Provided by NASA, European Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency, and Space Telescope Science Institute
An angel's halo shining in the darkness of space? This is an image of the Sombrero Galaxy (M104), captured in mid-infrared light by the James Webb Space Telescope, a joint project of the United States, Europe, and Canada. The galaxy lies some 30 million light-years from Earth and is estimated to be about 50,000 light-years in diameter.
Provided by NASA, Hubble Space Telescope, US Space Telescope Science Institute
Located just beside Spica, the first-magnitude star in the constellation Virgo, the Sombrero Galaxy shines at magnitude 8—but it normally does not look like this. "Sombrero" refers to a wide-brimmed Mexican hat. The ring that glows so brightly in the mid-infrared image appears as a dark dust lane in visible-light telescopes, giving the galaxy its overall sombrero-like shape. The European Space Agency, which released the image, stated that it "clearly captures fine details of the galaxy's outer ring and provides new insights into the distribution of dust." That said, some viewers may find themselves feeling a little puzzled, thinking, "It doesn't look like a sombrero at all."
The constellation Virgo may evoke romantic associations, but its story in Greek mythology is genuinely thought-provoking. The maiden (virgin) in question is the goddess Astraea, who remained on Earth long after the other gods had returned to Mt. Olympus, continuing to live on Earth until the last minute and champion justice among humankind. Eventually, however, she grew weary of humanity's endless greed and took her place among the stars, becoming the constellation Virgo. The instrument she used to weigh the good and evil of humankind is represented by the neighboring constellation Libra.
Original article was provided by the Science Portal and has been translated by Science Japan.