The top panel shows a flat ring with a bright center in blue, even though it was taken in near infrared light. The bottom panel shows the same galaxy in visible light and shows a brighter and more expansive center against which the flat ring appears dark. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.
上图显示了一个扁平的环状结构，中心明亮，呈蓝色，尽管它是在近红外光下拍摄的下图显示可见光下的同一星系，中心更明亮、更广阔，而扁平的环状结构则显得很暗。有关更多详细信息，请参阅说明。
2023年8月13日 The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared Credit: R. Kennicutt (Steward Obs.) et al., SSC, JPL, Caltech, NASA Explanation: This floating ring is the size of a galaxy. In fact, it is a galaxy — or at least part of one: the photogenic Sombrero Galaxy, one of the largest galaxies in the nearby Virgo Cluster of Galaxies. The dark band of dust that obscures the mid-section of the Sombrero Galaxy in optical light actually glows brightly in infrared light. The featured image, digitally sharpened, shows the infrared glow, recently recorded by the orbiting Spitzer Space Telescope, superposed in false-color on an existing image taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in visible light. The Sombrero Galaxy, also known as M104, spans about 50,000 light years across and…
