IC 342 Galaxy
RA 3h 48m · Dec +68° 22′
5′

A face-on spiral that would be one of the brightest galaxies in the sky were it not heavily obscured by Milky Way dust. Despite the extinction it shows well-defined arms; a strong IR source and often called the Hidden Galaxy.

Galaxy

IC 342 Galaxy

IC 342 · Camelopardalis
These photons are ~11.4 million years old
UV/IRUV/IR-cut. Blocks ultraviolet and infrared so refractor optics stay in focus across the visible band.ZWO Seestar S50ZWO Seestar S50Aperture 50mm · Focal length 250mm · f/5 · Apo triplet with ED element · Sony IMX462 colour CMOS sensor (1920 x 1080, 2.1MP)…View equipment →
⧉ 5 versions of this capture — pick one to see its image and log
Date
20/03/2026
Location
52.7618° N, 2.3776° W
Integration
9m (55 × 10s)
Software
ZWO Seestar app
Notes
·
Total effort
45m over 1 night
Moon
🌒Waxing crescent, 4% lit
Plate solve
Centre RA
3h 47m 35.6s
Centre Dec
+68° 22′ 14″
Field
42.8′ × 76.1′
Pixel scale
1.19″/px
Orientation
-131.2° E of N
Hemisphere
Northern
Also in this frame
C5

Catalogued objects inside the plate-solved field, nearest the centre first. Highlighted names have their own photo here.

TelescopeZWO Seestar S50
CameraZWO Seestar S50 Camera
RigFamily Holiday Rig

Where to find it

Finder chart
+67°50′+68°+68°10′+68°20′+68°30′+68°40′+68°50′+69°3h41m3h41m3h42m3h43m3h43m3h44m3h45m3h45m3h46m3h47m3h47m3h48m3h49m3h49m3h50m3h51m3h51m3h52m3h53m3h53m3h54m3h55mIC 342NE42.8′ x 76.1′5′

Star field and catalogued objects inside the plate-solved field, oriented to the solve. Fully offline, from the bundled star and deep-sky catalogues.

Interactive sky chart centred on 3 47 35.6 +68 22 14. Drag to pan, scroll to zoom, click a star or object to identify it. Zoom in to the plate-solved field for the DSS survey photo; zoom out for constellation figures and neighbouring catalogue objects. Fully self-hosted: the star and deep-sky catalogues and the survey image are all served from this site, so nothing external loads. Imagery: DSS2 colour (STScI / POSS-II). Constellation figures © Dominic Ford (GPLv3).

Captured from · Telford, UK
52.7618° N, 2.3776° W · view on OpenStreetMap ↗ · Place data © GeoNames (CC BY)

Frequently asked questions

What kind of object is IC 342?
IC 342 is a galaxy.
Which constellation is IC 342 in?
IC 342 lies in the constellation Camelopardalis.
How far away is IC 342?
The light in this image left IC 342 roughly ~11.4 million years ago, so that is how far back in time you are seeing it.
What are the coordinates of IC 342?
IC 342 sits at right ascension 03h 47m 36s and declination +68° 22′ 14″ (J2000).
When is the best time to photograph IC 342?
IC 342 is circumpolar from around 53°N - it never sets, and rides highest (about 74° altitude) on evenings around November.
What else is in this frame?
The plate-solved field also contains C5.
What equipment was used to photograph IC 342?
This image of IC 342 was captured with ZWO Seestar S50 and ZWO Seestar S50 Camera.
How much exposure time went into this image?
This image of IC 342 represents 9m (55 × 10s) + 9m (55 x 10s) of total integration time.

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