NASA's Hubble telescope captures unique, billion years old 'Sombrero galaxy'

Over the years, the Hubble Space Telescope of NASA has taken some of the most fascinating images of the cosmos since its inception over two decades ago, the Hubble Space Telescope has allowed scientists to study galaxies from virtually every possible angle.

The 'Sombrero Galaxy', which is around 40 million light-years distant from Earth, was taken by one of the most advanced observatories and provided by NASA.

Also, READ: Evidence of water on Mars as new geological study suggests high rates of erosion

Take a look at a galaxy edge-on with @NASAHubble. 

Set against a backdrop of remote galaxies, the Little Sombrero galaxy (NGC 7814) features a bright central bulge, a thin disk full of dust, and a glowing halo of gas and stars. 

Learn more HERE: https://t.co/PT4HzeJI9O

— NASA Marshall (@NASA_Marshall) May 12, 2022

An out-of-the-way galaxy, the Sombrero, also known as 'Caldwell 43' has a brilliant central bulge, an ethereal dust disc, and a luminous ring of gas and stars around it.

Scientists have found that the 'Sombrero' galaxy is billions of years old, but it was only recently that the galaxy's strong core bulge and halo of incandescent plasma were seen in the sky.

In the 'Sombrero' Galaxy, dusty spiral arms that absorb light from the galactic centre have developed.

The galaxy is called Sombrero because it resembles a Mexican hat. Sombrero sits near the southern border of the dense Virgo cluster of galaxies.

In the 19th century, some astronomers hypothesised that the galaxy was merely an edge-on disc of luminous gas encircling a newborn star, which is paradigmatic of the formation of our solar system.

But in 1912, astronomer V M Slipher noticed that the hat-like object looked to be speeding away from us at 700 miles per second.

This immense velocity supplied some of the early hints that the Sombrero was truly another galaxy, and that the universe was expanding in all directions.