Hidden Galaxy, or IC342

Wise_wise2011-020h_1024

wise_WISE2011-020h May 25th, 2011

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA

Sometimes called the Hidden Galaxy, this spiral beauty is shrouded behind our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Stargazers and professional astronomers have a hard time seeing the galaxy through the Milky Way's bright band of stars, dust and gas. WISE's infrared vision cuts through this veil, offering a crisp view. The nucleus is very bright at infrared wavelengths, due to a burst of new stars forming there. The Hidden Galaxy is located about 10 million light-years away in the constellation Camelopardalis, and is 62,000 light-years across.

The colors used in all of these image represent specific wavelengths of infrared light. Blue and cyan represent 3.4- and 4.6-micron light, mainly emitted by hot stars. Green and red represent 12- and 22-micron wavelengths, primarily light emitted from warm dust.

Provider: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer

Image Source: /image/wise/WISE2011-020h

Curator: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Berkeley, CA, USA

Image Use Policy: Pulic Domain

Download Options

  • Full Size Image (2356 x 2356)

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
IC 342 Hidden Galaxy
Subject - Local Universe
Galaxy > Type > Spiral
Galaxy > Activity > Starburst

Distance

Universescale2
12,388,000 light years
Wise_wise2011-020h_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 3h 46m 48.5s
DEC = 68° 5’ 46.0”
Orientation
North is 199.5° CCW
Field of View
27.0 x 27.0 arcminutes
Constellation
Camelopardalis

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue WISE Infrared (Near-IR) 3.4 µm
Cyan WISE Infrared (Near-IR) 4.6 µm
Green WISE Infrared (Mid-IR) 12.0 µm
Red WISE Infrared (Mid-IR) 22.0 µm
Spectrum_ir1
Blue
Cyan
Green
Red
Wise_wise2011-020h_1280
×
ID
WISE2011-020h
Subject Category
C.5.1.1.   C.5.3.3.  
Subject Name
IC 342, Hidden Galaxy
Credits
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA
Release Date
2011-05-25
Lightyears
12,388,000
Redshift
0.000103
Reference Url
/image/wise/WISE2011-020h
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
WISE, WISE, WISE, WISE
Instrument
Color Assignment
Blue, Cyan, Green, Red
Band
Infrared, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared
Bandpass
Near-IR, Near-IR, Mid-IR, Mid-IR
Central Wavelength
3400, 4600, 12000, 22000
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
56.702083, 68.096111
Reference Dimension
2356, 2356
Reference Pixel
1178.5, 1178.5
Scale
-1.90972219570500e-04, 1.90972219570500e-04
Rotation
199.5
Coordinate System Projection:
SIN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer
URL
http://wise.astro.ucla.edu
Name
Email
outreach@ssl.berkeley.edu
Telephone
Address
7 Gauss Way
City
Berkeley
State/Province
CA
Postal Code
94720
Country
USA
Rights
Pulic Domain
Publisher
Publisher ID
wise
Resource ID
Resource URL
/image/wise/WISE2011-020h
Related Resources
Metadata Date
2018-01-11T02:51:50Z
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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Universescalefull
12,388,000 light years

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