![Request for Information – Potential [Placeholder for Prize]](https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/psd/solar/2023/09/s/solarsystem_0.jpg?w=1024)
APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Hidden Galaxy IC 342 from Kitt Peak
Explanation: Beautiful nearby spiral galaxy IC 342 could be more famous if it wasn't so hidden. A sprawling island universe , IC 342 would be a prominent galaxy in our night sky , but it is almost hidden from view behind the veil of stars, gas and dust clouds in the plane of our Milky Way galaxy . Similar in size to other large, bright spiral galaxies IC 342 is a mere 7 million light-years distant in the long-necked, northern constellation of the Giraffe ( Camelopardalis ). Even though IC 342's light is dimmed by intervening cosmic clouds , this remarkably sharp telescopic image traces the galaxy's own obscuring dust , blue star clusters , and glowing pink star forming region s along spiral arms that wind far from the galaxy's core . IC 342 may have undergone a recent burst of star formation activity and is close enough to have gravitationally influenced the evolution of the local group of galaxies and the Milky Way.
Note: Astronomy lectures by an APOD editor are now available as a free podcast .
| Date | January 9, 2008 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit & Copyright: T. Rector ( U. Alaska Anchorage ), H. Schweiker , WIYN , NOAO , AURA , NSF |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |