Spiral Galaxy IC 342 in Camelopardalis | Mayall Telescope

Spiral Galaxy IC 342 in Camelopardalis | Mayall Telescope

Spiral Galaxy IC 342 is located roughly 10 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Camelopardalis, “the giraffe.” Its face-on appearance in the sky—as opposed to our tilted and edge-on views of many other nearby galaxies, such as the large spiral galaxy Andromeda (M31)—makes IC 342 a prime target for studies of star formation and astrochemistry. The image, obtained in late 2006, was taken using the 64-megapixel Mosaic-1 digital imager on the Mayall 4-meter telescope. 

IC 342 (also known as Caldwell 5) is an intermediate spiral galaxy located relatively close to the Milky Way. Despite its size and actual brightness, its location behind dusty areas near the galactic equator makes it difficult to observe, leading to the nickname "The Hidden Galaxy", although it can readily be detected even with binoculars. If the galaxy were not obscured, it would be visible by naked eye. The dust makes it difficult to determine its precise distance; modern estimates range between 7 to 10 million light-years. The galaxy was discovered by William Frederick Denning in 1892. It is one of the brightest in the IC 342/Maffei Group, one of the closest galaxy groups to the Local Group. Edwin Hubble first thought it to be in the Local Group, but it was later determined not to be a member.

The Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope is a four-meter (158 inches) reflector telescope in Arizona named after the American observational astronomer of the same name. The telescope saw first light on February 27, 1973, and was the second-largest in the world at that time.

Learn more about the Mayall Telescope: 
https://noirlab.edu/science/programs/kpno/telescopes/nicholas-mayall-4m-telescope

Credit: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/T.A. Rector (NSF NOIRLab/University of Alaska Anchorage) & H. Schweiker (WIYN/NSF NOIRLab) 
Release Date: Feb. 21, 2007

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