C51
Galaxy in Cetus
About
IC 1613, an irregular dwarf galaxy in Cetus, about 2.4 million light-years away and part of the Local Group's far fringe. Max Wolf found it in 1906, and its variable stars helped calibrate the Cepheid period-luminosity scale used for distances.
Imaging tips
- About 17′ across, so it fills a good part of the frame at 1,320–2,210 mm on APS-C.
- Very low surface brightness (24.4 mag/arcsec²), so use broadband and plan many hours; one 2004 image of 75 minutes luminance still called it very faint.
- One remote-telescope image reached 28.6 hours with Hα added, and the Hα regions inside the galaxy stand out in it.
- That same 2004 image recorded many minor planets in the field, so expect moving dots across stacked subs.
- Best around September and October; it stays below 42° altitude from 50°N.
Facts
- Size
- 18.3′ × 17.1′
- Magnitude
- 9.5
- Coordinates
- RA 1h 4.8m, Dec +2° 7′
- Framing, APS-C
- 1320–2210 mm
- Framing, full frame
- 2030–3380 mm
- Best months
- Sep, Oct
- Peak altitude
- 42° from 50°N, 57° from 35°N