The famous sombrero galaxy is located within
the constellation of Virgo. Its designation is M104. This
edge-on spiral galaxy got its name from the sombrero hat-like
appearance. It is the first object in the catalog that was not
included in the original publication. Messier added it by hand
to his personal copy in 1781. M104 is characterized by a dark
dust lane that spans the length of the galaxy's disk. It is
located about 50 million light-years from Earth. This object can
be located with binoculars but is best seen in a 4-inch or
larger telescope.
