Astronomy Picture of the Day · October 21, 2001

The Sombrero Galaxy from VLT

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for October 21, 2001 is “The Sombrero Galaxy from VLT,” an image. It is credited to Credit: Peter Barthel ( Kapteyn Inst. ) et al., FORS1 , VLT ANTU , ESO. The original explanation runs about 133 words.

From the explanation

“Why does the Sombrero Galaxy look like a hat? Reasons include the Sombrero ‘s unusually large and extended central bulge of stars, and dark prominent dust lanes that appear in a disk that we see nearly edge-on .”

— APOD editors, October 21, 2001

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: October 21, 2001
Type: Image
Credit: Credit: Peter Barthel ( Kapteyn Inst. ) et al., FORS1 , VLT ANTU , ESO
Copyright: No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 133 words

All of October 2001 → · 2001 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Galaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: October 21 in other years

On Amazon

Popular picks for space fans

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Electronics Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition 32GB Read astronomy and space-history books anywhere. View on Amazon → Electronics Bose QuietComfort Wireless Headphones Noise-cancelling headphones for documentaries and launch livestreams. View on Amazon →

Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, October 21, 2001 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2001-october-21-the-sombrero-galaxy-from-vlt

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.