View Larger Sombrero Galaxy is Two in One
by Science Daily staff
While some galaxies are rotund and others are slender disks like our spiral Milky Way, new observations from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope show that the Sombrero galaxy is both. The galaxy, which is a round elliptical galaxy with a thin disk embedded inside, is one of the first known to exhibit characteristics of the two different types. The findings will lead to a better understanding of galaxy evolution, a topic still poorly understood.
“The Sombrero is more complex than previously thought,” said Dimitri Gadotti of the European Southern Observatory in Chile and lead author of a new paper on the findings appearing in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. “The only way to understand all we know about this galaxy is to think of it as two galaxies, one inside the other.”
The Sombrero galaxy, also known as NGC 4594, is located 28 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. From our viewpoint on Earth, we can see the thin edge of its flat disk and a central bulge of stars, making it resemble a wide-brimmed hat. Astronomers do not know whether the Sombrero’s disk is shaped like a ring or a spiral, but agree it belongs to the disk class…
(read more: Science Daily) (image: NASA - JPL/CalTech)
(Source: ForGIFs.com)
(via sinyasiki, superwoobinda)
Cover (maybe back cover?) to a Spiderman “Dai Zukan” (Great Encyclopedia)
(Source: fotw)
View Larger Colourful Earth
Earth takes on beautiful colors in this image created by a Russian weather satellite. The satellite, Elektro-L No.1, scans both visible and infrared wavelengths of light. Combining these images yields the colorful view of Earth seen above. Read more about the image on OurAmazingPlanet.
(via: Live Science) (image: NTsOMZ)


Panasonic constructed 100,000 tiny solar powered LED spheres as part of its contribution to this year’s Tokyo Hotaru Festival. The spheres were created to resemble traditional fireflies that floated down the Sumida River.


(Source: a-really-sexy-girl-just)