M104: The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared
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 visible light actually glows brightly in infrared light.
Image Credit: NASA, JPL, Caltech, SSC, R. Kennicutt (Steward Obs.) et al.,
