I took this last year. Good seeing this low in the sky is very rare for my location. So I took this even though it was not well positioned. In fact for most of the data collection time the bottom of the objective was shadowed either by the walls of the observatory or a nearby tree I can't trim due to the shoreline ordinance. Also the scope didn't have time to fully cool down. The result of all this is a very odd shape to the faint outer halo about bright stars. Normally that wouldn't show but I dug deep to get the extensive spherical halo about this galaxy that is rarely imaged. As you can see it is really far larger than most photos show.

One data set was used for this image but processed two ways. I processed it first for the galaxy as you normally see it to show the disk and large central bulge. Then I processed it again to show the extensive outer halo. The two versions were then combined to show both in one image.

This is a cropped version of the full image. The full image can be seen at:
http://www.spacebanter.com/attachmen...ntid=937&stc=1

14" LX200R, L=4x10' binned 2x2, RGB= 2x10' also binned 2x2, STL-11000XM, Paramount ME

Rick

Attached Images

M104L4X10RGB2X10RcCROP.jpg (102.6 KB, 44 views)

Nice processing of the image data. The focal length used was just right for this subject.

This galaxy gets a lot of attention, like a few others, because it can yield such interesting photos.

Robert

Rick,

Very nice image. The dust lane is very clear and the bright areas don't overwhelm the image. Wow.

--Andy

__________________
Observatorio de la Ballona

A Beautiful Sombrero Rick! Even with the little distorsion you just mentioned it's a great shot of this galaxy and a very detailed wide view of it also with its distant neighbors, Awesome!. Clear Skies

Hi Rick
That is a cracking image of the sombrero with plenty of detail in the bulge and the dusty rim, excellent stuff
reagrds
Gordon

Another stunning piece of work. How you managed that much detail at your latitude is beyond me. The detail in the rim is reminicent of that famous Spitzer image yet you have kept that beautiful glow in the central bulge. Stunning!

Kind regards
Matt

Rick , this is awesome , the edge, what's that ? dust layers ? is so clear !

Superb shot!

Thank you for sharing.

__________________
Jean
-----
"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing." - Albert Einstein

"The good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge " - Bertrand Russell

You mean the rim of the galaxy? Many spirals when seen edge on show a strong dust lane dividing them into two halves. This is one of them. Some that have recently been in collisions show really strong dust lanes like Centaurs A that was posted here recently. M104 may fall into that category as well. Otherwise it is hard to explain the huge halo of stars about it.

Rick