Stardust Observatory Astrophotography by John Nassr

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M 104 is an easy star hop west of Spica and is a striking Messier galaxy to visually behold. The “Sombrero Galaxy” lies along the border of Virgo and Corvus and glows at a relatively bright magnitude 8.5. Its edge-on perspective presents a nice view of its prominent dark dust lane. The extremely bright nucleus is believed to harbor a super massive black hole. Its large and symmetrical bulging halo is populated by numerous globular clusters.

AAPOD

Date Imaged       :

April 20, 2012

Lens       :

N16 f/8.1 with Keller Barlow-corrector

Camera       :

ST10xme

Exposure       :

4.1 hours

Filter       :

LRGB 15:3:3:4 x 10 minutes

Mount       :

Losmandy Titan

Location       :

Stardust Observatory, Baguio