On the Edge: Skywatchers Snap Photo of Slender 'Little Sombrero' Galaxy

NGC 7814
NGC 7814 is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation of Pegasus about 40 million light-years away. (Image credit: Bob and Janice Fera)

The slender beam of light in this photo is the galaxy NGC 7814, which is also known as the "Little Sombrero." This image was taken by astrophotographers Bob and Janice Fera from their observatory in Eagle Ridge, Calif., in October 2011.

NGC 7814 is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation of Pegasus about 40 million light-years away. A light-year is the distance light travels in one year, or about 6 trillion miles (10 trillion kilometers).

NGC 7814 is affectionately known as "The Little Sombrero" because it looks like a smaller version of the Sombrero galaxy, Messier 104. 

Spiral galaxies appear flat and thin with most of their interstellar dust packed into a disc. A thicker line of dust forms the dark band in the middle and absorbs light. From Earth, NGC 7814 looks like a compact disc on its edge.

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Contributing Writer and Producer

Nina Sen is a freelance writer and producer who covered night sky photography and astronomy for Space.com. She began writing and producing content for Space.com in 2011 with a focus on story and image production, as well as amazing space photos captured by NASA telescopes and other missions. Her work also includes coverage of amazing images by astrophotographers that showcase the night sky's beauty.