Messier 104 (May 29, 2026)
May 29, 2026 6:12am
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day for 2026-05-29 is titled "Messier 104." The release is published as a image and pairs imagery with an official science explain...
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day for 2026-05-29 is titled "Messier 104." The release is published as a image and pairs imagery with an official science explainer from NASA. The post highlights a specific observable scene and provides technical context for why the view matters.
5-Second Takeaway
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day for 2026-05-29 is titled "Messier 104." The release is published as a image and pairs imagery with an official science explainer from NASA.
Why This Matters
The post highlights a specific observable scene and provides technical context for why the view matters.
What Changed
- NASA published this Astronomy Picture of the Day on 2026-05-29.
- The item title is Messier 104 and the media type is image.
- The image and caption describe observable features highlighted in this release.
- NASA's accompanying explanation provides observation context and interpretation notes.
- Caption excerpt: A gorgeous spiral galaxy, Messier 104 is famous for its nearly edge-on profile featuring a broad ring of obscuring dust lanes. Seen in silhouette against an extensive central bulge of stars, the swath of cosmic dust lends a broad brimmed hat-like appearance to the galaxy suggesting a more popular moniker, the Sombrero Galaxy. Also known as NGC 4594, the Sombrero galaxy can be seen across the spectrum and is host to a central supermassive black hole. About 50,000 light-years across and 28 million light-years away, M104 is one of the largest galaxies at the southern edge of the Virgo Galaxy Cluster. Still, the spiky foreground stars in this field of view lie well within our own Milky Way. This broad view of the well-known galaxy was processed to reveal M104's extended halo, as well as a faint tidal stellar stream. It was captured by the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the Blanco 4-meter tele
- Full mission and image details are available in the official APOD entry.
- NASA APOD page: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/M104noirlab2612a_1024.jpg
- NASA open API portal: https://api.nasa.gov/
Key Facts
- NASA published this Astronomy Picture of the Day on 2026-05-29.
- The item title is Messier 104 and the media type is image.
- The image and caption describe observable features highlighted in this release.
- NASA's accompanying explanation provides observation context and interpretation notes.
Key Numbers
- NASA published this Astronomy Picture of the Day on 2026-05-29.
- The item title is Messier 104 and the media type is image.
- Caption excerpt: A gorgeous spiral galaxy, Messier 104 is famous for its nearly edge-on profile featuring a broad ring of obscuring dust lanes. Seen in silhouette against an extensive central bulge of stars, the swath of cosmic dust lends a broad brimmed hat-like appearance to the galaxy suggesting a more popular moniker, the Sombrero Galaxy. Also known as NGC 4594, the Sombrero galaxy can be seen across the spectrum and is host to a central supermassive black hole. About 50,000 light-years across and 28 million light-years away, M104 is one of the largest galaxies at the southern edge of the Virgo Galaxy Cluster. Still, the spiky foreground stars in this field of view lie well within our own Milky Way. This broad view of the well-known galaxy was processed to reveal M104's extended halo, as well as a faint tidal stellar stream. It was captured by the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the Blanco 4-meter tele
- NASA APOD page: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/M104noirlab2612a_1024.jpg