Messier Object M101

An interesting Deep Sky Object, located in Virgo, is the M104 Galaxy.  Because of its dark dust lane that surrounds the galaxy's disk, it is commonly referred to as a sombrero galaxy.  It is possible to see the galaxy through a pair of binoculars, but with its 50 million light-year distance from Earth, it's best seen through a 4-inch or larger telescope.  The intriguing shape of this galaxy caught my eye and was the first one of this sort that I've seen.

This image was taken by Todd Boroson: http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/html/im0583.html