IC 342 by Spitzer (3.6 to 24 µm)
At a distance of about 10 million light-years, IC 342 is relatively close by galaxy standards, however our vantage point places it directly behind the disk of our own Milky Way. The intervening dust makes it difficult to see in visible light, but infrared light penetrates this veil easily. It belongs to the same group as its even more obscured galaxy neighbor, Maffei 2.
IC 342 is nearly face-on to our view giving a clear, top-down view of the structure of its disk. It has a low surface brightness compared to other spirals, indicating a lower density of stars (seen here in blue). Its dust structures show up much more vividly (yellow-green).
New stars are forming in the disk at a healthy clip. Glowing like gems trapped in the web, regions of heavy star formation appear as yellow-red dots due to the glow of warm dust. The very center glows especially brightly in the infrared, highlighting an enormous burst of star formation occurring in this tiny region. To either side of the center, a small bar of dust and gas is helping to fuel this central star formation.
Data from Spitzers infrared array camera (IRAC) are shown in blue (3.6 and 4.5 microns) and green (5.8 and 8.0 microns) while the multiband imaging photometer (MIPS) observation is red (24 microns).
Band Wavelength Telescope Infrared 3.6 µm Spitzer IRAC Infrared 4.5 µm Spitzer IRAC Infrared 5.8 µm Spitzer IRAC Infrared 8.0 µm Spitzer IRAC Infrared 24.0 µm Spitzer MIPS Position (undefined) RA = 3h 46m 15.0s Dec = 68° 8' 13.7" Field of View 33.3 x 28.4 arcminutes Orientation North is 139.1° left of vertical
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IC 342IC 342 ist eine Balken-Spiralgalaxie mit aktivem Galaxienkern vom Hubble-Typ SAB(rs)cd im Sternbild Giraffe am Nordsternhimmel. Sie ist rund 11 Millionen Lichtjahre von der Milchstraße entfernt, hat einen Durchmesser von etwa 60.000 Lichtjahren111 und ist als Seyfert-2-Galaxie klassifiziert. Die Galaxie befindet sich in der Nähe des galaktischen Äquators, wo Staubschleier es schwierig für die Amateur- und Profi-Astronomen machen, das Objekt zu beobachten. IC 342 ist eine der beiden hellsten Galaxien in der Maffei-Galaxiengruppe, der Galaxiengruppe, die der Lokalen Gruppe am nächsten liegt. .. weiterlesen