Credit: KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Ken and Emilie Siarkiewicz/Adam Block

IC 342 is a nearby (14 million light years) spiral galaxy whose light is attenuated by the intervening gas and dust of our own Milky Way. It is for this reason that the galaxy is not as well known as others in the Messier catalogue. A deep exposure of this galaxy reveals it has graceful spiral arms with a myriad of star clusters and nebulae. It is often suggested that this galaxy is one of the best examples of a nearby spiral galaxy that closely resembles our own galactic home. The galaxy extends well beyond this field of view. IC342 is a member of a small group of galaxies called the Maffei group. This group is the closest group of galaxies outside of our "Local Group." Amatuer astronomer, Chris Schur, identified the galaxy on the right side of the field to be IRAS 03443+6754. This is the only catalogue the galaxy appears in. The IRAS database was compiled from infra-red observations by a satellite of the same name. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during 2014.

Provider: NOIRLab

Image Source: https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-ic342siark/

Curator: NSF's NOIRLab, Tucson, AZ, USA

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License