The Hidden Galaxy IC 342 + Tommaso Massimo Stella + Ha 7nm, L-CCD

The Hidden Galaxy IC 342

Credit: Tommaso Massimo Stella

Filters： Optolong LRGB and Ha 7nm filters

 

 

 

Can dust hide a galaxy with a diameter of 75,000 light years?

Observing the constellation of the Camelopardalis in the direction of our galactic disk, halfway between Mirfak and the Polar star, the dust from our galaxy is so dense and extensive that it obscures one of the brightest galaxies in the celestial vault: IC 342, the "hidden galaxy" .
Due to the dust, the study of its characteristics has not been easy and even the estimated distance of 10 million light years is not yet precise enough.
We know that it is an intermediate spiral galaxy (barred/unbarred) and that light takes 75,000 years to travel from one end to the other.
The galactic dust from "our home" also heavily influences the colors of its images in the visible spectrum.
To make this image I spent three nights under the excellent sky of Stigliano (MT) using the telescope with two different cameras for about 13 hours of exposure in total.

 

 

►Technical details

Sky: SQM 21.2

Exposures: L-172x180s, RGB-60x180s, Ha-26x300s
Telescope: SkyWatcher 200Pds+AZEQ6GT

Cam1: QHY294m (L+Ha), Cam2: Omegon VeTEC571C (RGB)
Filters: Optolong Astronomy Filter Ha 7nm, Optolong LCCD

 

Credit: Tommaso Massimo Stella (Italy)