IC342
| IC342 (LRGB, C9.25 f/5, ST10XME, AO8 guiding; 29 x 5 min L 1:1; 15 x 10 min L 2:2; 5 x 5 min RGB 2:2); click on image for full size |
Spiral Galaxy IC342 is located roughly 11 million light-years from Earth in the northern constellation
Camelopardalis. Its face-on appearance makes IC342 a good subject for astronomical studies,
especially since it appears to be very similar in structure to our Milky Way galaxy. The galaxy lies at a
low galactic latitude, only 10.5 degrees from the galactic equator of the Milky Way. Because of its
location it is heavily obscured from view behind a veil of stars, gas and dust clouds from our galaxy.
Compare this image with those of other galaxies and the difference in star density is very apparent.
Recent estimates indicate that its brightness is attenuated by about 2.4 magnitudes; without this
extinction, this galaxy would be among the brightest in the sky, and certainly would have been
discovered much earlier.
IC 342 is part of a group of galaxies known as the Maffei Group. Most of the galaxies in this group are
much smaller than IC342 and are even more obscured by the Milky Way. Thus many were only
discovered in the 1990s (see http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/galgrps/maffei.html). IC342 is one of
two dominating members of this group, the other being the elliptical galaxy Maffei 1. However, in spite of
its innate brightness, Maffei 1, is very obscured by the Milky Way and was not discovered until 1968.
The galaxies of this group probably formed as a subgroup of our Local Group of galaxies and were
ejected following a violent encounter with the Andromeda Galaxy 5-10 billion years ago (see
(http://www.seds.org/messier/more/lg-dyn.html). An excellent image of IC342, from the Kitt Peak
Observatory, can be seen at: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080109.html.
The image shown below is an LRGB image created from sub frames taken through four filters. The sub
frames were then digitally colorized and combined using software. Click on the image for a larger size.
Camelopardalis. Its face-on appearance makes IC342 a good subject for astronomical studies,
especially since it appears to be very similar in structure to our Milky Way galaxy. The galaxy lies at a
low galactic latitude, only 10.5 degrees from the galactic equator of the Milky Way. Because of its
location it is heavily obscured from view behind a veil of stars, gas and dust clouds from our galaxy.
Compare this image with those of other galaxies and the difference in star density is very apparent.
Recent estimates indicate that its brightness is attenuated by about 2.4 magnitudes; without this
extinction, this galaxy would be among the brightest in the sky, and certainly would have been
discovered much earlier.
IC 342 is part of a group of galaxies known as the Maffei Group. Most of the galaxies in this group are
much smaller than IC342 and are even more obscured by the Milky Way. Thus many were only
discovered in the 1990s (see http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/galgrps/maffei.html). IC342 is one of
two dominating members of this group, the other being the elliptical galaxy Maffei 1. However, in spite of
its innate brightness, Maffei 1, is very obscured by the Milky Way and was not discovered until 1968.
The galaxies of this group probably formed as a subgroup of our Local Group of galaxies and were
ejected following a violent encounter with the Andromeda Galaxy 5-10 billion years ago (see
(http://www.seds.org/messier/more/lg-dyn.html). An excellent image of IC342, from the Kitt Peak
Observatory, can be seen at: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080109.html.
The image shown below is an LRGB image created from sub frames taken through four filters. The sub
frames were then digitally colorized and combined using software. Click on the image for a larger size.
