M104’s bright central bulge and dark dust lane give the Sombrero Galaxy its hat-like appearance. We see the galaxy nearly edge-on. This portrait earns its position by making viewing geometry part of the explanation: a galaxy’s apparent shape depends on our perspective.
Compare the broad central glow with the thin dark band crossing it. The dark lane contains dust rather than marking a tear in the image. Before comparing M104 with the face-on Whirlpool Galaxy next, account for the different viewing angles.
Source/image: NASA/ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) · CC BY 4.0. Resized; colours retained.