the galaxy’s southern edge, which astronomers say likely contains stars stripped from other galaxies in an ancient collision.

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