IC 342 -- Spiral Galaxy in Camelopardalis
IC 342 -- The Hidden Galaxy
The common name “Hidden Galaxy” is one provided by Stephen James O’Meara in his book
“The Caldwell Objects”. The name is justified since this eighth-magnitude face-on spiral starburst
galaxy lacks a Messier number and more surprisingly an NGC number. I feel that it visually ranks
along with the more famous galaxies M74 & M101. I do find that it is a bit easier to see at a lower
power than I used in my drawing – more dark space around it makes it standout. I used a higher
magnification to try and tease out the spiral structure which I was not able to do. The core stood
out as a fuzzy inflated dot. O’Meara was able to see the faint spiral arms in the same-sized
telescope that I was using – but under a better sky. He also states that it is within reach of 7 x 35
binoculars – something I will have to try when I get under a truly dark sky.
“The Caldwell Objects”. The name is justified since this eighth-magnitude face-on spiral starburst
galaxy lacks a Messier number and more surprisingly an NGC number. I feel that it visually ranks
along with the more famous galaxies M74 & M101. I do find that it is a bit easier to see at a lower
power than I used in my drawing – more dark space around it makes it standout. I used a higher
magnification to try and tease out the spiral structure which I was not able to do. The core stood
out as a fuzzy inflated dot. O’Meara was able to see the faint spiral arms in the same-sized
telescope that I was using – but under a better sky. He also states that it is within reach of 7 x 35
binoculars – something I will have to try when I get under a truly dark sky.