We tip our hat to this view 🤠 ⁣ ⁣ Located about 30 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Virgo, the Sombrero Galaxy is famous for its distinctive shape resembling the brim of a wide hat. ⁣ ⁣ On June 3, 2025, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope revealed a clearer view of how the galaxy got its name from the Spanish sombra, meaning ‘shade.’ Under a near-infrared camera, the central cluster of old stars at the galaxy’s core glow brightly, while thick lanes of dust block starlight in the outer ring to create a shadowed disk. ⁣ ⁣ But hold onto your hat: this galaxy may have a turbulent past. Studies suggest the Sombrero was shaped by a violent merger with at least one other galaxy. Webb’s latest near-infrared view, combined with other NASA telescope observations at different wavelengths, help astronomers piece together how galaxies like the Sombrero form and evolve. ⁣ ⁣ Image description: NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s new image of the Sombrero galaxy in near-infr...