One more wildly incredible picture from Hubble. An incredible spiral nebula with a huge and dangerous outer boundary. This is the Sombrero Nebula settling down into The Sombrero Galaxy. This image of spiral galaxy Messier 104 is also known as the Sombrero nebula (the Mexican hat), because of its particular shape. The Sombrero is located in the constellation Virgo at a distance of about 50 million light years.

This galaxy is notable for its dominant nuclear bulge, composed primarily of mature stars, and its thin disc composed of stars, gas and dust. To observe the nebula you should point a strong telescope west of the bright star Spica.

Messier 104 is the 104th object in the famous catalogue of nebulae by French astronomer Charles Messier.