Sombrero+Galaxy

Sombrero Galaxy
Astronomy123 edited Fall 2012



SUMMARY
It has recently been discovered that the Sombrero galaxy is not a spiral galaxy, as previously thought, but rather it "is a large elliptical galaxy... with a thin disk galaxy... embedded within," 1 making it two galaxies in one. This galaxy, sometimes referred to as NGC 4594 or M104," is located 28 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo.... Astronomers do not know whether the Sombrero's disk is shaped like a ring or a spiral, but agree it belongs to the disk class." 2 The Sombrero galaxy has a disk of dust near its edge with a large bulge of stars at its center, making it look like a Sombrero hat from our vantage point here on Earth. 3 "The spectacular dust rings harbor many younger and brighter stars, and show intricate details astronomers don't yet fully understand." 3  "The flat disk within the galaxy is made up of two portions. The inner disk is composed almost entirely of stars, with no dust. Beyond this is a slight gap, then an outer ring of intermingled dust and stars..." 4  This galaxy can be viewed by an amateur astronomer with a telescope.

References:

1 @http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/multimedia/pia15426.html

2 @http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120424161412.htm

3 @http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_283.html

4 @http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/multimedia/pia15426.html

AUTHOR:
Page Editor: Tony Greicius NASA Official: Brian Dunbar

LAST UPDATED:
April 24, 2012

DATE REVIEWED:
November 30, 2012

REVIEWED BY:
Astronomy123

ACCURACY:
This is a fairly recent article posted on NASA's Website. It appears to concur with many other articles, including articles from //Discovery News// (@http://news.discovery.com/space/sombrero-galaxy-has-a-split-personality-120425.html) and //ScienceDaily// (@http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120424161412.htm) which I reviewed in the //2012 Articles About the Sombrero Galaxy// section (scroll to view).

READABILITY and CLARITY:
The intended audience appears to be for the general public, ages: teens and adult. It is written appropriately and is easy reading for this audience.

Flesch Reading Ease: 51.1 Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level: 10.4

EASE OF NAVIGATION:
Other articles about the Sombrero Galaxy can be found on this sight but they are not that easy to find. The easiest way to find them is to type "Sombrero Galaxy" into the Search box. Two other good articles about the Sombrero Galaxy on this site: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_283.html and @http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/news/spitzer20120424.html

AUTHOR:
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory Administrator: Jacques N Laflamme

LAST UPDATED:
Uploaded: May 28, 2008

DATE REVIEWED:
November 30, 2012

REVIEWED BY:
Astronomy123

ACCURACY:
The information does appear to be accurate for the most part but is a little out of date in saying: "Like the Milky Way, Sombrero is a spiral galaxy." This video was created before the recent 2012 discovery that the Sombrero Galaxy is actually two galaxies in one (elliptical galaxy with a thin disk embedded inside). Three articles that confirm this recent finding are from //Discovery News// (@http://news.discovery.com/space/sombrero-galaxy-has-a-split-personality-120425.html), //ScienceDaily// (@http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120424161412.htm) which I reviewed in the //2012 Articles About the Sombrero Galaxy// section (scroll down to view) and NASA's article (@http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/multimedia/pia15426.html) which I reviewed at the top of this page (scroll up to view). Despite this it is still a good video with good information and nice pictures which "visual types" should find helpful.

READABILITY and CLARITY:
The intended audience appears to be for the general public, ages: teens and adult. It is written appropriately and is easy listening/ watching for this audience.

Flesch Reading Ease (of description of video): 46.2 Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level (of description of video): 10.4

EASE OF NAVIGATION:
Super easy navigation; just click play. You can find other video (on other astronomy subjects) by clicking: on the website to go to NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory Youtube channel.

@http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2007/sombrero/index.html




AUTHOR:
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory Administrator: Jacques N Laflamme Credit: X-ray: NASA/UMass/Q.D.Wang et al.; Optical: NASA/STScI/AURA/Hubble Heritage; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. AZ/R.Kennicutt/SINGS Team

LAST UPDATED:
Revised: February 13, 2009

DATE REVIEWED:
December 1, 2012

REVIEWED BY:
Astronomy123

ACCURACY:
The information does appear to be accurate. It consists mainly of pictures with a couple paragraphs describing the pictures and a few fast facts. It is from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory in connection with Harvard so it is a reliable source. It has good examples of different ways to view the galaxy such as X-ray, infrared, etc.

READABILITY and CLARITY:
The intended audience appears to be for the general public, ages: teens and adult. It is written appropriately and is easy reading for this audience. It is mostly pictures and fast facts which makes for a quick read as well.

Flesch Reading Ease: 48.9 Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level: 11.5

EASE OF NAVIGATION:
Fairly easy to navigate. The "More Images" took me a minute to find but it can be located in the right side menu, between the two medium sized pictures. By clicking this you will be able to find additional pictures of the Sombrero Galaxy without having to leave the site.

AUTHOR:
Administrator: Naumann Michael

LAST UPDATED:
March 4, 2007

DATE REVIEWED:
November 30, 2012

REVIEWED BY:
Astronomy123

ACCURACY:
//Everything Astronomy// (@http://everythingastronomy.weebly.com/the-sombrero-galaxy.html) and //The Messier Catalog// on the //Students for the Exploration and Development of Space// website (@http://messier.seds.org/m/m104.html//)// confirm the history and some other facts found on the ESO website. This article lists several sources at the bottom that back up its claims. However, most of the links are broken.

The information does appear to be accurate for the most part but is a little out of date in saying: "It is... classified as a type Sa (spiral galaxy)." This webpage was created before the recent 2012 discovery that the Sombrero Galaxy is actually two galaxies in one (elliptical galaxy with a thin disk embedded inside). Three articles that confirm this recent finding are from //Discovery News// (@http://news.discovery.com/space/sombrero-galaxy-has-a-split-personality-120425.html), //ScienceDaily// (@http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120424161412.htm) which I reviewed in the //2012 Articles About the Sombrero Galaxy// section (scroll down to view) and NASA's article (@http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/multimedia/pia15426.html) which I reviewed at the top of this page (scroll up to view). Despite this it is still a decent article with some good information.

READABILITY and CLARITY:
The article has this symbol: "�" throughout making it very annoying to read. If you can ignore that it is a very interesting article with lots of good information. The intended audience appears to be for the general public, ages: teens and adult. It is written appropriately and is easy - average reading for this audience. There is even a class activity at the end of the article.

Flesch Reading Ease: 45.5 Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level: 12.9

EASE OF NAVIGATION:
The only pages on this subject beyond this page are links to references but most of these are broken. I was able to find this page: @http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso0007a/ on the Sombrero Galaxy by going to the sites image section. The site does have other topics you can explore but as far as going to other pages about the Sombrero galaxy it's not good for that. I tried doing a search for Sombrero Galaxy using the sites search box and all I got was a never ending "Loading." If the site has other pages on the Sombrero Galaxy they are not easy to find.


 * 2012 Articles About the Sombrero Galaxy: **

AUTHOR:
The Daily Galaxy Administrator: Val Landi

LAST UPDATED:
Published: March 30, 2012 - 8:30am

DATE REVIEWED:
December 1, 2012

REVIEWED BY:
Astronomy123

ACCURACY:
This article was written just a few weeks before the announcement of the recent discovery that the Sombrero Galaxy is actually two galaxies in one. It appears to be in a "transitional" stage between the old ideas and the new. Due to this the article seams "fuzzy" in details in a few areas but is still a good article that demonstrates the scientific process. It should be read with more recent articles that talk about the fact that it is two galaxies in one (elliptical galaxy with a thin disk embedded inside). Three articles that confirm this recent finding are from //Discovery News// (@http://news.discovery.com/space/sombrero-galaxy-has-a-split-personality-120425.html), //ScienceDaily// (@http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120424161412.htm) which I reviewed just below this one (scroll down to view) and NASA's article (@http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/multimedia/pia15426.html) which I reviewed at the top of this page (scroll up to view).

READABILITY and CLARITY:
The intended audience appears to be for the general public, ages: teens and adult. It is written appropriately and is easy - average reading for this audience. It says: "The optical image below shows the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 1407..." but then doesn't have any picture below making it a bit confusing.

A few spelling and grammar mistakes.

Flesch Reading Ease: 43.1 Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level: 12.6

EASE OF NAVIGATION:
This article does not have links to other place to get more information on this subject but at the top of the article you can easily navigate to newer and older articles on other astronomy subjects.

AUTHOR:
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory Reprinted by: ScienceDaily //ScienceDaily// Administrator: Dan Hogan

Whitney Clavin 818-354-4673 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. whitney.b.clavin@jpl.nasa.gov

J.D. Harrington 202-358-0321 Headquarters, Washington j.d.harrington@nasa.gov

LAST UPDATED:
Published: April 24, 2012

DATE REVIEWED:
December 1, 2012

REVIEWED BY:
Astronomy123

ACCURACY:
This is a fairly recent article from //ScienceDaily// that appears to be up to date and accurate. It was also posted on NASA's website: (@http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/news/spitzer20120424.html) It concurs with many other articles, including an article from //Discovery News// (@http://news.discovery.com/space/sombrero-galaxy-has-a-split-personality-120425.html).

READABILITY and CLARITY:
The intended audience appears to be for the general public, ages: teens and adult. It is written appropriately and is easy - average reading for this audience. It is well written and easy to follow.

Flesch Reading Ease: 43.5 Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level: 11.9

EASE OF NAVIGATION:
It is easy to navigate to other related articles within the site as well as related external site that appear at the bottom of the article. This site has lots of links to other sites and articles both external and internal so that you can explore lots of related subjects.

AUTHOR:
Damond Benningfield

LAST UPDATED:
Featured on: July 2nd & 3rd, 2012

DATE REVIEWED:
December 1, 2012

REVIEWED BY:
Astronomy123

ACCURACY:
This article appears to be both accurate and up to date. It (unlike many other articles) does talk about the recent discovery that the Sombrero galaxy is really two galaxies in one (elliptical galaxy with a thin disk embedded inside). Three articles that confirm this recent finding are from //Discovery News// (@http://news.discovery.com/space/sombrero-galaxy-has-a-split-personality-120425.html), //ScienceDaily// (@http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120424161412.htm) which I reviewed just above this review (scroll up to view) and NASA's article (@http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/multimedia/pia15426.html) which I reviewed at the top of this page (scroll up to view).

READABILITY and CLARITY:
The intended audience appears to be for the general public, ages: teens and adult. It is written appropriately and is easy - average reading for this audience. It is well written and easy to follow and even has a place to listen to it the radio program on this subject.

Flesch Reading Ease: 58.2 Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level: 9.5

EASE OF NAVIGATION:
It is easy to find out more by clicking the "The Sombrero" link for the radio program at the end of the introduction paragraph. On this next page you can either read or listen to the article. Then you can click read/ listen to the next days program (also about the Sombrero galaxy) by clicking "Next Program" at the top of the page. It would have been easier if they had put this link at both the top and bottom of the page but it's still pretty easy to navigate. You can also explore other subjects on the site by clicking on links under keywords.

@http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/art-164669/The-Sombrero-Galaxy-as-seen-by-the-Hubble-Space-Telescope
=== ===

AUTHOR:
Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. Administrator: Carmen Pagan

LAST UPDATED:
Record Created: October 31, 2010

DATE REVIEWED
December 1, 2012

REVIEWED BY:
Astronomy123

ACCURACY:
This article is out of date. It (like many other articles) does not talk about the recent discovery that the Sombrero galaxy is really two galaxies in one (elliptical galaxy with a thin disk embedded inside). Three articles that confirm this recent finding are from //Discovery News// (@http://news.discovery.com/space/sombrero-galaxy-has-a-split-personality-120425.html), //ScienceDaily// (@http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120424161412.htm) which I reviewed in the //2012 Articles About the Sombrero Galaxy// section (scroll up to view) and NASA's article (@http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/multimedia/pia15426.html) which I reviewed at the top of this page (scroll up to view).

READABILITY and CLARITY:
This website is intended for kids to be able to look up a quick simple definition of the subject. It is age appropriate and fairly easy to read but it would be nice if they defined a few more of the terms such as "constellation" and "Hubble Space Telescope" as not all kid's may fully understand these terms. It also needs updating

Flesch Reading Ease: 34.2 Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level: 11.7

EASE OF NAVIGATION:
They do have a couple links to related articles. However, it would be nice if they had links to defined a few more of the terms such as "constellation" and "Hubble Space Telescope," as not all kid's may fully understand these terms. I do like how they have a search box at the top and a citation generator at the bottom. This makes life easier for students.

@http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/eds/overviews/print/lithos/sombrero.php.p=Teaching+tools%40%2Ceds%2Ctools%2C%3EGalaxies%40%2Ceds%2Ctools%2Ctopic%2Cgalaxies.php
=== ===

AUTHOR:
Space Telescope Science Institute & NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Administrator: Gary Gladney

LAST UPDATED:
Domain Activated: June 12, 1987

DATE REVIEWED
December 2, 2012

REVIEWED BY:
Astronomy123

ACCURACY:
This lesson plan is out of date. It (like many other articles) does not talk about the recent discovery that the Sombrero galaxy is really two galaxies in one (elliptical galaxy with a thin disk embedded inside). Three articles that confirm this recent finding are from //Discovery News// (@http://news.discovery.com/space/sombrero-galaxy-has-a-split-personality-120425.html), //ScienceDaily// (@http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120424161412.htm) which I reviewed in the //2012 Articles About the Sombrero Galaxy// section (scroll up to view) and NASA's article (@http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/multimedia/pia15426.html) which I reviewed at the top of this page (scroll up to view).

READABILITY and CLARITY:
It says it is designed for teachers of "Grades: 6-12, but the material can be adapted for use in other grades at the teacher's discretion." It does appear to be age appropriate and is very easy for a teacher to follow in order to make a lesson out of it. It has a //Description//, //How to Use it in a Classroom//, and //Related Material// before even going to the PDF lesson plan. In the PDF it has Instructions for both the teacher and student's as well as links to materials and external articles. Everything is clearly marked in section for even more ease. Note: It does not have the latest classification of this galaxy so some adaptation may need to be made in order to include the latest findings. See "Accuracy" above.

Flesch Reading Ease: 60.3 Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level: 6.9

EASE OF NAVIGATION:
It's fairly easy to navigate and get to the PDF lesson plan. The related material and supplies/ article from other sites can be found easily with just a click. Pretty simple and straight forward.

======

AUTHOR:
Jasmeer Virdee

LAST UPDATED:
Published: February 11, 2012

DATE REVIEWED:
December 2, 2012

REVIEWED BY:
Astronomy123

ACCURACY:
This article is entitle "What Can You See in the Night Sky This Week - The Sombrero Galaxy!" and is from February 11, 2012. Obviously that date is over but the information in the article is still useful for future viewings of the Sombrero galaxy. It accurately describes how to find this galaxy on Stellarium (www.stellarium.org) so that you can easily find out when and where you can view it in the night sky.

This article is a little out of date with the latest findings on this galaxy but it still useful for finding the galaxy. It (like many other articles) does not talk about the recent discovery that the Sombrero galaxy is really two galaxies in one (elliptical galaxy with a thin disk embedded inside). Three articles that confirm this recent finding are from //Discovery News// (@http://news.discovery.com/space/sombrero-galaxy-has-a-split-personality-120425.html), //ScienceDaily// (@http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120424161412.htm) which I reviewed in the //2012 Articles About the Sombrero Galaxy// section (scroll up to view) and NASA's article (@http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/multimedia/pia15426.html) which I reviewed at the top of this page (scroll up to view).

READABILITY and CLARITY:
The intended audience appears to be for the amateur astronomers, ages: teens and adult. It is written appropriately and is easy reading for this audience. It's very clear and easy to read. It accurately describes how to find this galaxy on Stellarium (www.stellarium.org) so that you can easily find out when and where you can view it in the night sky. When combined with information from the below article from //Space.com// it should greatly aid in finding the Sombrero galaxy with a telescope.

Flesch Reading Ease: 53.6 Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level: 10.2

EASE OF NAVIGATION:
It is easy to navigate to other articles, on other astronomy subject, within the site. It also has a convenient link to Stellarium (www.stellarium.org) for free download.

AUTHOR:
Geoff Gaherty, Starry Night Education

LAST UPDATED:
Published: May 26, 2009 - 9:26am ET

DATE REVIEWED:
December 2, 2012

REVIEWED BY:
Astronomy123

ACCURACY:
This article does not describe the Sombrero galaxy, but rather very detailed instructions on how to locate it in the night sky. The article says to print out a chart but then it doesn't give the link! I did a Google search and was able to find it, however. You can get the chart by going here: @http://www.starrynighteducation.com/sntimes/2009/june/wwwgfx_cur/Sombrero_Galaxy.pdf The information does appear to be accurate. However, I can not personally test it out as the chart is designed for May at 10pm in the Northern Hemisphere and it is not May. It does come from some reliable sources (//Space.com// and //Starry Night Education//), so it is defiantly worth testing out come May. When combined with the information from the above article from the //University of Oxford// (@http://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/blog/astro-blog/2012/02/11/what-can-you-see-in-the-night-sky-this-week-the-sombrero-galaxy) it should be helpful in finding the Sombrero galaxy. Happy galaxy hunting!

READABILITY and CLARITY:
The intended audience appears to be for the amateur astronomers, ages: teens and adult. It is written appropriately and is average reading for this audience. It's give clear instructions on how to find the galaxy by finding one object and then another, followed by another etc. Not too complicated. Note: It does get confusing when it asks you to print out a chart and then doesn't provide a link to that chart. I did a Google search and was able to find it, however. You can get the chart by going here: @http://www.starrynighteducation.com/sntimes/2009/june/wwwgfx_cur/Sombrero_Galaxy.pdf

When combines with the information from the above article from the //University of Oxford// (@http://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/blog/astro-blog/2012/02/11/what-can-you-see-in-the-night-sky-this-week-the-sombrero-galaxy) it should be helpful in finding the Sombrero galaxy.

Flesch Reading Ease: 63.5 Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level: 9.2

EASE OF NAVIGATION:
Not having a link to the chart it's asking you to print out is a big pain! A link to Stellarium (www.stellarium.org) would be nice. On the possessive side it does have links to both internal and external article and curriculum that are easy to find and access.