Messier 104, also known as the Sombrero Galaxy, lies in the Virgo constellation at a distance of 28 million light-years away. It’s best viewed in spring.
We view this stunning galaxy almost edge-on, which makes it look so unique. Adding to M104’s distinctive look is an alluring dark dust lane, which helps give the object the shape of a sombrero.1 In the center of this lair of light lives a supermassive black hole with a mass 1 billion times that of our sun. While it’s possible to see M104 as a faint fuzzy line with a smaller telescope from the suburbs, observers will need an 8-10 inch scope to bring out more details, including the brighter center bulge and dust lane.
On May 11, 1781, the French astronomer Pierre Mechain discovered the Sombrero Galaxy.
My Observations
Entry made on March 12, 2021, near midnight: Finding the Sombrero Galaxy caps off a memorable evening — six hours of clear, moonless skies. When I started observing earlier, I was walking through the late winter constellations. Now, as I approach midnight, I turn my attention to the spring sky, where I find myself looking at the famous Sombrero Galaxy. It is a faint cloud-like feature in my eyepiece under my urban skies, but as I stare longer, I start to see the spiral and brighter center.
My mind races back 30 years to when I first set eyes on a photo of M104. I was mesmerized. I imagined what it would be like to approach it in person. What an amazing thing it would be to pass over the dark outer dust lane and then hover over the millions of stars. As a believer in heaven, I like to imagine upon my death an opportunity to sail past the stars in the heavens. And if this is true, and I have a choice, I’ll swing past this galaxy, just sailing beside its mysterious edges without a care or fear to know or understand.
Ending this Friday evening by finding M104 makes me feel grateful. It is the end of a hopeful week. Though the days of the COVID-19 pandemic remain mostly dark, we learned yesterday that the timeline for vaccinations is speeding up, and death rates to COVID-19 continue to decrease. My wife received her first shot last week and hope to get mine soon.
Turning my attention to M104 again in the quiet of midnight, I feel as if the long, dark year of 2020 is starting to fade, and I think fondly of an innocent time when I was young, staring at a photo of M104 and hoping one day I would see it with a telescope. Tonight is the night all these years later.
By the way, while you’re in the area, be sure to pop over to the nearby Struve 1664 asterism that looks like a hockey stick!
Key Stats
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Best Viewing | Spring |
| Visual Magnitude | +8.1 |
| Absolute Magnitude | -21.5 |
| Distance from Earth | 31 million ly |
| Diameter | 49,000 ly |
| Apparent Size | 8.4 x 4.9 arcmin |
| Milky Way Location | N/A |
| My Viewing Grade | B- |
Historical Observations
Entry dated May 11, 1781, by the French astronomer Pierre Mechain
“On May 11, 1781, I have discovered a nebula above Corvus; it did not appear to me to contain stars; it is faint & very difficult to see when the wires of the micrometer are illuminated; I have compared it on this day & the following to the Ear of Virgo [Spica], & I have derived its right ascension 187d 9′ 42″, its south. declin. 10d 24′ 49″. It is not included in the Connoissance des tems.”1
Sources and Notes
Photo of M104 by NASA/ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA). Photo is in the public domain because it was created by NASA and ESA.
1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sombrero_Galaxy
2 Hartmut Frommert, C. K. (n.d.). Pierre Méchain’s letter of May 6, 1783. Retrieved April 30, 2022, from http://www.messier.seds.org/xtra/history/pm-lett.html#m104
Sketch by Wayne McGraw
The Garden Astronomer 
3 thoughts on “Messier 104 (NGC 4594): The Stunning Sombrero Galaxy”