Hidden Galaxy (IC 342)
Object Description
The galaxy IC 342 was discovered on 11 August 1890 by the American astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard and noted in the logbook of the Lick Observatory. Unfortunately, he failed to publish his discovery, which is why John L. E. Dreyer named William Denning as the discoverer in his «Index Catalog of Nebulae» published in 1895. [196, 314]
IC 342 is a starburst galaxy of the morphological type SA(s)cd and is located at a distance of about 9 to 11 million light years. [145] It would actually be one of the brightest spiral galaxies in the sky, but due to its position close to the galactic equator, the light appears strongly weakened and reddened by the thick layer of interstellar gas and dust in our Milky Way. This has earned the galaxy the nickname «Hidden Galaxy». [427]
| Designation | IC 342 |
| Type | Gx (SBc) |
| Right Ascension (J2000.0) | 03h 46m 48.4s |
| Declination (J2000.0) | +68° 05' 44" |
| Diameter | 21.4 × 20.9 arcmin |
| Photographic (blue) magnitude | 9.1 mag |
| Visual magnitude | 8.4 mag |
| Surface brightness | 14.9 mag·arcmin-2 |
| Position Angle | 168° |
| Redshift | 0.000103 |
| Distance derived from z | 0.44 Mpc |
| Metric Distance | 3.600 Mpc |
| Dreyer Description | pB, vS, * 12 close n |
| Identification, Remarks | UGC 2847, MCG 11-5-3, CGCG 305-2, IRAS 03419+6756 |
Finder Chart
The galaxy IC 342 is hidden in the rather inconspicuous constellation Camelopardalis (Giraffe). The best time to observe is September to March, when the circumpolar constellation is highest in the sky.
