IC 342 Face on spiral galaxy in Camelopardalis. Image taken by Lynn Hilborn WhistleStop Obs, Grafton, Ontario on October 12 and 26,2012. LHaRGB ( Lum 23x15m, bin 1x1, RGB 18x5m, bin 2x2, Ha 5x15m, bin 2x2). Taken with TEC 140 @f5.6 and FLI ML8300 camera with Baader filters on a Tak NJP Temma2 mount.
At a relatively close distance of 6.5 million light years IC342 would be one of the brightest galaxies in the sky if it weren't for its untoward location, only 10.5 degrees from the galactic equator (Milky Way disc plane). Obscured by the interstellar matter of the Milky Way, its light is heavily attenuated (by 2.4 magnitudes) before it reaches us and its field is cluttered with foreground Milky Way stars. Text with permission of Robert Gendler.