M104 is a lenticular galaxy with a large central bulge lying 31 million light-years from Earth. It is seen nearly edge-on, which brings its dark equatorial dust lane into sharp relief. The combination of the large central bulge and the dark dust lane give it a resemblance to a sombrero hat. Astronomer Vesto Slipher from Lowell Observatory was the first to measure the redshift of M104 and found it was receeding from us a velocity of 1,000 kilometers/second. This had profound implications that were not recognized at the time. First, it provided evidence that the spiral nebulae were other galaxies, because if it was receding from us that fast, it would have likely left the bounds of our Milky Way Galaxy. Second, it was some of the first evidence of the expansion of the universe from the Big Bang. The tiny star like dots in a halo around M104 are some of its 2000 known globular star clusters caught in this image.

Exposures: L:R:G:B = 315:30:25:25 minutes =0.417 hours 6 hours, 35 minutes total exposure, completely unguided.