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.
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. Explanation:“I see” IC 342, the Hidden Galaxy!Today’s imagepeers through theplane of the Milky Way, through all its gas, dust and stars, to unveil thisspiral galaxy.IC 342(orCaldwell 5) is one of the brightest members of the IC 342/Maffeigroup of galaxies. Located about 10 millionlight yearsaway, this group is quite close to theLocal Groupthat includes our Milky Way. Inaccurate accounting of the crowded and dusty Milky Way foreground has led to misunderstandings in IC 342’s history, including the theory that the galaxy wasejected from the Local Group. IC 342 has its own dust intermittently blocking theglow of hydrogen gas, indicating the presence of bright, young stars.Magnetic field mapsof IC 342 reveal that magnetic fields may contribute substantially to one of the biggest galactic puzzles:how do spiral arms form?Tomorrow's picture:open space