The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared

This floating ring is the size of a galaxy. In fact, it is part of the photogenic
Sombrero Galaxy, one of the largest galaxies in the nearby Virgo Cluster of Galaxies.
The dark band of dust that obscures the mid-section of the Sombrero Galaxy in optical
light actually glows brightly in infrared light. The above image shows the infrared glow,
recently recorded by the orbiting Spitzer Space Telescope, superposed in false-color on
an existing image taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in optical light. The Sombrero
Galaxy, also known as M104, spans about 50,000 light years across and lies 28 million light
years away. M104 can be seen with a small telescope in the direction of the constellation of
Virgo.