#constellation camelopardalis

[brightestofcentaurus]

IC 342: The Hidden Galaxy

IC 342, also called the Hidden Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy located about 10 million light years away towards the constellation Camelopardalis. The galaxy lies near the equator of the Milky Way’s disk, placing the bulk of our own dusty galaxy between us and IC 342 and obscuring our view. Without this dust, IC 342 would be one of the brightest galaxies in the sky.  

This image shows the center of IC 342, emphasizing its vibrant activity. The galaxy contains an HII nucleus, a central region characterized by high amounts of ionized hydrogen, which is likely responsible for the creation of many new stars. Here, star forming regions can be seen in blue, along with red cooler regions of gas, and dark lanes of dust.

Image from ESA, information from ESA and NASA.

[astronomerinprogress]

Kemble's Cascade 

Credit: Walter MacDonald

Explanation: A picturesque chain of unrelated stars is visible with strong binoculars towards the constellation of Camelopardalis. Known as Kemble's Cascade, the asterism contains about 20 stars nearly in a row stretching over five times the width of a full moon. Made popular by astronomy enthusiast Lucian Kemble (1922-1999), these stars appear as a string only from our direction in the Milky Way Galaxy. The above photograph of Kemble's Cascade was made with a small telescope in New Mexico, USA. The bright object near the bottom left is the relatively compact open cluster of stars known as NGC 1502.

[spaceplasma]

NGC 2403 in Camelopardalis

Magnificent island universe NGC 2403 stands within the boundaries of the long-necked constellation Camelopardalis. Some 10 million light-years distant and about 50,000 light-years across, the spiral galaxy also seems to have more than its fair share of giant star forming HII regions, marked by the telltale reddish glow of atomic hydrogen gas. In fact, NGC 2403 closely resembles another galaxy with an abundance of star forming regions that lies within our own local galaxy group, M33 the Triangulum Galaxy. Of course, supernova explosions follow close on the heels of the formation of massive, short-lived stars and in 2004 one of the brightest supernovae discovered in recent times was found in NGC 2403. Easy to confuse with a foreground star in our own Milky Way Galaxy, the powerful supernova is seen here as the spiky, bright "star" at the left edge of the field. This stunning cosmic portrait is a composite of space and ground-based image data from the Hubble Legacy Archive and the 8.2 meter Subaru Telescope at the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii.

Credit: Image Data - Subaru Telescope (NAOJ), Hubble Legacy Archive; Processing - Robert Gendler

[astronomerinprogress]

NGC 2403 in Camelopardalis 

Credit: Image Data - Subaru Telescope (NAOJ), Hubble Legacy Archive; Processing - Robert Gendler

Explanation: Magnificent island universe NGC 2403 stands within the boundaries of the long-necked constellation Camelopardalis. Some 10 million light-years distant and about 50,000 light-years across, the spiral galaxy also seems to have more than its fair share of giant star forming HII regions, marked by the telltale reddish glow of atomic hydrogen gas. In fact, NGC 2403 closely resembles another galaxy with an abundance of star forming regions that lies within our own local galaxy group, M33 the Triangulum Galaxy. Of course, supernova explosions follow close on the heels of the formation of massive, short-lived stars and in 2004 one of the brightest supernovae discovered in recent times was found in NGC 2403. Easy to confuse with a foreground star in our own Milky Way Galaxy, the powerful supernova is seen here as the spiky, bright "star" at the left edge of the field. This stunning cosmic portrait is a composite of space and ground-based image data from the Hubble Legacy Archive and the 8.2 meter Subaru Telescope at the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii.