IC 342 The Hidden Galaxy

[Taman]

IC 342 is part of the Maffei Group of galaxies, between 7 and 11 million light years away. Known as the hidden galaxy because it's obscured by a thick layer of dust from our own Milky Way, which makes it a tricky target.

First clear night since October and a change of focal length. I spotted this interesting galaxy in Stellarium and thought I'd give it a go. Seeing was poor and APT was crashing when I tried to connect it to the focuser (Pegasus Astro Focus Cube), so I focused manually as best I could and let it run. The result is far better than I expected! Now I need to do some tests on the focuser.

Celestron C11 at 1700mm with Starizona reducer, ASI294MC Pro and Optolong L-Pro. 75 x 300s, total 6 hours 15 mins.

Processed with Siril, Starnet++ and Photoshop.

Clear skies!

Tony.

Edited December 19, 2023 by Taman

[tomato]

Great result! I don't know why, but it seems to me that with the images of the Hidden Galaxy posted over the last year or so, it doesn't seem so hidden anymore?

[Taman]

7 hours ago, tomato said:

Great result! I don't know why, but it seems to me that with the images of the Hidden Galaxy posted over the last year or so, it doesn't seem so hidden anymore?

Thanks Tomato! Apparently it's the 3rd largest galaxy behind Andromeda and Triangulum and if it wasn't hidden behind the dust, it would be a naked eye object! I had a quick look on Astrobin and there aren't many images of IC 342 taken with the C11, most are with a wider field of view. I found it quite difficult to get a nice image out of it, which is probably why.

Cs, Tony.
 

[wimvb]

10 hours ago, tomato said:

Great result! I don't know why, but it seems to me that with the images of the Hidden Galaxy posted over the last year or so, it doesn't seem so hidden anymore?

Hence the title of my recent post 😉