\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHats Off to NASA\u2019s Webb: Sombrero Galaxy Dazzles in New Image\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Image](\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/webb-stsci-01jcgz71j2wy7vrn04ypbyb5x4-2k.png?w=1536\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nNASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope recently imaged the Sombrero galaxy with its MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), resolving the clumpy nature of the dust along the galaxy\u2019s outer ring.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\tCredits: <\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNASA, ESA, CSA, STScI<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nIn a new image from NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope, a galaxy named for its resemblance to a broad-brimmed Mexican hat appears more like an archery target.<\/p>\n
In Webb\u2019s mid-infrared view of the Sombrero galaxy, also known as Messier 104 (M104), the signature, glowing core seen in visible-light images<\/a> does not shine, and instead a smooth inner disk is revealed. The sharp resolution of Webb\u2019s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) also brings into focus details of the galaxy\u2019s outer ring, providing insights into how the dust<\/a>, an essential building block for astronomical objects in the universe, is distributed. The galaxy\u2019s outer ring, which appeared smooth like a blanket in imaging from NASA\u2019s retired Spitzer Space Telescope<\/a>, shows intricate clumps in the infrared for the first time.<\/p>\nImage A: Sombrero Galaxy (MIRI Image)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"Image](\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/webb-stsci-01jcgz71j2wy7vrn04ypbyb5x4-2k.png?w=2000\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nNASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope recently imaged the Sombrero galaxy with its MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), resolving the clumpy nature of the dust along the galaxy\u2019s outer ring. This image includes filters representing 7.7-micron light as blue, 11.3-micron light as green, and 12.8-micron light as red.<\/div>\nNASA, ESA, CSA, STScI<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nImage B: Sombrero Galaxy (Hubble and Webb Image)<\/h2>\n\n\n Image Before\/After\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\nResearchers say the clumpy nature of the dust, where MIRI detects carbon-containing molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, can indicate the presence of young star-forming regions. However, unlike some galaxies studied with Webb, including Messier 82<\/a>, where 10 times as many stars are born than the Milky Way galaxy, the Sombrero galaxy is not a particular hotbed of star formation. The rings of the Sombrero galaxy produce less than one solar mass of stars per year, in comparison to the Milky Way\u2019s roughly two solar masses a year.<\/p>\nEven the supermassive black hole, also known as an active galactic nucleus<\/a>, at the center of the Sombrero galaxy is rather docile, even at a hefty 9-billion-solar masses. It\u2019s classified as a low luminosity active galactic nucleus, slowly snacking on infalling material from the galaxy, while sending off a bright, relatively small, jet.<\/p>\n
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNASA, ESA, CSA, STScI<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
In a new image from NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope, a galaxy named for its resemblance to a broad-brimmed Mexican hat appears more like an archery target.<\/p>\n
In Webb\u2019s mid-infrared view of the Sombrero galaxy, also known as Messier 104 (M104), the signature, glowing core seen in visible-light images<\/a> does not shine, and instead a smooth inner disk is revealed. The sharp resolution of Webb\u2019s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) also brings into focus details of the galaxy\u2019s outer ring, providing insights into how the dust<\/a>, an essential building block for astronomical objects in the universe, is distributed. The galaxy\u2019s outer ring, which appeared smooth like a blanket in imaging from NASA\u2019s retired Spitzer Space Telescope<\/a>, shows intricate clumps in the infrared for the first time.<\/p>\n Researchers say the clumpy nature of the dust, where MIRI detects carbon-containing molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, can indicate the presence of young star-forming regions. However, unlike some galaxies studied with Webb, including Messier 82<\/a>, where 10 times as many stars are born than the Milky Way galaxy, the Sombrero galaxy is not a particular hotbed of star formation. The rings of the Sombrero galaxy produce less than one solar mass of stars per year, in comparison to the Milky Way\u2019s roughly two solar masses a year.<\/p>\n Even the supermassive black hole, also known as an active galactic nucleus<\/a>, at the center of the Sombrero galaxy is rather docile, even at a hefty 9-billion-solar masses. It\u2019s classified as a low luminosity active galactic nucleus, slowly snacking on infalling material from the galaxy, while sending off a bright, relatively small, jet.<\/p>\nImage A: Sombrero Galaxy (MIRI Image)<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/figure>Image B: Sombrero Galaxy (Hubble and Webb Image)<\/h2>\n