Eddington’s Nebula (IC 2574) is a faint dwarf irregular galaxy which is receding from us at a speed of just 55 km/sec. It is about 50 thousand light-years across and located some 12 million light-years away in the northern constellation Ursa Major. IC 2574 is a member of the Messier 81 Group of galaxies. These dwarf irregular galaxies are thought to resemble some of the earliest that formed in the Universe. So these dwarf irregular galaxies serve as useful “living fossils” for studying the evolution of more complex galaxy types such as our own Milky Way, with its central bar and spiral arms. It is believed that 90% of its mass is in the form of dark matter.
IC 2574
Telescope: 16″ f3.75 Dream Scope
Camera: FLI ML16803
Mount: ASA DDM85
Exposure: 5 hours (32x300s L + 3x9x300s RGB)
Date: January 2020
Location: Southern Alps, France
IC 2574 in a larger field of view
Bart Delsaert - Astrophotography 