James Webb Telescope takes stunning photo of the Sombrero Galaxy

Its name is Sombrero in common language, Messier 104 (M104) in scientific language. Located no less than some 30 million light years away, in the constellation Virgo, this galaxy, named after the wide-brimmed Mexican hat, is even more photogenic. Indeed, NASA has just unveiled on November 25, 2024 a magnificent new image of the galaxy taken by the James Webb telescope.

The difference with the previous ones? These observations take place in the mid-infrared spectrum, via an instrument making up the James Webb telescope, called MIRI for Mid-Infrared Instrument. Working in this spectrum of light made it possible to obtain a more precise illustration than the previous ones, produced in particular with the Hubble telescope which worked, among other things, in the visible light spectrum.

The Sombrero Galaxy in infrared light and visible light

Compare the 2 images: on the right, the one taken with the Hubble telescope in visible light, on the left the one taken with the James Webb telescope via MIRI.

With James Webb, the central core of the Sombrero Galaxy does not glow as in visible light and, instead, is a smooth inner disk. Mid-infrared also allows us to highlight the details of the outer ring which appears as a complex agglomerate of dust. Previously, via another NASA infrared space telescope called Spitzer, this outer ring appeared smooth. In this dust distribution, scientists detected molecules containing carbon, which could indicate a hotbed for the formation of new stars.

In the background of this MIRI image, scientists also observe other galaxies of different shapes and colors. This provides information to astronomers, including how far away these galaxies are located.

The James Webb telescope still popular with astronomers

To be able to carry out further studies on other galaxies, we must first access the James Webb telescope. To do this, scientists from around the world submit their applications to an observatory selection committee. This sorts and chooses the proposals according to their quality, relevance and feasibility.

For the year 2025, requests have already exploded: 2,377 proposals were submitted before October 15, 2024, the deadline to apply. The proposed study subjects are varied: from the observation of distant galaxies to the study of exoplanet systems. One thing is certain: astronomy fans take their hats off to the scientists who have succeeded in painting a portrait of the beautiful Sombrero galaxy.