The Sombrero Galaxy and the Milky Way share a disk, a central bulge and an extended halo, but they look very different because we see them from different angles. Sombrero (M104) is viewed nearly edge-on, making its bright central bulge and dark dust lane stand out; we see the Milky Way from inside its disk. NASA estimates that M104 is roughly 28–30 million light-years away and has a mass of about 800 billion Suns. Its globular-cluster population is also much larger by NASA’s comparison, while its present-day star formation is low. Some details—including the mass of its central black hole and the full story of its assembly—remain unsettled.
Why the galaxies look so different
Both galaxies have the broad components of a disk galaxy: a central bulge, a flattened disk and a surrounding halo. The viewing perspective is the key to their contrasting appearance. M104 is seen nearly edge-on, so its bright central bulge rises above a sharply defined band of dust in the disk. That silhouette gives it the familiar hat-like appearance.
NASA also describes a smaller disk embedded in M104’s bright core, tilted relative to its larger disk. The resulting structure is more intricate than the simple brim-and-crown outline suggests. NASA’s Hubble overview of M104 and its Messier 104 catalog entry describe these features.
The Milky Way is also a disk galaxy with a central bulge and a halo of stars and globular clusters. But because Earth and the Sun are inside its disk, we see the disk from within rather than as an external observer would. Dust in our own galaxy affects what we can see across it, so the Milky Way does not present the same clean, edge-on outline as M104. NASA’s account of Milky Way analogs discusses the Galaxy’s structure and development.
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How large and massive is M104?
NASA gives M104’s distance as about 28 million light-years in one Hubble-era description and around 30 million light-years in a newer Webb account. These are rounded estimates, not conflicting precision measurements. NASA describes the galaxy’s mass as about 800 billion solar masses. Those figures give a sense of scale, but they should not be treated as exact constants. See NASA’s Webb account of M104’s disk for the newer distance description and mass estimate.
Globular clusters: M104 has many more
Globular clusters are dense, gravitationally bound groups of stars found in galactic halos. NASA estimates that M104 contains nearly 2,000 of them—about ten times the number in the Milky Way in NASA’s comparison. The estimate does not mean M104 has ten times as many stars overall; it is a comparison of these particular star clusters.
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NASA describes M104’s clusters as old, roughly 10–13 billion years, with ages similar to those of clusters in the Milky Way. Their abundance and properties are useful clues about a galaxy’s past, but the count alone does not establish how M104 formed. NASA summarizes the cluster population in its Hubble overview and Webb disk account.
Present-day star formation is low in M104
NASA’s Webb-era description says M104 forms fewer than one solar mass of stars per year. That is a rate of stellar mass formed, not a literal count of fewer than one individual star annually. NASA’s Webb comparison gives roughly two solar masses of stars per year for the Milky Way, while an earlier NASA account describes the Milky Way as forming about one solar mass per year. These are approximate, source-dependent figures, so they are best read as broad indicators rather than a precise head-to-head measurement.
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NASA characterizes M104’s central black hole as relatively calm in the same Webb-era material. The star-formation comparison and description of activity appear in NASA’s Sombrero Galaxy page, alongside NASA’s Webb image feature. The earlier Milky Way comparison is in NASA’s 2013 release about the Galaxy’s formative years.
The central black-hole comparison is uncertain
The Milky Way’s central black hole, Sagittarius A*, has a mass of about four million Suns according to NASA’s Hubble black-hole overview. M104’s central black-hole mass is less clear: published estimates cited here differ substantially, and the available sources do not settle which estimate should be preferred.
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| Galaxy or estimate | Reported mass | Source and context |
|---|---|---|
| Milky Way: Sagittarius A* | About 4 million solar masses | NASA, approximately 2024: Hubble black-hole overview. |
| M104 central black hole | About 1 billion solar masses | Older NASA Hubble material: M104 overview. |
| M104 central black hole | 6.6 × 108 solar masses | 2011 orbit-based dynamical modeling study: Orbit-Based Dynamical Models of the Sombrero Galaxy (NGC 4594). |
| M104 central black hole | 9 billion solar masses | Newer NASA Webb page: Webb image feature. |
The estimates for M104 range from hundreds of millions to billions of solar masses. Consequently, a single ratio comparing its black hole with Sagittarius A* would depend on which M104 estimate is selected; NASA’s newer Webb page’s comparison uses its nine-billion-solar-mass figure. The sources cited here do not explain the discrepancy or resolve it, so it is more accurate to report the estimates with their sources than to present one number as settled.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the evidence says about their histories
M104’s outer halo and globular clusters provide evidence relevant to how the galaxy assembled. NASA’s Hubble reporting describes a possible major accretion event as one interpretation of those clues. That is a proposed piece of its history, not a complete or definitive account of how the galaxy formed. The halo study and its interpretation are discussed in NASA’s “Beyond the Brim” feature.
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NASA contrasts that possible event with the Milky Way’s history of accreting smaller satellite galaxies. Its broader account of the Milky Way’s development also draws on observations of Milky-Way-like galaxies at different cosmic epochs. A NASA study examined 400 such analog galaxies across an 11-billion-year time span; that is a sample and observation baseline for studying galaxy evolution, not a direct view of the Milky Way throughout its entire history. The study is summarized in NASA’s release on the Milky Way’s formative years.
Can you observe the Sombrero Galaxy?
NASA says M104 can be spotted with a modest telescope. What you can make out depends on observing conditions and equipment; the fact that it is observable does not guarantee a detailed view of its dust lane or internal structure. NASA’s Messier 104 catalog entry provides its observing context.
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