M104 is well placed
2017 Mar 31
Dominic Ford – originally published on In-The-Sky.org
The sombrero galaxy (M104, NGC 4594) will be well placed for observation. It will reach its highest point in the sky at around midnight local time.
At a declination of -11°37', it is easiest to see from the southern hemisphere; it can be seen at latitudes between 58°N and 81°S.
From London (click to change), it will be visible between 23:46 and 02:13. It will become accessible at around 23:46, when it rises 24° above your southern horizon, and then reach its highest point in the sky at 01:02, 26° above your southern horizon. It will become inaccessible at around 02:13 when it sinks to 24° above your southern horizon.
At magnitude 8.3, M104 is quite faint, and certainly not visible to the naked eye, but can be viewed through a pair of binoculars or small telescope.
The precise position of M104 is as follows:
| Object | Right Ascension | Declination | Constellation | Magnitude | Angular Size |
| M104 | 12h40m00s | -11°37' | Virgo | 8.3 | 0'08" |
The coordinates above are given in J2000.0.
The details of this observing event were provided courtesy of In-The-Sky.org
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