Maffei 2
Image by Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS)
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationCassiopeia
Right ascension02h 41m 55.1s[1]
Declination+59° 36′ 15″[1]
Redshift-17 ± 5 km/s[1]
Distance9.8 Mly[2]
Apparent magnitude (V)16.0[1]
Characteristics
TypeSAB(rs)bc[1]
Apparent size (V)15.2′ × 7.0′[1]
Other designations
UGCA 39,[1] PGC 10217,[1] Sharpless 197

Maffei 2 is an intermediate spiral galaxy about 10 million light-years away[2] in the constellation Cassiopeia. Maffei 2 and Maffei 1 were both discovered by Paolo Maffei in 1968 from their infrared emission. Maffei 2 lies in the Zone of Avoidance and is about 99.5% obscured by the Milky Way's foreground dust clouds,[3] and as a result is barely detectable at optical wavelengths. It had been suggested soon after its discovery that Maffei 2 may be a member of the Local Group, but it is now thought to be a member of another nearby group, the IC 342/Maffei Group, the galaxy group that is the closest to the Local Group.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "NED results for object Maffei 2". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. Retrieved 2006-11-25.
  2. 1 2 Karachentsev, I. D. (2005). "The Local Group and Other Neighboring Galaxy Groups". Astronomical Journal. 129 (1): 178–188. arXiv:astro-ph/0410065. Bibcode:2005AJ....129..178K. doi:10.1086/426368. S2CID 119385141.
  3. ↑ "The Hidden Galaxy". NASA. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
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