Sombrero Galaxy in the Infrared

Posted on April 16, 2012

This infrared image of the Sombrero Galaxy was re-released to celebrate the extension of the Spitzer warm mission through 2015. The Sombrero is located 28 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. The Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) - aboard NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope - has been operating continuously for 1,000 days. The IRAC "warm" program began once Spitzer used up its liquid helium coolant, thus completing its "cold" mission.

You can see a large Hubble image of the galaxy here. Here is a video that shifts from the Hubble Space Telescope image to infrared views from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Take a look:

SPACE