# @nasa on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DCzrvw5JHaJ
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/25136649-nasa-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/2851f0bb34.jpg
- **Posted:** 2024-11-25T20:21:01.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** NASA (@NASA) — https://gondola.cc/NASA

## Caption

Hats off to you!

This new infrared image from NASAWebb shows off bespoke details in the Sombrero galaxy, a hat-like formation around 30 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Virgo.

When previously imaged by NASAHubble in visible light, the core of the galaxy shone bright, obscuring the inner disk, but here, we can see that the inner disk is smooth. Webb’s new view also reveals that the outer ring is made of intricate clumps of dust. Researchers say the clumpy nature of the dust can indicate the presence of young star-forming regions.

We usually feature rather turbulent parts of the universe, but the Sombrero galaxy is rather peaceful in comparison. It’s not particularly active in terms of star creation: it produces less than one solar mass of stars per year, in comparison to the Milky Way’s roughly two solar masses a year. Even the supermassive black hole at the center of the Sombrero galaxy is rather docile. It’s classified as a low luminosity active galactic nucleus, slowly snacking on infalling material from the galaxy while sending off a bright, relatively small, jet.

Image description: A wide view of the Sombrero galaxy is split into three slides. Seen edge-on, it looks like a flat blue disk at an angle. In the first slide, the clumps of dust that make up the outer ring take center stage. On the second slide, the bright core and smooth inner ring are visible. Finally, the lumpy outer ring reappears in slide three. On each slide, distant galaxies dot the background, appearing as multicolored dots in the darkness of space. This image includes filters representing 7.7-micron light as blue, 11.3-micron light as green, and 12.8-micron light as red.

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STSci

#NASA #Webb #Galaxy #Hubble #Hat #Sombrero #Space #Astrophotography

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## Tags

webb, nasa, hubble, astrophotography, sombrero, space, galaxy, hat

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