IC 342 is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Camelopardalis, and is located fairly close to the Milky Way. Its position along the Milky Way's equator and the intergalactic dust there makes it difficult to observe, leading to its nickname "The Hidden Galaxy."
If the galaxy were not obscured by the dust, it would be visible with the naked eye. The dust makes it difficult to determine its precise distance from us. Estimates range from about 7 to 11 million light-years.
I was fortunate to have two clear and steady fall nights, and the galaxy was not much "hidden" to my telescope. I was able to acquire nearly 15 hours exposure.
| Exposure |
• 14¾ hours (88 X 10 minutes) @ -20°C
• Dusk flats • Camera position angle: 0° |
| Processing |
• With PixInsight: ☞ Calibrate, star-align, and integrate subframes ☞ Crop to eliminate extraneous surrounding area ☞ Background neutralization ☞ Dynamic background extraction ☞ Histogram transformation • Noise reduction with Topaz DeNoise AI • Final tweaking and sizing in Photoshop CS6 |
| Date and Location |
• December 3 & 4, 2021 • Louisa County, Virginia, USA |
|
Equipment |
• TMB-130SS APO refractor @ f/7 on an A-P 1200 mount • ZWO ASI-1600MC Pro color camera • Guided with a ZWO ASI-120M camera on a 60mm f/5 scope • Imaging and autoguiding with MaxIm DL 6.20 • Automated image acquisition with ACP Observatory Control |
Updated August 24, 2024