Point your telescope toward the high flying constellation Pegasus and you can find this expanse of Milky Way stars and distant galaxies . Centered on NGC 7814, the pretty field of view would almost be covered by a full moon. NGC 7814 is sometimes called the Little Sombrero for its resemblance to the brighter more famous M104, the Sombrero Galaxy . Both Sombrero and Little Sombrero are spiral galaxies seen edge-on, and both have extensive central bulges cut by a thinner disk with dust lanes in silhouette. In fact , NGC 7814 is some 40 million light-years away and an estimated 60,000 light-years across. That actually makes the Little Sombrero about the same physical size as its better known namesake, appearing to be smaller and fainter only because it is farther away. A very faint dwarf galaxy, potentially a satellite of NGC 7814, is revealed in the deep exposure just below the Little Sombrero.
Media Credits & Attribution
Image Credit & Copyright: Ken Crawford ( Rancho Del Sol Obs. ) Collaboration: David Martinez-Delgado ( ARI-ZAH, Univ. Heidelberg )