Galaxy IC 342 Hidins behind a veil of dust and gas

摘要

Lurking in the 'void', a less than flattering description of the far northern constellation of Camelopardalis, is IC 342, a large, heavily obscured face-on spiral galaxy. Lying just 20 degrees from Polaris, the Pole Star, this splendid galaxy is circumpolar from the UK. It lies in the plane of the Milky Way, 10 degrees from the galactic equator, in the so-called 'Zone of Avoidance', which causes the galaxy's light to be heavily dimmed or reddened by as much as 2.5 magnitudes. It also lies in a rich field of foreground Milky Way stars, giving us a pretty sight but making IC 342 even harder to study.