APOD: 2026 November 4 – The Not-So-Hidden Galaxy, IC 342

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 November 4 – The… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. The Not-So-Hidden Galaxy, IC 342 Explanation: “I see” IC 342, the Hidden Galaxy! Today’s image peers through the plane of the Milky Way , through all its gas, dust and stars, to unveil this spiral galaxy . IC 342 (or Caldwell 5 ) is one of the brightest members of the IC 342/ Maffei group of galaxies. Located about 10 million light years away, this group is quite close to the Local Group that includes our Milky Way. Inaccurate accounting of the crowded and dusty Milky Way foreground has led to misunderstandings in IC 342’s history, including the theory that the galaxy was ejected from the Local Group . IC 342 has its own dust intermittently blocking the glow of hydrogen gas , indicating the presence of bright, young stars. Magnetic field maps of IC 342 reveal that magnetic fields may contribute substantially to one of the biggest galactic puzzles: how do spiral arms form ? Tomorrow’s picture: open space Date: November 4, 2026 Credit & Copyright: Artem Mironov Authors & editors: Keighley Rockcliffe, Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC , NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. Random APOD Generator Yesterday’s Image APOD: 2026 November 3 – Comet PanSTARRs and Rainbow Meteor Tomorrow’s Image