... This dusty island universe is one of the brightest spiral galaxies in planet Earth's sky. ... A Starry Night of Iceland . ... Named the Sombrero Galaxy for its hat-like resemblance, M104 features a prominent dust lane and a bright halo of stars and globular clusters. ... At 2nd magnitude, Polaris is far from the brightest star in the night sky. ... Undulating bright ridges and dusty clouds cross this close-up of the nearby star forming region M8, also known as the Lagoon Nebula. ...