NGC 5746 - The Mini Sombrero Galaxy

NGC 5746 - The "Mini Sombrero" Barred Spiral, Edge-On Galaxy in Virgo. NGC 5746 is a massive barred spiral galaxy (SAB(rs)b? type) located approximately 99 million light‑years away in Virgo - it closely resembles the Sombrero Galaxy when viewed edge-on, earning it the nickname the Mini Sombrero. It features a box-shaped bulge, a classic signature of a bar seen end-on, and contains two "pseudobulges": a compact, star-forming inner component nested within an older, larger boxy bulge. Observations suggest the presence of a hot gaseous halo, possibly indicating ongoing accretion of diffuse gas as predicted by galaxy formation models. A Type Ia supernova (SN 1983P) was recorded in this galaxy in July 1983, adding to its astrophysical interest.

Captured with Telescope Live’s Chilean 24" PlaneWave CDK telescope using just 2:40h of LRGB integration time. Despite relatively modest exposure time, the result highlights its edge-on profile, dark central dust lane, and warm bulge glow against a rich background of stars.

Sources:

wikipedia.org

theskylive.com

https://arxiv.org/abs/1810.10073

https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0511682

Data credit: Telescope.Live