The Dusty Secret of the Sombrero Galaxy

A galaxy that looks like a giant hat. The Sombrero Galaxy, also known as Messier 104, is one such celestial body. Located about 31 million light-years away, it's the most massive spiral galaxy within 100 million light-years of us. But here's a twist: unlike our Milky Way, the Sombrero forms stars at a much slower pace. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) recently snapped a new image of the Sombrero using its Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). This image shows a lumpy ring of dust around a bright core where a supermassive black hole resides. Stars produce dust, and this dust can clump together, often around new star-forming sites. MIRI can detect this cold dust, which is why the Sombrero's familiar bulge has disappeared in the new image. Scientists think the Sombrero used up most of its star-forming materials long ago during a massive starburst event. What's left is a meager rate of star formation, mostly happening in the dusty outer ring. The Sombrero's black hole was once active, spewing out jets of particles, but now it's quiet. It's like the party's over, and the Sombrero is growing old gracefully in space.